<prompt> Human: I have somewhat of a first world problem in trying to decide which great job I want to work at. To give some background Im 29 and married. I started my current job in April 2012 after working at my previous entry level job for 3 years. The job came with a very large bump in salary from 37kyr to 60kyr, along with greater benefits and around a 10 annual bonus. However, the job required my wife and I to relocate about 1.5 hours from our hometown where all our family and friends are. Since making the move Ive progress pretty well through my company and my current salary has increased to 70kyr. In addition, my wife was able to find a better job in our new town and now makes 35kyr. Well I was recently contacted by an old co-worker about a position at their new company which is back in our hometown. I interviewed for the job and have received an offer. The job is similar to what I do now and would be somewhat of a horizontal move. The pay is a bit better at 80kyr but it comes with a 7k signing bonus and a potential annual bonus of 20. We are both excited about an opportunity to move closer to familyfriends but there are some issues were trying to decide on. First of all my current job has been paying me to finish my masters. To date theyve reimbursed me for around 2k in tuition. If I take the new job I would have to pay them back and then pay out of pocket to finish the degree only 2 classes left so 2500. They really like me where I am now and its a very secure job that Im good at. The new company obviously likes me enough to hire me but it would be a bit more of a stressful position and would require learning a lot of new things which excites and scares me. My wife would also at some point need to quit her job and find another one. She was hired pretty quickly in our new town but who knows how long it could take this time? So Im at a crossroad. Our plan was to always find a way back to our hometown at some point but like everything in life, the timing is never perfect. On one hand I could stay where I am now and stay the course getting small annual raises and a promotion every few years. Or I could take the new opportunity which pays a bit more, offers new challenges and possibly greater advancement. I know this is a pure financial question, but I like the discussions here and would really appreciate it if someone can offer any advice.  <response>: To me, the pros and cons in the present are kind of a wash so Id base it on future growth. Which job has the most career potential and security? Which job allows you to gain more skills, experience and career growth that could be applied to future earnings and goals? If living in your hometown is more important than accumulating wealth, then thats a pretty easy choice, but honestly 1.5 hours is pretty much living in your home town. In my experience the decision that offers more long term gain is more of a burden upfront. 