<prompt> Human: Good afternoon, everyone, and happy holidays. My gift to you is a wall of text in hopes that someone can give me some recommendations moving forwards.I am a recent widower as of a few months ago. Im a 35 year old IT professional currently making around 120,000.00 a year. I own a home in Maryland paid 205k for it in 2012, now appraising at around 260k. I currently commute about an hour each way to and from work on any given day, and am looking to move closer to my job, which, of course, means a higher monthly mortgagerent.Aside from the commute, I am dating again. Living far away from the city as a single father of two is not conducive to dating - generally if I go to meet someone, Im driving at least 45mins - 1hr just to meet up. I know that I will meet someone eventually, and Im not sure if it makes sense to commit to a home, which will cost upwards of 400k, or if I should just rent for a year or two.I currently need at least a 3BR2BA unit, which I can afford, for sure, but I dont want to waste money, or at least, keep the waste to a minimum.My late wife was a successful woman, leaving me financially well off. Between the house and life insuranceretirementtspetc, I will be sitting around 500k in my account. The children also receive survivor benefits from Social Security, coming to about 3800.00 a month until the age of 18 from this I was able to afford an au pair, who is due to arrive in February, and should I move, would provide in-home care during the day, negating childcare costs in the city, which can be pretty ridiculous.I appreciate any feedback, and if anything is unclear, or you have questions, I am happy to answer!Regards.  <response>: Not personal finance advice but grief advice: dont make any big life changing decisions for a year at least. Having wrapped up a pretty shitty year myself I can tell you that you think you are seeing things clearly now, but most likely you are not. Also grief support groups may be worth your time. I am Sorry for your loss. 