- Life Achievement Unlocked!
We are incredibly excited about finally becoming parents, but now the reality of having twin girls is well becoming a reality. I shutter to think about 2 proms, 2 boyfriends, 2 colleges, and 2 weddings, but let’s not borrow trouble from tomorrow.
So here we are trying to make the best decision for our family, and we are hoping several bogle heads can help us make a wise financial course of action. As Jack always said, “Stay the course”.
We both are originally from the Midwest (husband Cleveland Ohio, wife St. Louis) and we currently live north of Boston, in Peabody, MA. We drive every year for a 3-5 week work remote (since covid) summer trip to stay with the wife’s parents in Camdenton Missouri.
Husband works for a major MAMAA firm as a senior director, and the wife works for a large medical book publishing company in Marketing.
The wife has been with her company for about 3 years and has been working from home due to Covid since January 2020.
Husband recently (October) changed jobs from Salesforce to a MAMAA firm, and it’s recently come out that his position will be remote for the foreseeable future, with either monthly week trips to Seattle or San Francisco. He may in the future be offered a corporate relocation to either Seattle or San Francisco, but that’s far from certain and both are not desirable.
Ages:
- Husband: Age 39
- Wife: Age 35
Home:
North of Boston, house (1300 sq fully renovated except for roof) is worth ~$785,000 (4 houses have sold in our area for this, same floor plan without updates from the 1970s) and remaining mortgage is $285,000 at 15 years at 1.75%. We’ve had people unsolicited offer us cash for our house and repeatedly turn them down.
Employment:
- Wife: 95k (can work remote) + (future 100k RSUs)
- Husband: 225k (can work remote) + (future 300k RSUs)
- Husband: 401k - $565,000
- Wife: 401k – $225,000
- Both max out - 401ks every year
So here’s the question:
What sort of financial calculus should we consider for the following scenario, move to Lake of the Ozarks:
- We sell our house for a net $ 450k (after fees 50k, and mortgage paid off)
Buy a 550k-650k 4,000k sq house built in 2017 (we know the owner—older couple looking to move to Florida), in Camdenton, Missouri (Lake of the Ozarks)
Benefits:- Grand parents have offered to sweeten the 529 plans by an additional 100k per girl if we move back.
- Move to be closer to my wife’s parents in Camdenton, MO. (Her parents would love to be closer to their grandkids and would provide childcare we have a contract in writing for 2-3 days of childcare till age 5).
- Wife would be able to continue to work!
- Schools look to be better in Camdenton, MO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camdenton,_Missouri.
- We are both active in our church north of Boston so we’d welcome being back in the bible belt.
- Star as extras in the show: Lake of the Ozarks?
- My firm informed me that my salary would be cut in half to $112,500 for cost of living adjustments!
- Medical Care in Boston is incredible.
- Job Opportunities are plentiful (and husband could in the next 5 years easily double/triple compensation)
- Travel time to Springfield MO for flights to Seattle or San Fran would be 1.5 hours away.
- Redoing our roof next summer for $50k and start looking for a bigger home for a year from now (house price would be $900k - $1mil).
- Wife has to quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom. Husband working from home too, so space will be tight!
- Have to consider moving to a bigger house in 1-2 years (gulp).