Update: See page two about jerb offers.
For those that may not read the random fail thread, here is the backstory:
My mom's offer is definitely tempting, but this is where I am at right now:
Pro's:
Would have a home we would never need to leave (my mom has been desperate for forever to get us back near her), she has no desire to sell it, and apparently the market is so bad, she can't really sell it anyway. I do not doubt at all we could live in that house as long as we wanted.
It would be our own space. To explain in more detail than what was described above, the house is a two story raised ranch. There are three bedrooms upstairs with a living room, dining room, kitchen, with a huge porch. The downstairs has a tv room, 1 bedroom, laundry area, kitchen and living room. What happened is when we were young my parents had the downstairs extended to add the kitchen and living area. They were going to convert the ones upstairs into something else, but could never decide what to convert it to, so never changed it. Uncle and mom would live downstairs and we would live upstairs. She wants to build a door in the stairway so we can feel like it is truly our space. Stairway as an outdoor exit. We technically would only need the downstairs to do our laundry.
It's on an acre of land. You'd be a multimillionaire to have something like that in California. Cats could actually go outside (they are actually there atm, because of our housing upheaval). Kids could have tons of yard to play in.
Could help my mom out. My dad passed away last year. My uncle moved in with my mom so she wouldn't be alone, but his health is not all that great either. My sister wouldn't be able to take her once she gets really old, and I don't know how well she'd do on her own with CT weather.
Cons:
Kill our careers. There is one ONE animation company in Ct, and it is two hours away from where my mom lives. My certification is only valid in california. To extend it to CT I would have to work as a teacher in CA for three years. While I apply like crazy, that hasn't happened yet. I know my husband will not be satisfied working outside his field. I know I won't be either. I really want my hours to match up with my kid's school time.
It's CT. Nothing to do. Shitty ass weather. Everything is falling apart from shitty ass weather.
Most of my friends no longer live in the area. The few that do don't have kids (not a requirement, but for my kids' sake means really trying to find people that we can do playdates with).
My sister sucks. Outside of my mom and uncle, my sister is really the only other family out there. My kids have tons of relatives in CA they love to play with. I would have to stomach and have them play with my sister's kids (who I love), but that means dealing with my sister and her asshole husband.
Anything you guys may offer as advice would be helpful. Part of this is also just getting this stuff written down so I can reflect on it.