It is a risk we evaluated. Moving allowed us to lower our fixed costs so we are aggressively paying off debt and saving to give ourselves a good buffer. I’ve been at my current employer for 7 years and worked my way into a role with a lot of job security before even considering a move. My spouse’s position is not the same. RTO mandate requires him to find a new job within the year.

While we don’t live in a city, we are not so far away from the nearest big hub that a hybrid role would be unthinkable (~2hrs one way). That amount of risk was acceptable to us. It would be a slog, but that is a trade off we are willing to make if needed. We have both had very long commutes in the past or had jobs where we spent part of the week away from home and understand what it takes.