Living in the Present, only Looking Forward

[Coconut]

So about a month ago I applied for a job in east TN, it will bring me back to the salary I was making when I transferred to NC, I had to take a pay cut (only a couple of thousand) to transfer here, but I'm maxed out in pay for my current position, which will effect future earnings. the position I applied for is at the base of the smokies, very close to the NC border.

At the same time I've been struggling with what to do when my lease expires at the end of April, and while I'm in the part of the country I've wanted to be in for the last 20 years, I'm not in the city I want to be in. My goal is to get closer to the mountains, I'm currently about 3 hrs away, and I want to be in the mountains or at least the foothills.

So today I decided that I was going to buy a house, home ownership is incredibly cheap here in NC, and my total cost of owning a 3bd 2 bath, 10yr old house would be $300 less than I'm currently renting my 2bd, 2 1/2 bath townhouse for. So I contacted some mortgage brokers today to get some quotes.

I got the quotes back, set up an apt. so I could get prequalified, and set up apts to see a few houses I'm interested in this weekend. The rental market is very strong here, so I plan on living in the house until I find work elsewhere and then I'll rent out the house. I'm happy with my decision, will have a nice house and can afford to carry the mortgage even if it's not rented when I move, life is good.

Then right before I leave work get an email letting me know that my application for the position I applied for has been forwarded for consideration, and I'll be getting contacted for an interview.

Based on usual timelines in my field, the interview and selection process takes about 2 months, which means that I could essentially be closing on a house about the same time I'm moving out of state. Grrr, when it rains it pours. All good stuff, but if I know I'm moving right away, I'd rather buy property in my new location, but I don't have the luxury of waiting to find out about the position because of the lease ending.

Life is fun