In 2010, my old job was coming to an end. The new offered job? In Arlington, Va. The wife didn’t care to move....the pay was roughly $30k more than before...and having a car made no sense (I did public transportation while I was there). Zero promotion chances....somewhat nice people to work around....no overtime. I looked at everything and after six weeks, I circled my calender and said “three years and gone”. I would either take less pay to move onto a better deal, or just do early retirement.
In the end, I left after 3.5 years and accepted early retirement.
The added weight was simply looking at stress in DC, crime, bizarre people with mental problems (some even working for the government), and municipal corruption being more than obvious. I could probably write a 300 page book of the 1,200-odd days I stayed there and played out this ‘opera’. I suspect you will evaluate the gains and losses, and eventually circle the calendar in the same fashion. Life is fairly short...you might wake up in six months and have some health condition which determines a lesser life. Rather than be unhappy....I’d seek to find a path where there is some happiness and enjoyment out of the opportunities of life you’ve selected.
That’s all well and good unless or until you have a spouse with some very serious medical problems that necessitate working even if you hate the job, because that job has good medical benefits. In such a case, retirement is not an option.