Some of have made the same move and can share our experiences. I remember working for the Federal Government (US) in the DC area. I moved to the DC area just for job promotion opportunities because there were so many (5 to 25 a day) versus the small town I was in (lucky to be 5 opportunities A YEAR!). I went from a GS 9 to a GS-14 in 7 years, where I may have never had that opportunity if I had stayed. The problem with fed gov hiring is that even thought I may have been qualified to work at the GS-12 level, If I had never been a GS-11 in the federal government, according to HR I wasn't qualified. So my career advancement would have been stalled if I stayed. So I moved my young family and made it work. I did the "Make a list of pros and cons" and it helped me make the move decision. More long term pros than short term cons. I went from making 35K a year to 75 K a year in three short years. That salary jump affected all of my future positions by setting a new high for me. I eventually moved back to my home town as a GS-14 making $105K a year. Ten my daughters decided to go to college in another state, so we moved again. I still do the pro vs. con list every time I come across an opportunity. I am now at my highest pay ever and have even had some offers for 130 to 145 a year, but the cons outweighed the pros so I didn't jump at those opportunities.
The move I made 15 years ago has had a positive ripple affect on my career. Not only was I able to get higher paying jobs, but they started coming with C-level titles, which has allowed me to continue to demand a high salary.
I also took a huge drop in my salary at one time (45K to 29K) to chase a career I love. I went from working everyday to enjoying everyday. I now make more than I ever could have at that dead-end job, even if I made Supervisor (which I was on track for). But my health is better (it was aircraft painting), my knees and wrists don't ache and I am enjoying work instead of dreading it. Good luck with your decision and do let us know how it goes.
