OP again. sorry, i was also going to add that we have BA/MAs and *might* consider starting our own business (what exactly that would be, who knows

we've toyed with dreamed of things like apartment rentals/development). we're not really interested in teaching. we know moving would be a huge lifestyle change (the quality of life we have here is great; for me it comes down to getting back closer to my relatives for my kids to enjoy while they're young) - that said, i don't want to move to be super poor.