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[casio]

After years of grinding, I have finally been very fortunate and landed 2 real tt job offers.
 
One place (X) is a traditional (well-known) place - the other (Y) a newer, applied department - both are good, but the cultures seem very different. Some peers have weighed in against place X saying it is an awful place to work.  I didn't see much evidence of angst during my visit (though I did have a salty interaction with crazy old faculty lady).

On the other hand place Y is a fairly happy, family-friendly place, but I have a hard time envisioning my program taking off there. It has a heavier teaching  load and not much of a culture/facility for my kind of work - owing to its very interdisciplinary nature. To be fair, there are opportunities for interactions beyond the department since the campus itself is quite good - but I worry I would slip into oblivion there.

So I now find myself facing a dilemma. Go with option X  (dream job, questionable lifestyle) or option Y (nice environment, questionable career move)....  Or am i even asking the right question?

And the root of my dilemma (and the part that may be of broader interest) is that the whole job search process seems to be all about the department checking out the candidate. It seems like the part I'm unprepared for is predicting what it would be like to work at one of these places or where I can go and have the most personal and professional success.

Would anyone be willing to weigh in with advice on this?

[sciencephd]

Most of the people with angst may be gone.  Check out the number of tenure denials over the past 6 years or so.

[casio]

i heard around 20% at that place. which might support the notion that the unhappiest have moved on.

[mns234]

You are making a very good point about candidates needing to do a "background check" of the department. I wish there were sites that evaluated departments based on tenure-rates and how many faculty in the department filed grievances over a 5 year period or some other numerical measure. Just numbers would speak volumes. Verbal descriptions can be so subjective.

If the tenure-rate is good then go for it regardless of what people say. With a heavier teaching load you may not be able to focus on teaching and then if you need to find another job you'd be in trouble. Also take into account location.

You have a happy problem, but still a big one. Sometimes I think it is better not to have too many choices.

[casio]

Thanks for the input. Indeed I am very aware of how fortunate I am to be in this position.
Since both locations are OK, my instinct is to "go for it" and just keep being productive and let the other stuff sort itself out... 

It would be great if there were good objective rankings of departments that give some indication of how junior faculty fare.