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[rising]

Yes, I had never thought about the possibility of just allowing him extra time to do research until you all raised it on the forum. And tuxedo_cat raises a good point about access to facilities. Interestingly enough, my spouse did his PhD within 2-3 hours of Dreamy U, so he does have contacts within the area, and actually returns to his doctoral institution from time to time to use equipment. So I know he could get access to difficult equipment there. Anywhere else in the country, that equipment access would be a bigger, if not insurmountable, hurdle.

And janewales, your point is well worth considering. The idea of getting early tenure has been suggested to me already, but I am resisting it for exactly the reasons you describe. If I went to Dreamy U, I would probably take one more year on the clock and then go up (which is the same timing as my current clock).

Here is one more potential issue that could come up in negotiations with both of my universities (of course, again, I had not planned to look for a position but then Dreamy U. showed up). I applied for and was granted a semester off to work on a research project from my Current U. The guidelines for this semester leave say that faculty members who receive a development leave must agree to return to the University for a minimum of one year following their leave. My leave ends in December 2010, but I will be at Current U. until at least the end of the 2010-2011 academic year (May 2011).  Does that language mean that Current U. expects me to be at Current U. until December 2011 - one calendar year after the leave ends? Others have told me that such guidelines are not enforceable, and that, typically, rules for university sabbaticals are that one has to be at the university after the sabbatical for at least the period of the sabbatical (in this case one semester), but no longer than that. Is it unusual for a university to expect faculty to stay longer than the period of the leave, after the leave ends (in this case, expecting me to stay one year, rather than the semester period of my leave)?

[sibyl]

I agree with the emerging consensus that if you get your spouse time to work on his scholarship, whether you can compel Current to give him a normalized load or you just free him from working, you will be helping him land a better job.

Let me ask you about where you want to be in the long term.  You say that Dreamy U is, well, dreamy, and the fact that it doesn't have your spouse's field doesn't detract from that dream.  What would you and your spouse expect for him if you were to get a job at some place without his field, maybe at some other equally dreamy place?  You seem pretty clear that you wouldn't want to be separated, so even if you didn't leave Current until after he had tenure at Current he would follow you.  Would he leave academia, or at least leave the faculty?  Or would he try to get a faculty job nearby, even if it were adjunct, even if it were part-time?

If in fact he would follow you without assurances, then you may as well take the job now.  If he was planning to do something similar on that "someday" when you left Current, then he may as well do it now.  It sounds as though Dreamy is planning to make all the introductions needed to help your spouse and thereby keep you around. 

On preview:  Yes, it's not unusual for institutions to require that you return for a period longer than that of the leave itself.  If you don't return, you will owe them some salary.  However, it is also possible that Dreamy wants you enough that they would be willing to "buy out" your obligation to Current U.  If they won't do that, but they are willing to delay your start date to let you fill out your obligation, then maybe that time would be enough to let your spouse build up his publications.

Good luck.

[drpud]

I agree with everyone else here: take the job. As the (thus far) trailing-spouse partner of someone who is several years ahead of me career-wise, I would absolutely be willing to give up an uncertain, temp. position in order for my partner to start an excellent job in a great location. In fact, it would be very unwise for me to do otherwise.
We've been in numerous situations where various spousals "deals" were mentioned verbally, none of which ever materialized in the long run. In the end, for us at least, it comes down to who can secure the best job in the best location. As others have mentioned, working at Dreamy U is more likely to open doors for you both down the line. Good luck!

[hegemony]

I agree that you should take Dream Job, and I want to make one additional point.  Negotiate (politely, in a friendly manner) the salary and other compensations for the job at Dreamy U.  Just because they've offered it to you in this ideal way doesn't mean you should feel so grateful as not to negotiate.  The usual university policy is to offer less than is available.  Sometimes the candidate (generally a woman) just takes it as is, and sometimes they negotiate for more, and that leaves room for there to be more.  So they are not offering you as much as they have to give.  The best thing to negotiate for is a higher starting salary -- this maximizes your advantage, because every raise will be on top of that salary, which means much more $$ overall.  The way to bring this up might be, "What kind of flexibility do you have in terms of salary?"  There are several books on how to do this, so consult one for greater confidence.  My thinking is that maximizing your salary will not only be advantageous for you, but it will help relieve pressure for your husband to get a job that might cut into his research-and-publication efforts.  Also go for moving expenses, for similar reasons.  Whether or not they raise your salary much, be sure to ask about leave, research grants, research assistants, travel money, and all of that as well.  Don't undersell yourself just because they asked you -- that's all the more reason to get a healthy offer.

[slownsteady]

rising,
I think you have a great opportunity here. Lets think about what is best for your husband - just for a minute.
In your current place, he has heavy teaching load and after few years already, they have no intentions of making his position permenant any time soon. Does he like to get a TT position with more research or teaching? In any case he has enough teaching experience. Looks like being closer to Dream Univ will enable him to publish more. He might try a research asst prof position - I think they look better than adjunct positions- when applying for future jobs. He might want to try writing some grants while publishing papers for the next 2 to 3 years. Meanwhile you would be going up for tenure in the Dream Univ. At that point both of you could look for a new jobs or may be you can convince the Dream Univ to start your husbands area of research ;-).
In any case take the new job and as a last alternative, see if the current Univ will indeed give your husband a TT position if they really want you both there.

[frenchgirl]

I'm kinda dying to know what happened with this spousal situation. Did you take the advice offered here, rising, and accept the position at Dreamy Uni, or are you going to stay where you are? I'm of the opinion that everyone here is right: go for the new job!

[dundee]

I am also part of a dual-career couple and have my own complex situation to deal with, but won't bore people with it here. I just wanted to second those who cautioned against placing too much faith in verbal promises. When I was hired, my dean made some special deals with me and gave me extra funding and perks. And then suddenly my dean left for another institution and the new dean will not honor the deal I had with the previous dean, making my position considerably less attractive. So, while there may be "promises" made about your husband's future at your institution, those "promises" can disappear overnight and it's best to go with what is solid rather than what might be.

[rising]

Thanks for all of the advice. Just this semester, my spouse was made a research assistant professor at Current Univ. with the equivalent of a tenure-track teaching load, but not necessarily the start-up support. So his situation has improved, but not to where we would like it (i.e. tenure-track position). He does have more time to do research now, and a transition would really disrupt what he is doing. It's like just as he's settling in, then he would have to move.

I should be receiving an offer from the other university later this week, and I know that Current Univ. will make a counteroffer. Spouse and I will visit Dreamy Univ. next week to check out the community and explore job opportunities. DU will try to facilitate some contacts. Spouse is very committed to trying out a more research-oriented position and really wants to try the tenure-track thing, which makes things rather tricky. We'll just see how it goes. Also, cost of living in DU is much higher. So, everything you all have suggested makes sense, and we'll have to go and explore the various options, and be prepared to negotiate (for everything).

[slownsteady]

rising,
If your spouse is in a research area that is rare, it can be a good thing:  in the sense dream Univ may want to start that area in one of its departments. Have you looked into that, if dream univ might like to start this area of research in one of the bigger departments. These days research has become so interdisciplinary that this is very well possible. Do some research and put some suggestions for departments that COULD USE his areas of expertise. That might work.
Anther point I had was about rsearch track job he has now- It seems like they give him a research track job with same teaching load as TT, which I would say is pretty unfair. TT folks get their salary from teaching mainly. He should not be overworked like this with no actual promise for tenure. If he is on research track he DOES NOT have to teach unless he wants to. If there is an offer from Dream Univ.,  ask your current univ. if they can make his position TT. He is doing the same amount of work anyways. Then you can move later on when both of you are in a better position overall.
Also have your spouse send out aplications to other possible positions.