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[nevertenured]

Well things just "got real" (tm)

I got the offer letter in the mail today from school #1 with a return deadline of next Friday.  This is 4 days prior to the earliest school #2 could give me answer. I called school #2's dean and got in touch with him/her. Hu told me that they are obligated to wait on guy #2  (Tuesday after next).  He/she said they can't make any promises but that He/she didn't see how this guy would best me. Called school #1 and they told me there is zero flexibility on the return date.

So............... it looks like school #1 has this locked. I don't see any scenario where I would end up at #2.

[mleok]

Honestly, you are better off going with School #1 anyway, from a professional point of view. The shift from a 4/4 to a 3/3 load is unlikely to materialize without some sort of creative accounting that would do little to reduce the actual workload.

Go to school #1, excel professionally, and you will have a better opportunity to revisit the job market with a geographically limited search (closer to family) from a position of strength and stability.

[litdawg]

Sounds like your decision is made.

[hungry_ghost]

Hooray! Congratulations! You've got a job!
And it is nice in some ways to have the decision made and DONE, with no more agonizing or second-guessing. Now you can focus entirely on looking ahead and planning for next year.
Again .... Congratulations!

[msparticularity]

I know this is difficult; it is one of the more crazy-making aspects of the academic job search that this kind of situation is pretty normal. A lot of us have been there, too--including me! In this case, though, based upon indications including the course load and the conduct of the searches, I think it's quite probable that you're actually getting the better job. Congratulations on a successful job search!

[nevertenured]

Thanks everyone :)

It's been a long slog but I hope I'm doing the right thing.

[mleok]

Thanks everyone :)

It's been a long slog but I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Let's see, you're taking a tenure track job that you've actually been offered, as opposed to throwing it all away in the off chance that you are offered a position at a lower ranked school with a heavier teaching load... sounds like the right thing to me.

[losemygrip]

I'm VERY reticent to verbally accept and back out.  I think that doing that will very quickly spread a reputation.

It won't.  This is something a lot of people in these parts think will happen, but it won't.  You're not that important.

Having said that, I agree that it's totally wack for #2 to be talking like this before their interviews are over.  There are plenty of examples of people getting lots of positive talk during the interview, and then never hearing from the potentially wonderful employer again.  It sounds as if the main reason to take #2 is geographic anyhow, and I don't think that's enough by itself.