It would be a real shame if you went on to something new and you ended up hating that too. This really is one of those "life and death" situations that requires ALL your time and concentration to resolve.
Actually, sometimes you don't really know how good you have it until you try something else.
I support a lot of IT departments for a large University in my area. For years I've dealt with overpaid/underskilled IT folks here doing warranty repairs for them and many times just figuring things out that they couldn't. It being a public University, their salaries are pretty much public domain for all to look up. I looked up some of their salaries and over time pretty much grew envious of the kind of dough they were raking in for not really knowing what they were doing. But here I am to bail them out whenever they have a real problem living and dying by the ups and downs of small business.
So, I figured a few years ago, I've got the college degree, experience, and contacts. If anything ever comes about, I'll give it a shot. My chance finally came in the form of a Systems Administration role for a rather large department where I happen to know just about every IT person there. I figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Better, consistent salary, unbelievable benefits and plenty of paid time off. I decided to accept the position and worry about selling of my part of our business later on, just to be cautious. The biggest thing was letting my long time business partners in on my decision. They were floored, but they knew I was going to do everything possible to make a smooth transition.
The two weeks in my shop before my start-date arrived were awkward. It's one thing walking away from a job, but walking away from a small business that you've rode the ups and downs of for years with others was like detaching myself from family. I started to actually get physically ill from the anxiety. The anxiety was not a fear of the unknown. I had a real good idea of what I was walking into since I've dealt with this particular department for years. The anxiety was the separation from my small business family. I couldn't wait to just get the transition out of the way and get on with my life.
The time came and I expected to go through a small amount of transition shock, even though I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I found myself driving through campus traffic and taking way longer than it should just to travel 13 miles from my house. Just for the privilege to pay $25 per month for a parking pass (a.k.a hunting permit) to park in a lot still a good 3 miles away from my new office, to then wait for a ride on a ridiculously crowded bus. Of course, I had the option to park in the parking structure across from my office and avoid waiting for a bus. But that would have cost a couple hundred a month (with no guarantee of finding a spot). So, anyway I stepped into my new office. A brand new 15" Macbook pro was handed to me along with an iPad. Perks of the job. Both mine to keep an use for doing my work and taking home for entertainment. I went through the day with the IT folks I knew there. Learned the ins and outs of what I would be dealing with on a daily basis. All fairly easy. Just a lot more coddling of department heads, administrative staff, and untangling of bureaucracy just to do my job and a lot less being left alone with the equipment and turning screws. No big deal, I could adjust. I already knew everyone there. Didn't have anything to prove to anyone since I already knew most of these folks well. Also, they really are a good group of people. The day came and went. The bus ride back to my car and the drive back home was another hard pill to swallow.
The evening after my first day, I needed some familiarity. I decided to go for a spiritual heavy leg workout the gym I've been hitting 5 evenings a week for several years (that just happens to literally be a block away from my old shop). The familiarity felt nice. But tomorrow was another day, and if anything my anxiety that was causing me to be physically ill, seemed to feel like it was getting worse. That next morning, I got ready and left for the horrendous journey into the new office. Campus traffic sucked like I thought it would. On my way to the parking lot where I was to board the bus, I found myself actually almost subconsciously hoping to be caught in exceptionally bad traffic so I'd miss that damn bus. That didn't happen, so I figured I'd go wait with everyone else. I seen the bus in the distance approaching. It pulled up and people started boarding. I couldn't get on that bus for that trip. I walked away from it and almost instantaneously felt relief from the anxiety that had been making me ill. I contacted the department immediately to let them know I've changed my mind and felt it was time to deal with the consequences of my hasty decision. They were sort of disappointed, but surprising very understanding since they figured it was much better I make the change right away, rather than spend a couple months there and then find its not for me after they've invested so much time in me learning the ropes. Best of all, it hasn't at all hurt our business arrangement.
It may seem crazy that a rather inconvenient commute to and from work would make me walk away from a better, stable salary and excellent benefits. But it has made perfect sense to me ever since. Moral of a really long story is sometimes it may seem like anything else is better than what you've been doing. Sometimes you won't even know for sure until you take that step and try something else. But leave yourself an easy out and don't burn bridges of your life now. You may find that the little things you have now mean a lot more than what you thought.
