system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Take last minute offer or leave academia in the midst of a pandemic?

**UPDATE: It didn't work out.**  The position was advertised as teaching 3/3, mainly intro focused but with courses in my area. I was asked about the above in interviews, emphasizing large intro sections. They asked me to give a teaching demo on an intro lecture. After getting an offer, I probed for the exact conditions given my situation below. They wanted at least 2 new preps and in-person teaching, with no intro sections for fall, nothing planned yet for spring. Most of their courses on the schedule I could see were online. All dept meetings were to be held remotely.  I said I would accept and teach whatever they proposed if I could also do so remotely, and report in for anything else needed but had to decline otherwise. (The fallout from COVID seems inevitable, so the burden of courses, multiple format preps, covid risk etc in person seemed to be too much). They accepted my refusal.

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I was just offered a position at a school about 2.5 hours away whose semester starts in 2-3 weeks. I planned on leaving academia this year but since the pandemic hit all my plans went haywire.

The job is decent with a starting contract of 3 years (not tenure track but potentially renewable with contracts up to 5 years). It's well within my expertise and the dept seems good. The work itself seems doable.

Cons are I'd have to move quickly but I also have pets and a partner to move with, and I only have 2-3 weeks to move. This is possible but given that I was thinking of leaving academia anyway, I don't know if I should risk it. I'd have to dick over my landlord to do that also as I'm on the brink of signing a new lease but haven't yet.

This is also a rust belt city I'd be moving to with harsh winters and a relatively high crime level (midwest). I also haven't visited in person due to the pandemic, so I might try to go sometime soon but otherwise I have no firsthand experience of the location. DOn't know where I'd go with pets in such a short timeframe that isn't a step down in quality of life/cost. It also is not particularly clear to me how secure the position is given the losses schools are facing and what may happen in the future. That said, I don't know how good my options look otherwise. I miss the security and environment I find in academia, but the life-work balance was terrible. I think it will be better in this position except that I have to move everything else in my life around to get there and in a very short time, without tenure possibility in a pandemic.

I'm really stuck and I have no time to decide. This may be my last chance to stay in academia- (I'm not sure whether I could attempt another year of applications given my last two were visiting positions (1 and 2-year stints) and I'm only "employed" by title currently- a nice gesture from my last school but which would fall apart on any investigation). I was ready to give it up anyway but the position is close to what I was looking for and I'm not making any money now. I've interviewed for about 3 positions outside of academia (in research and consulting type positions) but none panned out. I have another this week but no idea on whether it would deliver. I'm also wary of what it would like to continually work in grant funded positions or whatnot, or whether permanent work outside of academia is possible without switching content paths.

If anyone's been in a similar situation or care to comment, feel free. I'm mostly asking because none of my friends/family etc can understand this situation fully. What would you do?
gpt
If you are ok with leaving academia, then you can take the job and leave whenever you want. You don't need to stay 3 years. If you dont care for academia, who cares if you burn a bridge?

Go drive there tomorrow and look around. Go see a couple of apartments. Then give them your answer Monday. Its the only way to make a semi informed decision. 

Your landlord is not your spouse. You need to prioritize family, not an acquaintances feelings.