If you're connected to the community you live in (coaching, etc), your child's doing well in a good school, it becomes easy to extend yourself "one more week" in order to maintain that, hoping things will change - and then past the "oh shit" moment you realize you're past the point of effectively affording to move and restart life. Plus, in 2009, i don't think there were places to move to to get an easy job. The guy did apply to 800 places...