Have a job offer that expires on Aug 5th but a potential offer coming from my #1 choice [View all]

I have a very good job offer with relocation to a community 2:15 minutes from my home. My wife will not move so it will be an apartment situation for me. Hybrid or remote is not an immediate option. I have been unemployed for almost two months.

I have an employer near my home where I lost out to another candidate who has said a second position has been requested from corporate (it is to fill a pending retirement). If a position is approved now, it will be a week or two. If not there will be a position open up towards the end of year (probably after the retirement).

Both jobs would be great but will represent about a 20-30% reduction in my former salary (still happy to have them). A good chance the company with the relocation will be higher (how much I am not certain given I haven't received the other offer). The second company really wants me, and I think the engineering manager really connects with me (near the same age and we both got our MS from the same college - in fact all the engineers I interviewed with are from that college which is a much smaller engineering department than our large land grant college).

I wonder if I should try to push the process with the local employer. If not then I figure I should just accept the first offer now and go forward. If I had to live somewhere else, then this is where I would live (used to live there and my older daughter goes down regularly for both dog agility and work). Hate to be separated from my wife and my younger daughter's dog (I am the only one that can walk him because of reactivity). There is a really good chance my younger daughter could eventually join me down there. I received the offer on Friday. Negotiated for a small increase in the salary (to the top of the band - I will have to get promoted to get any more dollars) on Monday.

It will hurt if the local employer comes through with an acceptable offer after I already pulled the trigger with the first company. If both companies were here, I definitely would work first for the company I have the offer with (not that I would be unhappy with the other though).

I plan to work until I am 68 (another 7 years).