So a few things. First, while it's not easy when you're highly paid, there usually are ways to get close to the same compensation somewhere else. You may have t

So a few things. First, while it's not easy when you're highly paid, there usually are ways to get close to the same compensation somewhere else. You may have to be willing to come down, but you can usually find someone else to get you in the same ballpark. It just takes a lot of work (months). Building out a strong network is really important for this. Second, politics is a constant any time you have more than 5-6 people involved. You must acclimate to this. It never goes away, and people are basically the same wherever they are. You can't escape this reality. Separating yourself from it just makes you an easier target (and having a high salary does that naturally anyway, so you don't need to get any bigger). Wherever you go, this will be the case. When I was younger I used to hop around a lot; when the political situation would get hairy I would just nope out and move on to somewhere else instead of playing the game. Not only does that gets harder as you get more senior and enjoy more perks and comforts from your employer, but it makes for an unstable personal situation and most importantly, it doesn't really change anything. Your next employer will soon begin having all sorts of ugliness too, and you need to be able to navigate it. You're probably going to be better off learning to play the political game and operate from the inside than to move somewhere else. It may take some hard work to counteract impressions made before your political awakening, but these skills are critical. Take over. Don't let the inmates run the asylum anymore.