As a purely subjective ?, this is going to come down to priorities, and as such there's no "right" answer. You'll be able to look through history and find plent

As a purely subjective ?, this is going to come down to priorities, and as such there's no "right" answer. You'll be able to look through history and find plenty of examples of people who have bet it all and won, and they may have been right to make that bet depending on your perspective. However, there are also more people who have bet it all and lost (even when they were right - check out Charles Goodyear). Personally, I think it's irresponsible to put your family in a situation you characterize as "near homelessness" for a "social experiment" - especially if you can get this done more slowly by pursuing funding more than you have. I also think it's a rough idea to move to a far more expensive locale on the hopes that it will help you with your project. You have a skill-set that can provide for your family and leave you the time and means to work on your experiment on the side. You live in a city that has a market for that skill-set, which means you have options at your fingertips. I think you ought to play it safe and put your family obligations ahead of your startup ambitions for the time being.