There are a lot of cliches which I think apply to your problem - "live for the moment" and "a bird in the hand ..." come to mind immediately. Stock options are

There are a lot of cliches which I think apply to your problem - "live for the moment" and "a bird in the hand ..." come to mind immediately. Stock options are great leverage for the company and worthless to the employee in cases such as yours. If you want to be in California and working for $co will make you happy, take it. Once you're here you can always find another $startup.