Well, for starters, I don't agree with telling your boss you plan to look around. There's nothing dishonest about just looking, bit it could make your employers and associates view you as less loyal or even as a bluffer....ie, "you better take better care of me because im looking"

Oh well, whats done is done. As long as you leave on good terms it should be no skin of anyuones back, and you'd have burned no bridges.

I say go for it. Make sure the company is solid, and make sure you absolutley have the job and know its requirements and respoinsibilites anmd commitments before you bail on your current. It's never cool to get into the 4th or 5th step in the process and then the company drops a bombshell, like relocation, no insurance or profit sharing for one year and a 70 hour work week.

8 months ago I walked off a 2-year job that got me almost 45k per year with prisitine benefits. Thats pretty flippin good for Oklahoma, but I was unhappy with the level of commitment it required, I was unhappy with my management peers, I was unhappy with the company and had serious concerns about some of its practices, and I was very unhappy with the thought of being there for the next 20 years of my life.....it was all like a big nightmare. Obviously, the money was less important for me, as I'm literally making less than half of what I was before and don't plan on going into any field like that ever again. But on the up side, I don't work 65 hour work weeks anymore and likely never will.

One other thing to consider, since you are relativelyu content where you are, is looking for a high paying part time endeavor as a supplement to get your little retirement schemes in order. There are plenty of jobs like this, and infinite small business possibilites. Running a small business part time while you work a regular job full time can reap you huge tax benefits, as it essentially lets you mix business with pleasure for deduction purposes and allows you to "trade" your services for those of others, which is another nifty way of skirting taxes and lowering operating costs.