I have done it all three ways, sold first and bought later, bought first and sold later and had them happen at the same time. You haven't lived until you have had two house payments in a down turning market.
I gotta go with ML, the airport is a big deal, I am 8 hours by train from mine. Brettski's dad has been there and done that it sounds like, age is an important factor. Working for a living is also a big factor, cheaper to live in South Dakota or South Carolina but, the pay scale is lower also.
Eastland's work probably dictates where he can live so were I he, I would sell, then work out the rest, life is an adventure and selling and building anew is certainly an adventure. And as DD1 says, "it is not about the fish...

1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam