MIL is being "optimized"...

[jenP_97]

Heya!

Well, my mother-in-law is getting a pink slip and a "package" tomorrow
at her job (the higher-ups call it being "optimized" ... sister-in-law
thinks that should be changed to "vaporized"), and I'm trying to think
of a way to get her to move out here.  Here's the situation; I'd like
some suggestions or feedback if possible.

MIL moved to Florida to be near a friend of hers who said the job
market was great.  She likes this friend (and his family) a lot, but
moved far away from all of her family, and misses them.  She's ripe 
for the persuading. ;)  Anyway, her job was good, but never very 
secure after the first 6 months (she works for a tech company - cell
phones, actually), and she's been pretty sure the axe was going to 
fall for a few months now.  Anyway, she's finally getting a visit from
her family (us, in 3 weeks), and she's really overjoyed.  It's hard 
for her kids to find the time off/money to fly anywhere other than
during the holidays, and that's when she goes out of town as well, so
nobody's seen her apartment/town/state yet.  

Hrm, this is getting to the point in a roundabout way, isn't it?

Okay.  I love my MIL.  She's a great lady, and she's been lamenting 
the fact that she can't see Ginger as often as she'd like.  In fact,
she sees her so little that Ginger's afraid of her for at least a day
after she first meets her - and that kinda hurts her feelings.  So my
hubby and I would like her to move out here.

So.

Should I try to actively persuade her to come out?  Should I send her 
a list of pros and cons (there are cons as well as pros - for example,
the likelihood of her finding a job out here is slim, though she has
much more experience/education than most around here)?  My husband and
I have both mentioned it recently, so should we just let that brief
mention sit with her for a while?  She has said she likes our town and
the people in it - I know that she could make friends and have a
"crowd" in no time.  Living expenses here are cheap (our mortgage is
less than $600/mo), and she'd be close to another of her kids as well.
 She's a smart lady - should I just butt out and let her decide?

Jen (who would love to have her MIL come out to live nearby - but not
WITH us... I'm not that stupid)