I think this is unnecessarily cynical. A third option is to keep plugging away at a great job in a great company. If at 1 year, you find yourself at a shitty job and/or shitty company, leave ... regardless of what the options cost. And who cares if they are cheap then. Shitty company = going nowhere. Any money spent exercising is money thrown away, which is even worse than walking away from it.
Your decision point around the cost of those options seems poorly thought out, besides being a victim of a false dichotomy.
Your decision point around the cost of those options seems poorly thought out, besides being a victim of a false dichotomy.