My question is... how long can it last, or is likely to last?

And how in the heck can anyone consider 500k viable? What on earth are people doing to afford such a mortgage, and why on earth do they stay in such an area?

We're looking to move to Tulsa area in a year or less and the market is much more affordable there with not much of a pay cut in my field -- depending on everything, it might be a "cut" but really the same net or even more after the bills are paid each month.