Career advice would be very much appreciated

Hi guys, I've been following WSO for quite a while but only now felt the need to reach out seeking for advice. I know that this might be a shot in the dark but here it goes.

Background: graduated from a top university in my home country (Southern Europe), started working for a big-4 in their M&A practice. Kinda liked the job, but to be fair the pay was terrible and most of the months I was lucky if I could save some money at all. I started looking for alternatives and one year later started working at a banking supervisory authority (a national Central Bank). To be honest, I don't know why I did it, I guess it was mainly for the name of the institution and the money and at the time my ideas were not so clear to me. The pay increased quite a lot, in fact unless I worked in a BB I think I would not make this money anywhere else. The brand name looks very good on the CV and I am in contact with senior people in the banks I work with. However, I don't particularly like the job and I am terrified of the exit opportunities. I have been here for almost 2 years now.

To be honest I fully regret having switched from a career where I had good long-term prospects to another where I might be pigeonholed into something I do not like at all. It also made me move to another country, leaving my GF back home. But then I think about the compensation and the freedom it allowed me to have (was raised by a single mother, went to college with a few scholarships) and it helps me get over it. Even so, now that I saved enough money to do what I really want, I would like to transition into Strategy/Management Consulting, preferably in my home country.

Here are the options I have on the table:

• Stick around for 2/3 more years (I am 26 now) and later get into a MBA. Whit the money I saved up until this point and what I expect to save in the next couple of years I could probably pay the MBA and afford 1/2 years without income. How easy would it be for me to move into strategy consulting, MBB or Tier-2, even if into their FS practice? Would it be better for me to get a top MBA (Insead, IESE, ...), which are more expensive, or one MBA back home (I would like to go back home after the MBA)?

• I have applied to several jobs in my home country, but the offers I have been getting are mainly for FS management consulting firms (think of Accenture, BearingPoint, Capgmenini, etc). I might be wrong, but I have the feeling these do mainly process improvement and other implementation projects, which don't attract me at all. In terms of pay, this would imply I would make, easily, 4x less what I make right now. I guess that down the line, if I went with this option, I would apply for a MBA as well. Post-MBA having worked in consulting would help me improve my chances, but after paying for the MBA I would be pretty much broke.

• I could just quit and look for something in my home country, but I am afraid I would regret it after some months without finding something. I keep on getting praised by my friends and family for getting such a prestigious role in such a prestigious institution and I might be crazy for giving up a high-paid permanent contract here, foe which thousands of people apply every year.

Sorry for the long and confusing text, but any help would be much appreciated.