Stay at Home Mom vs. Work outside/inside the home Mom

A week from today I go back to work :( .  Right now I'm really upset about it but I've heard from other moms that go back to work the anxiety of going back is actually worse than when you get back to work and into the grove of things.  I, unfortunately, do not have a choice in the matter - it's for financial reasons and needed even more so now that my Joe is getting laid off.
I've met so many other moms that are stay at home moms and I just wonder how you and your significant other came to the decision that one of you would stay at home.  Was there a major loss in finances and you just  make it work or did you save?  Do you plan to go back to work when all your kids are in school?  These are the questions that fill my mind lately!  During such hard economic times I wonder how there are so many families that are one income.  If do you work outside the home do you have your kids in daycare/babysitter/family taking care of them?  How do you balance it all?
So introduce yourself!  Where do you live?  How did you come to the decision?  What did you do before you had kids?

ME
I live in the big Apple. 
28 years young
Scorpio
1 child - daughter (E-rizzle)
1 dog
1 hubby
both of us work outside the home