Variables set during $.getJSON function only accessible within function

$.getJSON is asynchronous. That is, the code after the call is executed while $.getJSON fetches and parses the data and calls your callback.

So, given this:

a();

$.getJSON("url", function() {
    b();
});

c();

The order of the calls of a, b, and c may be either a b c (what you want, in this case) or a c b (more likely to actually happen).

The solution?

Synchronous XHR requests

Make the request synchronous instead of asynchronous:

a();

$.ajax({
    async: false,
    url: "url",
    success: function() {
        b();
    }
});

c();

Restructure code

Move the call to c after the call to b:

a();

$.getJSON("url", function() {
    b();

    c();
});