I don't understand the "my hub is better than yours" argument. Who lives in their base near the airport? Maybe Houston? I don't know any pilot that lives anywhere near EWR. Maybe as close as 30-45 minutes down the shore with snooky. Most are at least 1.5 hours away in PA, CT, upstate NY, etc. Who cares what the local airport area is like. Is there any major airport that you want to live by? The guy I flew with yesterday drove three hours from MA. What counts is that the flying out of EWR is the best (of CAL).