Thanks for the info, Freeflyer... you confirmed one or two things I suspected.
As for commuting, I live in Washington state... so it would be one hell of a commute, but I guess manageable.
I'm not too certain about my base permanency... I get the impression this will be for a while.
I guess as this is all so new, I'm not sure quite what to expect... but there must be others out there who have been in my shoes once upon a time. Just want to make sure I don't get mugged on my first trip to/from the airport!