Imagine for a moment that every pilot lived in their base. Now imagine that whenever a displacement occurred that everyone on that equipment choose not to move and found another job in there home town and the company simply hired pilots that lived in the area they moved their operation to.

I have a strong feeling (I admit, unsubstantiated) these companies depend on pilot's willingness to commute for work. I would think it would be in their interest to provide commutable trips. If living in base was a requirement, their ability to move their operations around would be severely hampered.

To the prospective regional pilot. Be prepared to move multiple times during your regional life. I advise against buying a house, getting married or having kids.