Originally Posted by dustrpilot

In my experience, living in domicile was everything. I upgraded to a commute and around a year later, bid back to FO so I could live in base again. Commuting sucks for me and can easily rob you of 2 of 3 days off, depending on your schedule and available flights. Also, there is no guarantee that the base where you live will be there forever. Ask an Endeavor pilot.
Bidding can be a complex or simple system depending on the company, but in my experience, the good schedules come from seniority. Reserve at the regionals is a life changing, mood altering experience from which most people never fully recover from. Starting out as a commuting junior pilot on reserve, with small children at home could test your marriage.