I did the USA-Europe commute for a few years as well. It is doable, but not the most fun. It helps if your spouse works for one of the large European legacy airlines, then you get her (or his) benefits as well as the ability to jumpseat on U.S. carriers. Many European carriers, including the one my wife worked for, will put non-revs in both flight attendant and cockpit jumpseats - even to and from the United States. Yes, you read that correctly, as a non-rev (you do not even have to be a pilot) you may be offered the flight deck jumpseat on flights to and from the United States. You cannot even get that on U.S. carriers as an offline pilot.