I think what we'll end up doing is I'll apply here, and work at a regional for at least a couple of years. My wife is going home to Bulgaria in September (while I'll probably be in training), and she'll chat with her old airline buddies and get me the latest info, since they don't advertise their hiring situation, pay, etc like US airlines do. If the regional lifestyle is not working for us, maybe next year, or sometime down the road, we'll make the jump. Just too many unknowns, especially with the license conversion and the airlines' hiring status. My Turkish friend took something like 14 written tests to get his licenses converted, which took around 4 months. Will definitely keep it in mind though. Thanks to all for the info.

-Sargeanb