I live in Northern Virginia. 25 Minutes from both DCA & IAD. BWI is 1.5 hours away and Philly a little more than 2 hours. I think I'm in a sweet spot for the regionals. I count at least 6 that are based out of either IAD or DCA. I'm looking at all those based close to home.
However when I look at the Majors, it's not the same case. United is out of IAD and AA out of DCA. What are the odds of getting based near where you live? I assume pretty small. My family and I are not attached to Northern Virginia living. We are willing to move for a job with a major, but a regional not being our final stop that would take a little more convincing ($$).