Because since we have maintenance bases in these locations (except MCI) they thought it necessary to create crew bases as well. There are a lot of pilots who live in these outstations or have moved to them. Lots of people are happy there and cost of living is much lower than a lot of hubs. I don't necessarily agree with the philosophy, but by nature of the hub and spoke system flights depart early and arrive late to the outstations. I commute to an outstation and bid top 25% seniority. 50% of my trips are commutable on both ends and the other 50% usually start between 0500-0700 and I'm typically done between noon and 1500 usually resulting in 2-3 hotel rooms per month.