Originally Posted by
Sliceback
Commuting - leave home at 1000, back at 0100 on day 3 (actually after midnight so day 4).
Live in base - leave home at 1700, home at 1700 on day 3.
That adds in golf, tennis, chores, etc, and a lunch and dinner at home, along with a normal bed time, 4-5x per month.
And that’s for a commutable trip. For me, depending on the base, a commute adds 4-10 hrs per commute.
Kids out of the house? Rent in base and then commute for awhile(a year?). You’ll figure it out for yourself. Some guys make the commute work for them and for others it stinks.
Depending on what airline you get picked up with and what base you wind up in, that commute may save you $30k+ in taxes. Every time I get screwed on my commute (which is rare) I remind myself I’m saving about $4k/month.
Living in base def makes it a better job however.
Live where you want and commute, or live where you can tolerate and drive. If the two happen to be one in the same, you’ve won the career lottery.