The shrinking hub has fundamentally changed a lot of commuters lives. When I was hired, there were 3 flights a day from PFN on RJs. If they were full...you could still get a ride out of VPS or TLH, both less than 2 hours away. Other than the spring break madness, getting to/from the Gulf Coast was easy, and sometimes even a pleasant experience. NW/DL contract fare was usually 250-350 bucks, so with a little deviation bank you could just lock your ride to work down and enjoy the stress free commute. When people say "they hated commuting", I would discuss my version as a case study in how you could work at FedEx and live where you wanted (within reason) with a little planning.
It was so easy, there were times I would fly up for a PM standby in the morning, work out, do the STBY, and fly home that evening. When you are just starting out and need the money you do what you need to do...
Besides the Gulf Coast--there were dozens of cities with similar options, across the midwest, LA, MS, AL....getting to work was easy. Only bad part was the occasional "gross weight limited" CRJ or not getting the exit row for the ride home. Bring cookies, a smile, and a good attitude...and I personally LOVED leaving work in Memphis and keeping my home life at home 400 miles away.
Then...with the merger...the flights dropped to 2 a day. Pinnacle then became Endeavor, moved to MSP as the airport was de-hubbed, and anything from the coast now went through ATL. IF you had travel bank money, there were no issues, except the ride took a little longer than the direct ride to work. Jumpseating? Yeah...try going offline to a former hub and see how that works. It could be done, but never with enough certainty to use it (IMHO) for planning.
Now--without as many commercial options in--if you don't live nearby you are stuck with the FedEx jumpseat. That's great if you have a ramp nearby, but for me the 1:45 drive to TLH at 9 PM or worse 5:30 AM drive home when you were exhausted could be miserable.
Maybe I am just misreading things, but anecdotally is does seem to me like a larger number of new hires are moving to Collierville than in the past. I'm glad I started my career when it was still (relatively) easy to get to MEM. These days I would be hard pressed to recommend commuting unless you have a FedEx ramp near your home.