How long are you willing to sit right seat at SkyWest? We've hired around a 1000 pilots in the last couple years and have nearly 2800 on the seniority list. Without significant growth (which could be announced any minute) the upgrade time could get pushed out well past 3 years. One of the reasons you heard of really quick upgrades here earlier in the year was that many of the pilots didn't meet upgrade minimums.
If I were in your shoes I'd stay at Mesaba, upgrade and then move on. Good QOL/regional pay doesn't go very far once you have a wife and family.