Best: Drive to a major airline base. By far the best option.
Better: NJA home basing vs. a short airline commute. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Your first and last day will probably be long either way. There is a good chance you will have an uncomfortable day on your NJ commute with center seats and multiple legs, but you're guaranteed to get on and if you don't, not your problem. I personally found my one leg short airline commute with multiple flights a day preferable to the NJA commute, but that is definitely a subjective choice.
Worst: A coast to coast or multiple leg airline commute. It's horrible and I wouldn't do it for more than six months. I would move.