I can tell you that life is not necessarily easier on the 135 side. My last job was working charter at a small but busy company based out of the nearest airport from my home. I was on-call (basically the same as short call reserve) all but 4 days each month. I got to choose which 4, but only if they weren't holidays or weekends or days that the boss actually wanted me to fly. Most weeks I flew all 6 days, and probably more than half of those I did not come home at any point. Multiple times I was scheduled for flights that didn't get me back home until well after midnight on go-home day. To say they played it loose with 117 rules is an understatement. Made it pretty hard to have any kind of relationship with my child or girlfriend, much less take care of anything at home.

I hear lots of people complaining about commuting to reserve, but the last few weeks for me have been spectacular in comparison. I know when my days off are, when I need to show up, and generally when I'm able to go home. Oh and I didn't get any kinda benefits at the old job either, no health, no vision, no dental, no travel, NOTHING. As much as people like to complain, things could be a lot worse, trust me.