A few years ago I commuted from SMF. The flights to PHX were all mainline, and LAX was all RJs. Even though there were half as many flights to PHX the commute was easier being able to reserve the jumpseat. I had much better seniority at LAX but would often get non commutable on one end 2 day trips. In PHX I’d get very commutable 4 day trips. They all started with a redeye but all my LAX trips had those too. My QOL at 90% in PHX was better than 60% in LAX. Decent hotels aren’t hard to find for $50-60/night in PHX, except during spring training.