To be clear the CRJ 900 does in fact have VNAV.

Best advice I ever got when choosing a regional was to ignore plane envy. Whatever you do, do not choose a regional based off the fleet. I’d say the only exception in today’s environment is to maybe veer away away from 50 seat only regionals. At the end of the day TPIC is TPIC. Choose a regional because of their ability to withstand times like these, plus having a base that you won’t need to commute to. It makes all the difference. Besides we know the chicks dig CRJ pilots