You might as well apply and see what happens, until you get a job offer you really don't have a decision to make. If/when you get a CJO, then you're going to have to look at your 2 prospects; stay put or make the jump. Starting over at the bottom of the SL sucks no doubt and any black swan can pop up and put you on the street; a war, a virus, a market melt down, or all 3 at the same time and the gravy train will come screeching to a halt.

When I was looking for a 121 job my criteria was base locations and upward mobility into higher paying (larger) airplanes. Also I didn't want to be on the street looking for work or out on strike any time soon. My top two choices were AA and DL, and then a distant 3rd was US Air, because they all had a BOS base at the time. Also I wanted to fly international eventually.

Fast forward 40 years and everything's different. No more Pan Am, TWA, Eastern, North West, Continental, Braniff, People Express, and so many others. What looks great today may turn to crap in the future and there's no way to know if you're making a good decision until you've retired.

Pay and benefits wise I'd have been much better off going to FedEx, but I was sick of flying freight at night and until all the majors went bankrupt they paid a bit more than FedEx. That all changed after 9-11, but there's probably going to be more black swans over your next 35 years so, good luck!