I feel somewhat compelled to chime in on this. Worked at a few different shops over the years... Regional (lived in base), ACMI ("home-basing"), ULCC (commuted), Legacy (commuting..). I live in a beautiful area (Appalachian Mtns) close to family & friends, far from the central cesspool city of the southeast...house paid off, lots of land, zero debt (not even car debt), a few hobbies, some livestock, I harvest my own honey, and all to boot I live where other folks vacation too. In truth, commuting can be an absolute drag but, is it worth selling my stuff to go buy an overpriced house in one of the much colder, more expensive zip codes that my airline lives in? My answer: no.

I've often heard (and been told) "Commuting is a choice" well so is the choice to live in base. The choice for either has consequences. The commuting choice is, more hotel rooms, less time at home, perhaps more stress... but you need to understand that should you choose to commute, that stress needs to just go away and you realize "this IS the cost of living wherever I want".

I'd ask yourself. "Is my airline worth commuting for?". If its a regional, cargo, or a U/LCC, I'd say probably not, unless you have a positive space commuting option or homebasing.

The other argument is money. I don't consider any opportunity to pick up, ever, never. Juice isn't worth the squeeze. If I lived in base, and get bored, I could pick up a day turn. I wouldn't consider such a thing right now... or ever in a commuting situation.

All things equal, and If I had my druthers, I wouldn't commute. I'd play for the home team, and actively try to get to a non-commuting situation in the meantime (I'm trying...).