Honestly, it's all of the above to an extent.

The pay is certainly better here than what I'd make as an FO at XJT, and unless you're a TDY guy, you're home every night. I'm single and don't mind the overnight thing, but having a routine is nice. Hell, the most annoying thing that's happened here lately is the schedule change that's made it so I can't get breakfast at my usual haunt in LNS.

The type of flying is a big part of it. Most people at Cape take a lot of pride in the "down and dirty" style of flying that we do through the weather. The ERJ is a great airplane (particularly the XR model), but I found it pretty boring. Some people really enjoy the 121 jet thing (and that's still my career aspiration), but I enjoy the SPIFR thing. You have to think on your feet, and I like that challenge. Plus, there's a certain sense of pride breaking out at 200' while it's raining sideways, knowing AirTran is sitting there short of the runway thinking "F-in' Cape Air..."

Commuting...yeah, I commuted my whole time at XJT. I'm sure things would have been better if I lived in base, but who wants to live in Houston, Newark, or Cleveland?

Being PIC is nice, but I wouldn't decline recall for that reason alone.

The big reason (the reason that really makes this decision) has to do with the potential for turbine PIC. If I took recall to XJT today, it might be 2015-2016 before I'd see the left seat in the ERJ. If I hang out here, it appears that I could hold the ATR as a captain much sooner. The junior ATR captain is a 02/2007 hire, and I'm a 09/2008 guy. I'm still a ways off from holding it, but it'd be sooner than 2015. As I said though, I'm single and would go to Guam in a heartbeat.

So, it's a variety of factors that help make the decision. I'd say it's 80% potential for TPIC, 20% everything else. Some people stay for the bare minimum of time here and can't wait to go back to 121. That's fine...flying a 402 in the northeast doesn't appeal to everyone. For me, it works for now.

Mmmm...mocha flavored kool-aid.