Supercubbin

2.5 hr drive? I’d hardly even call that a commute. Super easy. I wouldn’t even bother trying to fly that one. But as stated it depends on who you work for and what your situation is. I commute because it doesn’t bother me much, I don’t stress about it, I never have to buy hotels or sleep in the airport because there’s enough frequency and my family is happy where we live.

JTwift

agreed. I’d drive that every time. Get in JUST after the last flight leaves? So what. Drive home.

going to work and need two flights? Nope. Drive it.

I’d love a 2.5 hour commute.

Cyio

I commuted for seven years and hated every single moment of it and for a few years the commute was very short, still sucked.

I will say if I was single with no kids it wouldn’t have been as bad because who cares when you get home but with a wife and kids, I always wanted to get back and spend as much time as I could.

Getting to work sucks too. When you factor in commuter clause issues even an easy commute adds so much time because most places require two attempts prior to protect you, thus often leading to getting on the first one and then sitting around the airport for several hours, only to then have to work your normal schedule.

Some people will tell you that commuting is the best QoL airline pilots have but I still say they are just having some version of Stockholm syndrome. Yes it allows you to live in a city that perhaps the family is in but you give so much for that.

The drive isn’t so bad. If you could live on the side of town closer to get that to two hours I would consider that OK. Commuting by air is hell though and not something I would ever again consider long term. Hell I will wait to upgrade to avoid it.

ugleeual

2.5 hour drive will get real old after a few months… IMO unless you have a real compelling ‘short term’ reason (sick relative, etc) I’d shy away from a commute that involves boarding an airplane or driving over an hour. It’s all about QoL and commuting eats into that big time.

CBreezy

This can't be serious advice. I wouldn't even hesitate at a 2.5 hour drive twice a week. Get a nice car with useful driver assist features and download libby. There is absolutely no reason to trade family happiness for SLIGHTLY more convenience just for you.

ugleeual

that’s your opinion right? I commuted for 9 months (3 hour drive) and hated every minute after the newness wore off... couldn’t wait to get back into the one hour ring (15 mins actually) from my base. Family happiness only goes so far if one/half of the couple hates every minute because of a 5 hour R/T. If you want to decrease YOUR QoL that’s definitely an option… but don’t try to pass off it’s a great option… it’s an option for sure but that’s about it.

UnbeatenPath

At my regional for a while I lived in a big city 20 minutes from my domicile. We later moved to a smaller city to be near family and I drove 2 hours to work which wasn't bad. Now I have a 2.5-3 hour drive or a 25 minute flight from an airport 15 minutes from my house (much happier and more quiet than being in the suburbs of the large city). If you can only hold short call it'll suck, but if you can hold long call or a mid morning show time it's cake. Nothing beats being able to drive home after a bad wx day when you get in past the last flight home. I'd much rather sleep in my own bed and sleep til noon than get a hotel and get no sleep, get home at 10am and have my whole day ruined because I'm so tired. Plus if I want to pick up a quick turn and the wx is good I can just commute by air in 25 minutes on generally pretty open planes. YMMV

Traffic Alert

Don’t ever commute long term. Move if you have to and yes it’s always an option. Sorry extended family, my sanity and happiness comes first. Limit your drive to an hour. I’ve done more and it’s draining.

PRS Guitars

I agree, it's better not to commute, but you're wrong about the "best case" scenario...maybe you meant to say "worst case"? I'm not commuting on days off very often, maybe one or two days a year when I miss the last flight home. I can hold a commutable line though, and when sitting reserve at AA never have to commute out on my last day off because they can't give us a trip before noon on our first day.

Second, you did it for a month or two, it takes some time to adjust to it and learn the tricks of the trade. Yes better to live in base, also, try to live in a place you like, if you can.

Having conceded that not commuting is better, let me just add as a few others have said. It's not horrible, it's not the end of the world. I actually have very high QOL and am home a lot. I don't stress about it going to work or coming home, don't obsess about it...it just is what I do currently.

I tried moving to a base, unfortunately I really didn't like it there, so much so that I thought, "hell I'd rather commute than live in this city". We have other bases that I'd probably like, but rather than roll the dice on that and move the kids again...we went back to our old neighborhood. Maybe someday when the kids are grown, we'll try another base...maybe not.

MoonShot

Heck, I drive almost 3 hours to get to my commute flight. Driving 2.5 to base would be a walk in the park. You shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. I did a 5 hour drive to base for 4 years. It was 1.5 hours too long. Anything under 3.5, no problem.

Full disclosure, I hate my commute (barely worth it), but not willing to move.