Recently flew with a junior guy commuting to Japan. He hopes to bid for large blocks of days off on reserve and possibly match them together in the interface between months. Theoretically getting you 20-22 days off in a row for one commute leg per month. At AA you have to contend with coverage dates that will often torpedo this plan though, some months worse than others.

 

There are thousands of places to live in the US that are just as safe as Europe if not more so.

 

Whether they actually are or not, many large cities in Europe FEEL safer than counterparts in the US, which is what the person you quoted said. Small towns and rural areas are are more similar to each other.

 

No offline international on Brown.

 

If safety is your concern there are numerous nice places in the US, big and small, to fit the bill. You don't need to do an international commute for that (might be other reasons).

 

About to start commuting from Asia. Luckily my base is only 3 timezones away and I can get my schedule to about 11-12 days in a row every month.

 

At a previous airline the commuter policy in the contract only covered CONUS commuting. OCONUS and you're on your own for accounting for missed trips. That might be why it is different. Definitely good to know the specifics of each contract's commuting section before attempting a long haul commute.

 

I commuted from Germany to a major western US hub for 2 years. German wife wanted to try it out after living in the USA so I went with it. I was quite senior and able to fine tune my schedule almost any way I wanted. Also had flight bennies on multiple airlines plus almost unlimited ZEDs. Takeaways:

1) Much easier if you live in a gateway. I did not and the commute after landing in Europe was up to an extra 3-6 hours as a result. If I did it again i'd live close to FRA, CDG, AMS, LHR, maybe MUC and thats about it. The rest dont have enough frequency for me.

2) I always spent 3ish days recovering from time change at home. Even though I bid early morning work, my body knew the difference when I shut the drapes at 5pm with the sun shining bright and lay awake for hours without being able to sleep. No real solution I found over two years to get decent sleep.

3) I spent an average of around $300 on taxes and fees. Sometimes more for a ZED and train tickets. No matter how you commute out of Europe, I dont know of a way to avoid the taxes. Brittain is horribly expensive, Germany not so much less. Add the other fees in and I had a significant addition cost to my monthy budgets.

4) I was more physically affected than I expected. I got biz class about half to 2/3 of the time and still there was an effect. But sitting in the back middle seat from SFO to FRA for 11 hours over and over again has its effects on your back, neck, ass, and other things I wont go into here. No way around this one either.

After two years my wife assessed and decided she's prefer a healthy husband to a zombie and we moved back. I wouldn't do it again unless I was working one 4-7 day trip per month and no more. It'll have to wait until I retire at which time I'll likely expat and leave forever. If I cant wait that long I'll retire early and escape the great USA. Hope that helped.

 

I worked 10 on, 5 off, living in DC, working in Spain for 6 years. All but 1 year 2 leg commute. Honestly didn't feel that bad to me at the time, when I was 30. Don't think I could do it now.

 

Where in Asia?
I dont see any Asian region where only 3 time zones away even from the westcoast.
or Am I just dumb?
Enlighten me please.