You shouldn't be on these forums if you can't laugh a little.

I live in Orlando and surprised that it has always been easier and less stressful to commute farther like lax or SFO (yet longer) because of less commuters, so wasn't fighting anyone. Plus those cities out west have red eye flights home so I didn't have to get a hotel and could finish trips later. Now the downside is trying to sleep on the last leg home and being dead tired once u land. But then again it was so much less stressful than the commute to IAH/ORD/MSP or DEN. It's all depends on what you are willing to put your body through by commuting and what base would give you the best QOL. Sometimes trips are better or worse in different bases or whatever your pref. the commute and the stress of getting to/from can add so much stress always trying to fight to be ahead of others on the list. Anything out of Florida is a tough commute, you just have to have better backups when things go bad and be able to roll with the punches.

I'm first year at republic. PBI to DCA is an easy commute. I never have problems. You can trade for Miami trips also.

I commuted out of MCO for two years to Newark, and never had a problem. Between United, then Continental, and Jetblue they had a flight every hour. Every once in a while i had to fly into LGA or JFK and take train over. Don't get me wrong, it still sucked. In the end i got fed up and went to fly with a home based company where they pay for my ticket now.

That is very good to know. Do you think PBI may be better for jumpseating? Less pilots to compete for space with maybe? Also fewer flights than FLL obviously.

Also wondering what you meant by trading for Miami trips at your job with Republic; would this mean that although you're DCA based you get to start from MIA?

How long do you think a new-hire at Republic would have to wait for a Miami base?

The evening flights are wide open on airways for me so i always get a seat. If I'm commuting same day I've had to ride in the jumpseat a couple times and haven't been bumped yet. We bid with FLICA and it has a trade board where people can trade or drop trips. You gotta keep an eye on it and you can do some work out of different bases of you want. New hires won't get Miami. Vacancies have been shut down for 3 consecutive months there otherwise I'd be in.

I guess any of the LGA/EWR/JFK bases do offer a lot of options to get there, thanks for that input. Did you end up having a crash pad there too or was that never necessary?

Glad you brought up that last comment actually. I spoke with my girlfriend about what you said and we spoke at length and in detail about the issues surrounding commuting as I currently know them. For now she seems happy to let me get on with my life and do what I need to do. Time will tell of course....

It was good to get her on the same page, thanks again.

That calendar does make it easier to visualize what life will look like, thank you.

I guess the reserve issue is another item that needs attention in deciding what companies to target.

I will say this, it's pretty amazing to be able to have all these choices and have every regional out there with jobs available. Reserve, commuting, away from home, to some degree are just part of the industry that I have chosen to be involved in. But, important differences are there nonetheless.

Thanks again.

You're doing the right thing by looking into the commuting lifestyle earlier, rather than later. I'd rather be on reserve in base with 12 days off, than commute to a line with 18 days off. Commuting has the single biggest effect on your QOL.