Since it appears a LGA domicile is a foregone conclusion, does anyone have any good insight on hotels/crash pads/rooms for rent, places to eat, transportation, etc.? I've been doing a little research, and everything looks pretty expensive...Also, any thoughts on maintaining one's sanity while commuting across the country?

Find a good book for the commute. Get noise canceling headphones if you don’t all ready have them Bose QC’s are great.

IEM like the Shure SE215 are worth a look too. Passive noise cancellation, but they sound better, pack down to a small pocketable pouch, and would be less visible on the subway, etc. They also satisfy the all-important airline pilot metric of being cheaper.

Reach out to the VA subcommittee within the union. They may have an LGA based vet with insight on the area.

I have heard of some getting by on airb&b/ co. Hotels or ask around the airport about Crashpad. Wi-fi movies on the plane, Netflix, book, sleep. Go to local library and download magazines. For long noisy rides in the back of the plane, I keep my money and shove company provided earplugs into my ears. This takes care of almost all the noises heard in the cabin. For food, I bring some of my own in a cooler bag and get some on the road. Around LGA airport, the old Buccaneer Diner is a pretty solid diner open 24/7. Another good food option is the Jackson Hole diner. At the airport, between B and C gates is Angeline’s, where you can get a $5 breakfast sandwich and coffee. For transportation between LGA and JFK I use NYC Airporter(get the app and get the App) or Uber

If you do end up going the crash pad route then there are ones that will shuttle you to and from the airport. I think they require an hour or two notification. Public transportation to and from Crashpad's can be time consuming with multiple transfers.

Food- the company deli is also very good. They load you up with some good food. Sandwich meat is cut fresh. Pizzas are great. They even have entre style food. Main dish with veggies. It's located before you get to our crew room. You can't miss it.

Set aside $1900 a month out of the $1700 you'll be taking home after NY taxes for a luxurious 350 sqft. apartment near the airport and enjoy that living in base good life.

From what I've heard, the key is to fly in to JFK first, then take the NYC Airporter to LGA - somehow even in traffic this is only a 30 minute ride because of a dedicated lane for public transit(?), so that's my plan for now.

My experience, traveling from DFW, there were far FAR more flight options getting to LGA than to JFK. But yeah, if commuting to JFK works for you, I liked the lines out of JFK better than the ones out of LGA (JFK lines had more days off).

The combination of more days off with JFK lines and more flight options to LGA had me several times commuting into LGA to take the transporter/Uber to JFK to start a trip, then transporter/Uber back to LGA after the trip to get home.

It’s been several months now since flying New York for me though.

Let me know when you find the dedicated lane for public transit between JFK and LGA........

It seems like you're saying there isn't one in the least useful way possible.

From my city, there are several AA flights direct to JFK daily so I thought that was a revelation. How long did it take you to go between LGA and JFK on average and worst case using the airporter?

I planned for an hour. It was sometimes less but I don’t think it was ever less than 45 for me either way using either Uber or transporter.