To piggyback off of the outstation base conversation, I'm very interested in Republic for their MCI base but am curious about how much flying I can expect my first year, estimated time to upgrade, and subsequent time to be spent on reserve after the upgrade.

My current alternative is Trans States where I can commute to DEN or ORD, hold a line almost immediately, and upgrade upon meeting minimums. I'm a military rotary guy so my FW time will be very low (~300 hours) when I make it to the line and I think it would be in my best interest to fly as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Is it worth commuting to a carrier with a questionable future in the hopes of reaching major hiring minimums a year or two faster?

Boston would be a perfect fit for your situation. All of the above is readily available. Drive north and you’re in the mountains. Stay in town and there is plenty to do. Lots of professionals in the city and quite a few colleges to make it entertaining. Plenty to do inside once it gets cold out. Best skiing in the northeast is about two hours away.

Philly would be a close second for you. Similar to Boston but not as isolated in my opinion. Where in Boston you can drive an hour and be in the ‘middle of nowhere’. Not so with Philly unless you head down the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.

The nice part about Philly is you can hop on the train and be in NYC or DC fairly quick if you need a change of scenery.

Lots of international non-rev options out of both too.

Good luck.

lol, Houston has the worst weather. Hurricanes, floods, oil fires, miserable hot and humid weather from May through early October. That place is all yours man.

Not at RPA but I moved to CMH for a job not too long ago. Single, mid 20s and love it here. Definitely like it more than IND and PIT and I've spent time in both. PM me if you have any questions.

Same as this guy but moved here for this job. Live in German village and leave my apartment 20 minutes prior to show time and I’m still early

Lemme know

It’s too bad Repiblic has killed ORD because it’s a great place to live. DC is awesome. Just live where you want bro, everything else will fall in to place.

You said your rent budget is $1200? Easy to live in Queens or even Manhattan with a roommate at that price. You’re young and single, come here and live where you will have the time of your life. Plus, not owning a car saves you several hundred dollars every month.

I moved to Long Island City in Queens at the start of my time with Republic and I’ve loved every minute of it. A young single person would have to manage their time and energy wisely living here because there is never a time when you don’t have something to do.

How much have you been paying in rent in LIC? I’m looking at possibly moving there after upgrade.

I always thought it would be awesome to live in NYC. Any suggestions on finding roommates? Never had to look for roommates outside of my friend group before.

Do you find NYC affordable? I simply threw out the $1200 number because that appears to be roughly 30% take home FO pay. Might need to work more to make that 30%, but that doesn't matter to me.

Indoc might be a great place to look.

Having said that, getting tangled up in finding a place to live before / during indoc can be a distraction you don't need. We had two folks in my class looking for places and or moving during indoc. It added a LOT of stress that they didn't need while trying to get through their first airline training. They both had families so it was likely more than you would deal with, but, I might want to wait till initial is behind you.

Once training is over you can commute / crashpad while you look for a place (while on reserve not getting called)