Choosing/moving to new domicile DTW/COS/DEN
 

Hi guys,

It's been asked several times, including in some of my previous threads, but training is coming to an end and I need to make a decision to start planning everything.

Initially assigned DTW, I have a bid for COS/DEN/DFW. Never been to DTW but hear terrible things, and lived/loved Colorado.

Goal is max. career progression. No family or obligations, and all my belongings in the storage waiting to be picked up to move to my new domicile.

Factors I guess I should consider: short reserve or at least highly used while on reserve, decent upgrade time, available open time?. Would staying in DTW be that much better in terms of seniority compared to COS/DEN?

Anyways, any advice or pros/cons analysis about any of these domiciles will be much appreciated. Need to decide/move in 8-10 days lol :D

Michigan. Suburbs.

There ARE worse places than Detroit. But if we confine it to the CONUS, I’d be hard pressed to name three....;)

I flew out of both COS and DEN for many years. I preferred the trips out of DEN, as the COS trips were typically an early start/late finish. Although reserve in COS was pretty nice, and you didn’t get called too often. Reserve in DEN sucks big time, plus you always have to worry about making the showtime since the traffic has become a nightmare in Denver over the past several years.

Also, DEN is CRAZY expensive now. Good luck with that on FO pay. COS was quite a bit cheaper, but I understand it’s getting expensive there now too.

I loved the COS flying. The DEN flying was also pretty good. The only thing I didn’t like about the COS trips was the early starts and lte finishes, but it usually created a long overnight somewhere in the middle of the trip. I loved having 20+ hour overnights in coastal California towns.

Going by what you said, maximum career progression, DTW. Like someone else said, the suburbs in Michigan aren't bad. West of the airport IMO. DTW is good for career progression, short reserve time being the most junior base and you'll be used on reserve for sure.

Have you thought of ORD? Ton of flying and always something in open time.

Seniority?
 

Does anybody happen to know how long it takes to hold COS as an FO?

Cost of living is as high if not higher than in Denver, so at that point, I may as well move to DEN. Career progression is a big plus at ORD though.

What I'm trying to figure out is if the difference between the mentioned bases would be that big after all, being on reserve a couple more months (DEN/COS) -vs- being a line holder almost right away (DTW/ORD). And then having to commute in the future once I upgrade, until able to hold CO CA.

Most junior FO hired 6/14/2019

I'm not sure how many new hires are getting awarded DEN/COS out of training, but I don't imagine it to be long. 6/14/2019 is the most junior COS FO. The good thing about those bases is that people can pick up trips from either since they're relatively close to each other.

Most COS FO transfers are still in IOE. It’s not a big base, but there’s a lot of movement at the junior end as folks move through on their way to Denver or further west, so reserve isn’t long. CA is another story though. Not super senior at the low end, but not a ton of movement either. No stand ups in COS, which could be a plus or a minus, depending on you.

If career progression is all you care about, then go to the most junior base for captains. But life is a journey, not a destination. COS is a great place to live and I really enjoy the job here. If you want to actually enjoy your time at the regionals, you should consider COS or Denver.

Thank you flymeaway! I really appreciate that insight.
I'm just looking for a mix of QoL and career progression. If I have to wait a little longer to upgrade that's ok.
The website says it's about 2 years until one could upgrade, do you think that is realistic?
What do you mean by stand ups? Sorry totally new to the 121 world..

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As was previously said, DTW is the best choice for career progression at OO. There are a lot of nice areas around DTW to live and cost of living is much cheaper than DEN, COS, etc. If you're not afraid of the cold I would stay in DTW.