If you are going to be driving 2 1/2 - 3 hours on the East Coast, you WILL be commuting, just not in an airplane. That doesn’t really seem to be a domicile lifestyle. You asked for input, here’s input. Don’t move to that distant a location.

I know we have guys who live in/around Philly and drive to Bwi. I’d plug in your potential address in Waze and see what it spits out at different times of the day. You’re going to have to plan ahead as I95 can turn into a parking lot pretty quickly.

Do you drive 2+ hours to work? Input needed.
 

Yeah, ultimately there are so many factors that go into this decision, but I appreciate the thoughts so far. It is hard to beat living in base!

You'd be surprised at how many guys here commute by their own airplane. I've run into a number of guys who commute to MDW, DAL, HOU, OAK using their own planes. Not sure about BWI, but it doesn't mean there aren't any.

There are quite a few folks driving in excess of 2 hrs to get to work because they really like where they live for a variety of reasons. It all depends on how often you are going to do this on a monthly basis. If it's only 2-3 times a month it's probably manageable with proper planning (traffic, weather, time of day, the trip you have to fly on the drive day). Tolls, hotels (if/when needed) are the cost of doing business. It's finding that work/life balance. If you are after the money, then living in base (or really close) is the only way to go. It can be the real "cash cow" and can get addictive once you become a tournament player. I know of someone who is at 250TFP this month (with vacation and all). It isn't me.

I flew with a BWI FO who lived near PHL and took the train for his commute.

Hopefully he’s an FFDO.

There must be a really good reason for you to settle in NJ $$ ;)

It really all depends where in NJ you are talking about. There is just no good way to get to BWI that you won’t run into traffic. I95 is miserable as is any of the turnpikes. There are just so many people that you’re guaranteed a slowdown somewhere in the trip. Early Sunday mornings are usually the exception. Even the middle of the night is a pain because that is when they decide to close a lane or two for construction.

In a previous life I had a lot of experience driving to and from NJ airports from PA. Almost every trip was on 95 or the turnpike. I would not wish that on my worse enemies.

I drive 1.5 to BWI. It works. Better than flying to work. I have to be a bit careful with which direction I go (I have 2 options) based on time of year and day of the week.

I’d suggest getting closer to BWI. We have a two hour call out and sitting reserve from home is a lot nicer than a hotel if you’re new and it will open up a lot more open time options to you.

What's your planned time frame for living in NJ? If it's a decade or less ('til the kids are out of school, etc), I'd say go for it. If it's more of a rest-of-your-career move, think long & hard. I'm a 90-min drive-commuter and wouldn't want to sign up for any longer drive than that for the long term. Good luck with whatever you decide!