Living Below your Means vs Living in Base
#11
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Joined APC: Oct 2015
Position: Gear slinger
Posts: 2,971
I hear what you're saying. It's the rate in combination with the increased price of housing. Renting out my current house from another state just sounds like a giant PITA I would rather live without, not to mention my portfolio would be almost entirely real estate between two houses once we finally buy wherever we decide to live.
A 6% interest rate is high compared to what we locked into, but it's not that high from a broader historical perspective. What's tough is 6% on more than double the house.
A 6% interest rate is high compared to what we locked into, but it's not that high from a broader historical perspective. What's tough is 6% on more than double the house.
#12
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Joined APC: Aug 2005
Position: 18%er but I’ll enforce UPA23 to the last period.
Posts: 469
Even the easiest commute is still a commute and commuting takes every job down a peg. A great job is a good job, a good job is now a moderately crappy job, etc. With that said there are always going to be reasons to suck up the commute. Something to think about though is while you are wise to consider being able to still afford where you live in a downturn, would you still be a senior FO in that case and able to make the commute tolerable (eg being able to bid commutable trips, or have enough days off between blocks of work, being able to hold lower line values, etc). The first day I didn't commute to this job is the day I told my wife that going forward if we were to ever move, pick a domicile city and we will live within a 2 hour drive of it. Even when junior I can get a pretty good schedule be being able to "bid weird". Since I don't need to worry about commutability or minimizing out of pocket hotel rooms I have a lot more leeway in how I "restrict" my schedule. I'd look at a few things like how much premium do you miss out on not living in base and would that make a difference at your current seat/rate? What are the schedules of those at your seniority who have upgraded look like? Would those be tenable for you living in base? What is the likelihood of your commute getting harder? Do you have a current drive option? Is there an option close to the domicile but maybe a 2-3 hour drive that you'd consider? I will say, nothing beats driving to this job. My car is never weight restricted, oversold, or has a senior/first in line for the jumpseat. Even when I end up flying some of the crappier/less desirable trips it just means I got a block of days off I wanted and nothing better came along to trade. I took some trash to get some treasure if you will.
#13
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Joined APC: Aug 2020
Posts: 2,339
My wife and I have been wrestling with this question for a bit. Bought a house before getting hired at a legacy, locked in our mortgage at a cheap 30 year fixed rate and now I commute for Delta. The common conventional wisdom is to live below your means so a pay cut would not be some devastating event should an economic down turn occur, but if there ever was a reason to subject our family to such risk it might be living to base.
We are restricted to where we can buy. We live in a nice area with good schools for our kids and frankly don't want to give that up. Looking at comparable living situations, we'd be almost tripling our monthly mortgage expenses, likely forcing me to upgrade or work the system more than I am currently as a fairly senior FO.
I don't mind the commute so much, but obviously not having to commute anymore would open up a ton more possibilities in this line of work.
We are restricted to where we can buy. We live in a nice area with good schools for our kids and frankly don't want to give that up. Looking at comparable living situations, we'd be almost tripling our monthly mortgage expenses, likely forcing me to upgrade or work the system more than I am currently as a fairly senior FO.
I don't mind the commute so much, but obviously not having to commute anymore would open up a ton more possibilities in this line of work.
#14
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Joined APC: Mar 2018
Posts: 2,516
My kids are grown, it is cheaper to live in base and I still commute. This job lets you have tons of flexibility, let your life be the driver. You can make the money work either way—only you can decide what is best for your family.
#18
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Joined APC: Sep 2014
Posts: 910
tough call. I’m locked into a good rate as well. don’t commute but was toying with the idea of moving closer to the wife’s family on the opposite side of a 1:30 drive to NYC. Would go from 3 to 8 for the kind of house I would want. Could make it work as ER A but never in my life did I ever think I’d be contemplating an 8k mortgage payment.
#20
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 888
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