Excargodog

Not only that but some people have spouses with careers of their own, sometimes careers not readily transferable to cities that are airline bases. And people with families and extended families and friends they want to stay close to, and who like things just where they are. There really is no one size fits all plan for optimum happiness.

dualinput

Let’s say all that was true and like most people you had a job that wasn’t airline pilot and your company transferred you, or to forward your career by changing companies (regional to major) you had to move. Then what?

I’ve commuted for 8 years of my career and lived in base for 7. I can’t even tell you what an amazing difference it is. And when I say live in base I mean within an hour drive. Every airline base has nice places to live within that distance. After a little bit you make new friends and maybe even new hobbies. I really love where we live in base but if my base closed I’d be moving without question. The amount of time with your family you gain is not even measurable the difference is so vast. Many will actually bid reserve in base and not count the days til they’re off of it.

TrojanCMH

Honest questions… Do you have a wife/husband that has a career? Do you have kids in school? Do your kids have grandparents who want to see them nearby? Does your spouse have their whole family and support system in the city you are thinking about moving them away from?

I’d love to live in base but don’t have the heart to yank my kids away from their friends and my wife away from her family just so I don’t have to catch a 1.5 hour flight to goto work. I’d love to be 25 again and let my lease run its course and move wherever I wanted but sometimes it isn’t that easy. I lived in base for 10 years with my previous airline and have commuted for 6 since I left. I get how nice it is driving to work but the pros don’t outweigh the cons in my situation. I also love where I live.

But sure, all things being equal, living in base is the best option. Being single with nothing tying you down is also a good option as a pilot.

dualinput

Yes kids

Wife has the toughest career which is raising the kids but no W2 job

Moved to the area we currently live in to be near my wife’s family and I continued to commute. Got hired at spirit and was able to stay put and no longer commute. Life was great.

Ironically we are the only ones left here considering we moved to the area to be near family and it’s a big reason I’m at spirit. Over time each member of the family had life changes via career movement etc that took them elsewhere. Some of them wanted us to follow them because we I had the ability to commute and they had to live where they work. I said I’d never go back to commuting and it wasn’t fair for them to ask me to make that sacrifice when they couldn’t do the same.

I am very close with all my in-laws and my kids with their cousins and grandparents. At first everyone involved was pretty bummed but honestly it was one of the best things for us. My wife and kids were more able to branch out in the community socially and school involvement because we weren’t constantly involved with family. We all made many more friends. Downside is we have to take a lengthy drive or a flight for holidays and we have to pay a babysitter if we want to go out without the kids.

I moved several times as a kid up until high school. Kids are pretty resilient and what they get back in time from us being around a ton more is worth it.

I started this job commuting because I have a family member that’s been commuting for over 35yrs and I thought it was an amazing perk. I started to really hate this job after 8 years of doing it but I didn’t know any different. Just figured it was part of the job. Always thought the bonus was living where I wanted to live. I started to realize I wasn’t actually LIVING there. I was just there on my days off and think constantly about bidding, trading, and planning commutes. I don’t do any of that now.

Let’s not even discount the financial cost of commuting. So much money is left on the table commuting plus the actual cost of the act. You can be home a ton more and make more all at the same time living in base.

You’re also a lot more pleasant to work with. Commuters tend to be grumpier, less alert, and more stressed than in base pilots in my experience.

To each their own. Commuting is seen a perk to many. It took me a long time to figure out I wasted a lot of time and money with that mentality.

badtransam97

To each their own I guess…I’m in the camp of “my wife is the breadwinner” so if I drop down to 8-10 work days a month that’s fine with me.
I know the commute is wasted time, but I just bake that into the work days. Even then I’m off way more than my friends, plus the fam gets to be happy instead of sitting in a house or apartment in some sh*t hole city or suburb….not for us, we have 5 acres, and no neighbors that are so close they can watch us eating dinner at the table from 6ft away next door.

dualinput

I can see that if this job becomes just extra fun money and dropping down to one trip a month is viable.

Say, how do I find a wife that makes more than an airline captain?

Living in base and both working full time- hello early retirement.

TrojanCMH

I’ve known plenty of guys who are married to doctors and lawyers who make great money and can’t exactly pack up and start over in some new city. I have buddies in the finance world and some earn more than me. A busy real estate agent will even make more than us during the good years.

dualinput

No doubt there are plenty of jobs that make more than us. Heck any real estate agent in the last year is probably smoking us. But how do you find one so that you can do this job as a hobby? Love my wife and family more than anything but I failed to factor her future earning potential when we met so many years ago.

TrojanCMH

Who knows. Just saying there are a lot of reasons why someone may chose to commute and those are just as valid as someone who decides to move his/her family to a base. I agree it’s best to live in base and am a bit envious of guys and gals that do. Just can’t do it and don’t really want to for a bunch of different reasons.

FNGFO

You were judging her wifing attributes with the wrong head.