Some further positivity. I am junior ish (77% from the top) on the 777 and have a very enjoyable lifestyle. The JSS dry runs have given me a roster roughly akin to what I’m after. The flying is generally enjoyable and the colleagues good for a beer at the end of the day. I am generally working 16 or max 17 days a month. It can be tiring, particularly if you get a sequence of trip/2 days off/trip for a few weeks. It seems I may be about to pick up an early LGW command after less than 4 years in BA.
The only thing moving me out of my long haul seat is the desire to see my kids every day and take some of the weight from my wife. When the kids have grown up a bit and are self-sustaining I will be able to go back to long haul and show my wife the bright lights of Riyadh and Abuja, or Boston in a Nor-Easter in January
I should say I already lived within an hour of LHR and was still in the RHS of a LCC when I joined.