I have heaps of friends who commute! When I was based in London, people were commuting from as far as Boston and Greece!
There was no chance of commuting from SYD, so I had to live in London. Long haul can get very lonely, and if you don't have your close friends and
family around you, it can be very difficult. In the end, I gave up flying to amazing places like Mauritius, Dubai, Las Vegas and Shanghai, just so I could be home with the people I love and truely care about.
Here in SYD, half our base commutes from BNE or MEL, most of whom have gotten to the same stage as you ad I have with V. And they all intend to commute.
The consideration at V is more about whether or not you want to add an exra three hours to what will already be a 17 hour duty!
You need to sort out someone to stay with, when you're on standby or have a really early start or a late finish. Asking people during training is the best bet. In london, I had a quiet spare room, and offered it to commuters for about $40. I was booked solid within a week of the roster being published. Not so lucky here in SYD, so I personally can't help you out. But if you don't mind crashing on peoples sofas and offer a little cash, then you'll have no problems finding a bed. Most of the airport hotels also offer commuter rates.
The problem is the ultimate cost.
Flights $85
Accom $40
Based on 5 trips per month, that's $600 per month just to get to work.
Perhaps not on a Juniors salary, but once you get CL/FM and things become more settled, and you've achieved your 5% increase each year, then maybe you'll be able to afford it. Depends on your financial situation.
I think the best bet is hooking up with other crew during training and trying Sydney out for a while. Say the first six months. By then, you'll have staff travel, and you can make your decision.
Lot's to think about ... Hope we hear soon!