Most people at Eastern eventually get a base of their choosing. Some people get it straight away but others may have to do a stint somewhere else to start off with. The process for base changes was rather 'fluid' when I was at Eastern (4 or so years now) and perhaps things are a bit more structured now. The flying at Eastern is reasonably good if your starting out in this game.
Ryanair might appeal since you would be accruing jet time but if you are married then I would urge you to exercise a degree of caution. The majority of people who probably pay for jet type ratings are young and unattached and will probably happily go to Afghanistan or the Congo if they were offered a job there!
Unless your other half is willing to uproot and move then since you can't move and go to where the work is, then you will be selling yourself short to those people who can move abroad.
However, we are in times when many people are out of a job and I am in the same boat as you at the moment. The best policy is to take the first flying job that you can get that will pay the bills. When things pick up again then we will all be able to be a bit more choosy!