I have to drive 100 miles to work on short haul. Its do-able and two hours notice to report is achievable barring unforeseen traffic jams, but it's certainly tiring. I find it tolerable because I work on a touring fleet and can go to work for three, four or five days at a time, however it's impossible to completely avoid day trips which means spending 4 hours on the road to spend 3.5 hours on the aircraft. In addition it'll really hit when you have an 0600 report and need to get up at 0330. It just takes one bad nights sleep and you'll barely be able to function for the rest of your multi-sector day. It also gets to you at the end of a long and tiring day when you really just want to go to bed but you've got to drive instead. Plus you'll feel an overwhelming compulsion to speed all the way home which can rack up the points on your driving licence very quickly if you have a run of bad luck.
In terms of homelife, well I'd say I don't actually have one at the moment! You need to bear in mind that sometimes its just not worth driving home between trips, so you get to spend a costly night being bored in a B&B somewhere. Also what can look like a good roster (e.g. off duty 1900 Friday night) can look less attractive when you won't be home until 2100 at the earliest and everyone you know has already left for wherever they're going. Throw in a weekend visiting friends or relations once or twice a month and I can count the number of nights I spend in my own home on my fingers.
Commuting that sort of distance is not uncommon, even on short haul, but the people who are committed to it generally have strong family ties where they live and are prepared to tolerate the drive for that. If your only reason to move to the midlands is affordability then I would suggest you stay in the south and buy somewhere small that you'll actually see, rather than a northern mansion that you'll be a stranger in.