Commute from MEL to SYD for 6 months?

Would you consider commuting from Melbourne to Sydney?  3 days per week in SYD.   Only for 6 months.  If so what do you recommend that would maximise the lowest airfares and points as well as a hotel/apartment in SYD.  No loyalty with Virgin.  Silver with QF.  Thanks for your thoughts.

Heh, 3/4 of me say I would.
Guess thats because I don't have any other half to worry or care too much about.
Depending on the fare, if you use Excel, would you make QF SG half way through, or at least 3/4 way through.
Not sure about apartments, but one thing I would do to save a bit of $, is to get an Opal card for public transport, and using it to get around, using the 400 bus from a train station to SYDd airport will also save you a lot of money.
Airport Motel Sydney has an iffy reputation, at Au$101 per night but its close to int and a bit walkable to get the 400 bus.
Or you could go with Ibis budget Sydney Airport, no, not that full service one, but the one near the dom terminal, for Au$129 per night.
I am not in the Airbnb thingo but you could go that way, might be able to make an arrangement with owner for you to pay a bit less over the whole 6 months, at least you know you will be staying at the same place each time.

Yes I'd do it if your family is OK with it. I'd be reluctant if I had children at home.

AusBT wont let me put in the link, but there is an ad on Gumtree, for a houseshare, for a place up at Gordon (upper suburban Sydney), for a fly in fly out at Au$60 a night.
Cheaper than hotel, and its 27 mins by car, more by train from Sydney CBD to Killara which is close by.
I think that accommodation will be one of the more expensive things to consider, after flights.

You mean staying in Sydney 3 days per week and 4 days in Melbourne? 1 commute per week?

Yes I'd do 3 days in Sydney and 4 days in Melbourne but all at my expense.

Thanks will check that out, hadn't thought of that and agree hotels are expensive, great idea.  Thank you 

Thanks for the advise, transport will be a big part of the cost and time so I do have to weigh that in.  Thanks also for the thought on working out the QF status.

While cheap, I'd probably avoid staying in Gordon unless your workplace is anywhere near there as those travel times seem very ambitious. My old office was out there and it was normally 30 + minutes on the train to reach central. When driving to the airport in the evening I'd have to leave by 5pm sharp at the latest to be confident I would make the 7pm flight home. 

Before you gain status I would suggest thinking about joining the Qantas Club (or virgins version). While it is an expensive up front cost, compared to the cost of getting an airport coffee and pastry in the morning and something more substantial in the evening (rough maths of 26 return flights x $30 (min.) for both of those meals), plus the ability to put a jacket and bag down somewhere and not having to worry too much while going to the bathroom or carrying food to a table may make it a worthwhile purchase.

I'd definitely contact Virgin about this - they might even consider giving you a discounted fare if you are able to commit to buying all your sectors at once, and make sure you ask them for a Pilot Gold card as part of the deal. If you make sure the fare you book is Elevate or above, your Pilot Gold or Gold card will also give you the benefit of Fly Forward if/when you need it. Otherwise, I believe their Accelerate program might work given the amount of flying you'll be doing -and that gives you 2 pilot golds to play with as well.

Julie: When  replying to a message that includes a quote, please do not delete the '/QUOTE' bracket after the quote: please instead simply type your message underneath, otherwise you're deleting the formatting and making your entire message appear as a quote.

Once this has been done, we're unable to 'fix' the quote in your message, so to speak. :)

Hi Julie, I have done something similar before for 2 years (2013-2015). If cost is the most important factor for you, try the suggestion below:

Flight: Try to fly Jetstar from MEL(Avalon) to SYD, most of the time the airfare is $49-$59 (6am flight), even come down to $35 during promotion. Get a Jetstar credit card to avoid booking fee and accumulate Qantas points and book your flight ahead. (I used to book 6 months in advance especially during promotion, usually only 2-3 tickets available for $35). Don't worry about delay or cancellation, I only have one cancellation (due to heavy rain and storm in SYD) in 24 months, for some reason this route is pretty reliable.

Accommodation: Try to find a sharehouse via Gumtree or other websites, I was lucky enough to find $250/week for one room in 3 bedrooms apartment in Edgecliff (which is a very convenience spot). Make sure you live close to train station.

To/From Airport: Make sure you use public transport, as point out by others. Get an Opal card, $20 return to and from airport (if you do a round trip within a week) + other costs (around $3.8 one way, depend on which station you get on and off)

Good luck and all the best.

If you are Virgin Silver you get a discounted price to join lounge and if you make Gold status then you are pro-rata repaid the joining fee.  

Also if you catch skybus in Melb buy the 10 trip to get discount plus 1000 velocity points