I imagine the local driving jobs pay a lot less than over the road. I have a friend who does local trucking and he makes about what I make which isn't much to brag about. On the other hand, my neighbor's son does home every night trucking and he makes about 90k which pretty damn good for sitting behind a wheel. Over the road would suck. You never have the comforts of home. You get no exercise. You live in a truck and have nowhere to go when you're not driving it. That's why there's lots of jobs, drivers burn out in a short time.
otr has plenty of comfort.
Unless you have a terrible driving record, you can drive for companies that's trucks that as said, are pretty luxurious, fridge, microwave, 2 comfortable beds that fold up, enough room to stand up and move about, heat, ac, cc, wi-fi and whisper quiet inside.
Want exercise? Drive a flatbed, securing and tarping loads is a workout.
And/or a set of dumbells in the truck, there is room to workout.
You get daily time off too, regardless where you are, but again, plan your stops, go for a walk, a mall, walmart, or where ever there is parking.
Otr will have you needing fuel daily(or at least it's smart to get it every day, and you won't go 2 days without).
Every fuel up comes with a free shower.
I never found a major truck stop with an unclean bathroom either, really.
They are bleached after every use, and are tiled rooms with dead bolted doors.
There are alot of bad myths about truck driving, and they simply aren't true.
You plan your day and can deviate the route, just get there on time.
Stop when you need to, plan your time off like anywhere else.
You can work the system to make 6 figures and travel the country in comfort.
It's like anything else, some places are great to work for...some aren't.
There are Alot of schedules too.
If I had no one at home(kid), I'de drive 3 weeks out and take a week off, at home, or plan to get routed near where I want to stay. Park at truck stop, uber to hotel or car rental.
A job picking a trailer up say FL, and taking it to Wa, drop in drop yard, pick next trailer up in same yard, take to Tx, etc
No touch freight and no waiting to load/unload, just drive.
Live minimal, stack money, vacation whenever.
Pros and cons to Everything, but don't knock it til you try it.
I've met drivers from All walks of life, with degrees, past fancy careers, and they just enjoy riding around making money without any stress.
Truck driving stress is really only there when you are in a hurry trying to get home...just like in a car, lol.