Question about US Senators/Representatives and home state residency

I've been doing some research on Rick Santorum into the story about how he basically is a citizen of the state of Virginia and it brought some questions to mind that maybe I don't understand since I've always lived in an area close to DC where Senators could easily commute.

As you all may know, Rick Santorum doesn't live in Pennsylvania even though he is our senator. He owns a rental property where I've read it's actually a relative of his who lives there but he uses it as his "Pennsylvania" address. Technically he owns a really really expensive home somewhere in Virgina where his his wife & kids live with him full year round and use Pennsylvania tax dollars to home school his kids.

Ok, this is my question - knowing the amount of time that US Senators & Representatives have to spend in Washington DC, it's obvious that most of them probably have some sort of home in the DC area. I mean, should we expect someone like Barbara Boxer, who lives in California, to pretty much give up ever seeing her family and do the long distance commute to DC? (you can fill in the blank with any Senator/Representative, btw).

So I'm assuming that these folks live in the DC area and many of them probably bring their families too so they can be near them. Probably only the surrounding states of DC have folks who actually commute (I know Biden, Carper and Castle all commute to DC).

So what do these other Senators/Reps do who have to balance time between their job and their family (some several 1000 miles away). Also, what is acceptable for someone these folks?

was that he was pretty much a DC resident who lived in an expensive mansion in one of the really wealthy DC sections

http://www.tennessean.com/government/archives/03/04/31786118.shtml?Element_ID=31786118

Six members of Congress live in a million-dollar Capitol Hill townhouse that is subsidized by a secretive religious organization, tax records show.

The lawmakers, all of whom are Christian, pay low rent to live in the stately red brick, three-story house on C Street, two blocks from the Capitol. It is maintained by a group, alternately known as the ''Fellowship'' and the ''Foundation,'' that brings together world leaders and elected officials through religion.

The Fellowship is host of receptions, luncheons and prayer meetings on the first two floors of the house, which is registered with the IRS as a church. The six lawmakers — U.S. Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga; Bart Stupak, D-Mich.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; and Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; and U.S. Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev.; and Sam Brownback, R-Kan. — live in private rooms upstairs.

Rent is $600 a month, DeMint said.

I mentioned this in my post below!

that was REALLY creepy

and leave their families back home. (I'm recalling Gary Condit's situation in particular.) I think I've read that some Senators/Representatives room together to save costs (unless they're Sam Brownback and co. and have a fundie group to pay the rent on a mansion for them).

Its not uncommon for them to move their families and have their kids go to private schools in DC.

There are some who live in their Congressional office and go home every weekend. Others share an apartment with another member of Congress.

If you're in the leadership like Daschle, you need to have a DC home because you don't get to return to you district as often.

What did he do with his home back in South Dakota?

It has been documented that Rick Santorum sold his home in Pennsylvania and for 2 years actually did not have any residency in PA until he bought a rental properly and uses that as his address (oh and relatives actually live in his rental home).

I would like to think that Daschle still had a functional home back in South Dakota even if he did spend more time in DC