The game client selects a route of 25 jumps from my Home system to the new Null Station I am basing out of. 17 jumps through Hi-Sec, and 8 jumps through Null.
Instead I’ve been taking a 34 jump route, with 21 jumps through Hi-sec, 6 through Low, and 7 through Null.
The longer route is – in theory, the somewhat safer option. It trades a couple dangerous bottle necks for statistically somewhat less dangerous bottlenecks, and has more systems with multiple entrance gates, making them somewhat less likely to be camped.
For as much as I might carefully consider these options, in the end the success of my travels comes down to a not insignificant proportion of luck. What other players are in the pipe, what are they flying, what are they doing, and where and how exactly our paths cross.
After getting my Alt into the new system in a scouting Interceptor, I poked around for a day or three getting a feel for the location. It appears that during certain time frames I will often have the place to myself. Even on weekends, with more care, I should be able to get out and about and do stuff. Deciding it looked good, I jump cloned back to Hi-Sec.
Next I grabbed a Probe Launcher fitted Stealth Bomber and flew it through the pipe to the new Station. This gave me the all-important second clone in the location.
Heading towards the pipe
I scanned down the signatures in the local system across a couple of days. On my third session I happened across a wormhole to a low sec system, only 10 jumps from my Home system, 2 Low-Sec and 8 Hi-Sec. This was a golden opportunity to move a few ships in.
First came my Main with an Asteo, then my Alt grabbed a Falcon (sorry ECM detesters, but when you only have yourself to rely on, ECM gives me bang for my Alt buck), and finally my Main returned with his Wormhole Loki. By this time, it was already well past my normally late bedtime, so I called it quits.
I don’t have proper PVE or Mining ships yet, and I need a cloaky hauler, but the variety of scouting and scanning ships I now have is a good start.
As with my travels up and down the pipe, my time in this location will very much be at the whim of other players. If a large corporation or alliance decided to move into the area there is nothing I can do about it. I was forced out of the home I tried to make for myself in Low Sec Genesis when a large pirate group active in my time zone relocated to the same systems. This new area is at the arse end of Null value, so with patience I think most groups of note will move onto better areas. I will just have to wait them out.
Evehermit 
It looks like I am too late, I meant to write earlier. My Null-Sec corp is part of The Volition Cult/Provi Block in Catch. We are mainly industrialists but consider ourselves an entry corp for Null sec life: Players enter the corp, learn what the alliance can offer and at one point move on the the corp/play style they like. We are very light on participation, there are no mandatory ops. If you want to mine (with boosts), you mine. If you want to rat, you rat. No corp specific manufacturing, our members each do their own thing. As a result we tend to collect a certain type of player, the one who likes to mine or the ones who are only able to log in once in a while. Let me know if you’d like to know more, my ingame name is Veronica VanRock.
Thanks for the thought. I have actually lived in Providence previously. So far the new home has been good – enough quite time to get things done, but enough people moving around that you have to remain on your toes.
Glad you like it. If you ever feel like moving again, our offer stands.