Standard fret wire is called Nickel/Silver, but in actuality contains no silver.  The composition is brass (82%) and nickel (18%).
* Stainless steel (wrap) string metal is harder than standard fret wire, and so fret ware is a major concern in choosing to use stainless steel strings.
* Pure nickel (wrap) string metal is softer than standard fret wire, and so would be easier on your frets over the years than nickel-plated steel or stainless steel strings.

Some things about me:
I started buying my own guitar strings when i was 13 years old.  At some point in the 80's i started using D'Addario strings.  I do use other brands but i'm definitely what you'd call a D'Addario user.
Because i've been using D'Addario strings for so many years, EXL110 and EXL115 are (by default) what i compare most other strings to.

I tried .08s and .09s early on, but i had come from acoustic to electric so i was used to some tension.  When i was into floating Floyd Rose tremolos, i used .11s.  Sometime in the mid 90's i went back to .10s and since then have gone through phases where i'll use one or the other gauge for a couple of years at a time.
Right now i use .11s on the one electric guitar that is always tuned down & open (c#g#c#fg#c#); also sometimes in a cover gig situation where we're tuned down a half step: i use .10s on everything else.

Most of my guitars have Floyd Rose trems - i'm so used to them it's just hard for me to play without 'em.  They're bolted in so that they don't move (on my tele there is no hole through the guitar; the Floyd is literally bolted to the top), although on two of my guitars it's fairly easy to get them floating again (about 5 minutes).

For 2-night or 3-night gigs i will leave a set of strings on all weekend.  But even for 1-night gigs i will change the strings before a show the following week.  My gigs are always three sets a night - either 45 or 60 minutes per set.

For whichever guitar i'm playing around the house at any given time, it's usually no more than four weeks before i put fresh strings on.  It's not that the electrics need to be changed that often; i'm just neurotic that way (i guess).

Several times i have had guitars that i'd strung up as backups during for a yearly festival that i play, and then left those guitars in their cases for nearly 12 months.  Unless i had gotten water or beer on them, they were basically fine (slight discoloration here and there, but sounded almost new).

For electric guitar i mostly use Dunlop .73 (yellow) picks.  Because of how often i play acoustic, i'm pretty heavy-handed and i play fairly aggressively (especially live).  Even with the .10s though i'm not prone to breaking strings.