This generally won't solve the commute issue; you spend time driving, parking, on the train, walking/subway to work area. And then all of that in reverse. You still 'lose' 50+ minutes each way.

I have a much shorter commute than many of my colleague who actually live in Boston.

If nothing else it's much more pleasant, anyway.

Bike to / from the commuter rail

Biking is probably slower than driving.

That's the "has roommates" part. That housing is going to be more expensive.

I live in the South Shore near the commuter rail. It's pretty affordable for someone making $80k.

Do you not have student loans? A few people in my social circle managed to get out of college without them through parents paying/scholarships and they have a much different calculus than the majority of us

My wife had some, but not a lot, and they're paid off now. So, yeah, you might be right.

I know several devs who are within a few minutes walk of a commuter rail and still deal with the hour+ commute. The best I've seen is my own 12 minute walk I had for a few months but the job didnt pay nearly enough for the rent in the same area and I had to move on to a new job, or if you get the reverse commute, but those are uncommon