i'm not criticizing your personal choices. i'm old and i can't afford to buy so i really screwed up. but as a matter of policy I'm not sure we should be encouraging exurb development by trying to twist transit around that.

more broadly i think the US (whatever combination of govt and industry) has failed to provide well for the guy with a job that wants to invest in property and possibly to raise a family. even with two incomes.

as you say, the promise of job stability is looking increasingly illusory

the job market putting you in a position where you are killing time in traffic for 2+ hours a day is a pretty clear sign of that failure