This is not the reality for many out there. Some people can't simply "not live an hour away from work". Rent costs are extremely high in the cities.

Pre-COVID that was the reality for many. But even post-COVID, certain types of commutes can actually help mentally "separate" the work time from home time. Working at home it's a lot harder to "go to work" and/or "leave work behind" when you "come home".

A friend used to say that majority of people who work from home fall into one of two types of people, the kind that never go to work or the kind that never come home.

Yep it’s especially prevalent in salaried technology leadership positions. I know some colleagues work from home without too much difference in productivity and stress. Unfortunately, I am the other side of that coin because I have to constantly remind myself to be disciplined. If I am left to my own devices I will be so absorbed in the work aspect and enjoyment of little wins that I won’t leave enough mental bandwidth for my personal relationships. I prefer the office to work from home assuming the hours are flexible. The location change is very key to my ability to mentally and emotionally disconnect from work.

Tell that to the voters who decided to put in Yet Another Lane on the highway instead of building housing closer to jobs. I'm going to wind up being remote for a year, and my job still refuses to let us work remotely permanently.

So sorry, it's not that simple.

do you mind sharing what type of job? is it tech? are you a programmer? asking because not everyone on HN is a programmer.