> Exactly. I read so many posts on HN about living alone in the middle of nowhere being better than driving 2 hours each way in terrible traffic to sit shoulder to shoulder in an open plan office. There are lots of downsides to living in the middle of nowhere, healthcare, access to other resources, etc.

If those are the baseline options, then it's really easy to have the best of both: Have a nice comfy property 100 miles from a city, then make visits to the city outside of rush hour so it takes less than 2 hours.

(Though honestly 20 miles can usually get you quite rural.)