[ido]

I've worked from home for years and from an office for many more years (been working as a programmer for about 16 years now).

IMO the main disadvantages of working from an office can be alleviated by just working fewer hours - unfortunately companies are not very fond of that (it's almost impossible to find a job as a programmer for less than 40h/week).

My optimal work situation would be a commute of up to half an hour (15 minutes in each direction) and working 9am to 4pm.

[dx034]

> My optimal work situation would be a commute of up to half an hour (15 minutes in each direction) and working 9am to 4pm.

I certainly agree to that but as you say, this is hard to get. A short commute is probably better than no commute (to prime your brain for the different environment) but most service sector jobs focus on large cities (since few people appear to be willing to move to the country side).

[frobozz]

This is true, but the some of the same factors that facilitate WFH can also facilitate those companies locating their offices in suburbs or in large towns/small cities.