[decafninja]

I'm a 30-something and married, so my situation isn't completely analogous to yours. But we have no kids and live in a pretty tiny 1br apartment with no backyard or other private outdoor space or even a balcony. Before covid we didn't really care, but covid makes us yearn for bigger, detached housing.

My home "office" is a corner of our tiny bedroom (that said, my home office setup is still vastly superior to my work office setup).

That said, I still vastly prefer WFH. I don't have to waste time on a miserable commute, and my office environment is just plain old dreary, depressing - probably the case for most offices for "old school" companies (vs. hot and hip Silicon Valley style tech companies). I've mentioned this in other posts, but I can imagine being happier at the office if the environment wasn't so depressing and dystopian.

[Johnny555]

Before covid we didn't really care, but covid makes us yearn for bigger, detached housing

Wouldn't full time WFH make that easier to do? Presumably you live in a small one bedroom apartment because it's within commute distance of work. If your employer stuck with WFH, then you could move to a house in a small town, probably for less money than you're paying for the apartment.

[asdff]

I have been noticing a line like this in job ads lately:

"this is a remote position but candidates must be able to commute to the office"

[Johnny555]

As long as they are up front about the commute requirements (once a week, once a month, once a quarter, whatever), that's fine. Employees can decide how far away they are willing to live.

I might be willing to do a 90 minute commute once a month, but not once a week. If once a quarter, then I'd even be willing to fly in at my own expense.