[Vrondi]

Most of the time, if your employer is in town, housing there costs a lot more for a lot less (or the same) space. Many people cannot afford to double or triple (or more) their housing cost in order to live in town close to their work. Employers aren't willing to pay you more if you live closer to work in order to compensate you for this increase in costs. And then, there's no guarantee that this job you've arranged your life around will be permanent or career-long, so why do it? Why increase your rent or mortgage immensely to use more of the identical paycheck for a decreased standard of living with no guarantees of employment stability? And that's before we consider any other factors like where the better schools/less violent areas/etc. might be for raising children.