[carschno]

> "commute helps clear the mind / switch context", but a simple walk does the same

Fully agree. In an ideal world, the commute would _be_ a walk to the office.

More realistically: for those who happen to live in an environment that allows them to commute by foot or by bicycle, working in the office is already much more appealing than for others.

[darkwater]

As an European: yes and no, because that (mostly) means living in the heart of a big city and not everyone wants to do that (less living space, higher noise and air pollution)

[asdaq1312512]

The good thing is that cities actively work on reducing noise and air pollution.

[kibwen]

And the irony is that, in developed nations, almost all of the air pollution in a city comes from cars.

[TheCoelacanth]

Noise pollution too.

[snapcaster]

I moved so I could walk to work and it has made such a huge difference on my quality of life, crazy how much different a 15 minute walk is compared to even a short drive. Not sure exactly why, but for me it's a world of difference

[azemetre]

I’ve done a similar thing with the added benefit of also living in a walkable neighborhood (can walk to my doctors, theater, cafes, bars, gym, grocery store).

I really wish these neighborhoods weren’t so expensive because they are very desirable.

[bluGill]

> In an ideal world, the commute would _be_ a walk to the office.

Geometry would like to have a chat...

Most people are living in some form of long term marriage/family relationship, and the other person/people also has a job to get to. Even if we ignore zoning, force everyone into high density apartments, force offices into high rises, and so on: there is only so much space within walking distance and so a populated city will have a lot of people who cannot walk to the best job for them. There are a lot of compromises possible, and we are used to them (I live in the midwest which means I can't take a job in New York city)

[johnnyanmac]

next best alternative is efficient public transportation. But when the bus stop is 15 minutes away, runs every hour, and still drops you off an hour from your workplace, you see why that becomes unviable.

And that was for my closest first job, some 15 miles away (so, a 15-20 minute car ride). It legitmately would take me 3 hours to get downtown, with multiple stops to walk to. And even less options to get back home after work.

[yohannparis]

As I do, I have a 15 minute bike ride, more like 25 minutes when it's my turn to drop the kids at school. Then I have a full desk full of light and nice colleagues with a great office culture. I like to be able to disconnect from work outside my 9 to 5, which personally I am unable to achieve when I work from home. Kudos to those who can.

[rob74]

Well, I have a 60 minute train ride (if I'm lucky and there are no delays), a desk which is less well equipped than the one I have at home, and colleagues which are nice but with whom I don't actually work - the people I actually work with are in other offices, so I have to do video calls regardless where I'm working from. And so does everyone else, and most of them don't bother to go to a conference room or "phone box" to do it. I hope you can imagine how good that is for concentration and productivity...

[coldpie]

> for those who happen to live in an environment that allows them to commute by foot or by bicycle, working in the office is already much more appealing than for others

I take the bus, but otherwise yeah, agreed. I hate WFH, so I choose to go in every day even though my company doesn't require any office time. I love my time on the bus, gives me a short walk to & from the bus stop, and 45 minutes each way to be offline and read books.

On the other hand, if I had to drive, I'd go insane. Driving for a commute is awful.