Yeah, all these things are choices. I live an hour from Philadelphia. I could make more in a big city but I like my salary to cost of living ratio. I could also walk to work if I moved into the town center but would have to up my spending on housing and lose my yard. People have lots of choices they can balance. I lived in Cambridge for a while. My apartment was a 15 minute walk to the T (public transit). I could have been right on the line but my rent would have been 50% more at least. It was a choice of what I was willing to spend and what kind of inconvenience I would tolerate.