We talk about where we want to buy. Do we buy out in the country? Lower priced houses, larger lots, your neighbor is not on your doorstep? The dogs would love it. But then spending essentially 2 hours a day at least going to and coming from work?
Time is money. Although not paid for it, I look at the commute as being part of how much I bring home every day as it is time sacrificed from my spare time which means the longer the commute, the less I make an hour. The advantage of being 5 minutes from a grocery store if you run out or forget something is also nice. There was a study about two years back that basically said if you are 20 minutes away from a hospital your chances of survival of an accident or medical emergency drops extremely (can't remember the stat but it was shocking). Plus the myth that you are better off raising kids in a small town. May be true for under 10 but once the teen years kick in, boredom ensues. Something about idle hands... I spent the first 6 years of my teens in a city of 12 million and the last in a town of 8000. Surprisingly, I saw more drug and alcohol abuse among kids my age in the small town. Course this was Rockland but I digress...
Course cities have their detriments as well (as has been well pointed out) and this is why we still bandy back and forth over this question. Each has their sacrifices and it is up to the individual to decide what they are willing to live with and what they won't.
One thing I won't live with again, dial up internet (shudder)