Not much left in the day for yourself and to enjoy those wide open spaces, is there?[/quote]
My commute is 25 minutes, not 1 hour (though I would do 1 hour for the right job).
Believe it or not, you *are* affected by noise/congestion even while you are eating, getting ready for work, and sleeping – I have lived in areas where car alarms, sirens, and noisy neighbors woke me up at all hours of the night.