Living on the UWS and commuting to midtown via riverside park/west side highway doesn't count as a long commute. The only reason it's long is that you choose to bike it rather than take the subway.
Living in central Jersey (or hudson valley or greenwich) and commuting 2 hrs to midtown via car and NJT-- that's more the tradeoff the OP is talking about.
:-P
That said, another choice (may not be valid in some cities) is to split the difference-- live on the edge of cities where housing is more affordable, but commutes are still reasonable (e.g. South Brooklyn, Washington Heights).
Living in central Jersey (or hudson valley or greenwich) and commuting 2 hrs to midtown via car and NJT-- that's more the tradeoff the OP is talking about.
:-P
That said, another choice (may not be valid in some cities) is to split the difference-- live on the edge of cities where housing is more affordable, but commutes are still reasonable (e.g. South Brooklyn, Washington Heights).