We are relocating due to my fiancee's career. I am currently working from home. Her job is far out of the city beyond the suburbs (she is in the warehouse industry and so her employment options are typically located in industrial areas or far outside the city.)
The closest residential option for us is a McMansion type community with plenty of chain restaurants that was constructed in the early 2000's and was hit particularly hard in the 2008 real estate bubble. It would result in a 3 to 4 mile one way commute. The options are primarily 2,500 to 3,500 sf monstrosities that we aren't too excited about owning.
We've begun to look near the downtown area because the community is a lot more lively, bike friendly, walkable, livable etc. It is more expensive but we can afford the space we actually need (900 to 1200 sf). Her commute would become 18-miles one way but it would be a reverse commute. If I had to give up the work from home gig my most likely employment prospects would be in the downtown area.
If we live near downtown we are talking of becoming a one car family as practically anything I might need is accessible via walking, biking or transit which would not be the case in the very far suburbs.
I know this is the reverse problem that most people face so as a sanity check, are we crazy for considering paying more to live in a more livable community closer to the city requiring my fiancee to commute to the suburbs? Going from 2 cars to 1 car would somewhat offset the cost but not entirely. She is totally on board with the idea because she likes the idea of living in a vibrant city community and her commute will be less than half of what it is now (it's horrible but currently she does 39-miles each way) so she sees it as an upgrade no matter what we do.