“Of course I know the answer, so I choose to work from home, so no parking revenue for the garages in the area, no lunches purchased in the area, no coffee from StarBucks……. How long do small businesses survive?”
I’m retired now. But during my career my primary concern was how long and arduous the commute to work was. I probably could have greatly increased my pay and improved my career path by moving to some dystopian industrial area with homeless standing in front of burning garbage cans for warmth. But you have to ask what you want from life and how you want to live it. Nobody on their death bed laments the fact they didn’t spend enough time commuting.
Blue states are going down ‘rat holes so fast that it may be a better choice for renters to simply rent for as long as their jobs remain in a Blue state.
You have a great point, with remote work options there would be no commute time along with all the reduced costs.