Today I read about a study confirming something I've always suspected: that long commutes lead to unhappiness. The major finding was that

a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office.

The study goes on to state that people tend to overestimate the benefits a large house in the burbs will bring them while underestimating the pain of a long commute:

the more time people spend deliberating, the more important that extra space becomes. They'll imagine all sorts of scenarios (a big birthday party, Thanksgiving dinner, another child) that will turn the suburban house into an absolute necessity. The pain of a lengthy commute, meanwhile, will seem less and less significant, at least when compared to the allure of an extra bathroom.

This study is like a breath of fresh air. Yes, countless studies have been completed on why suburban living is bad and urban living is good, but they usually focus on latent issues, and not on the behaviours why people choose one over the other in the first place.