Don't get yourself into a situation of having a mountain of bills. That's the entire point. The American suburban lifestyle is unsustainable. People need to realize that they can't have everything they want exactly the way they think they want it. Sometimes, you have to take what you have and make the best out of it.

But when you have a "mountain of bills", then you're a wage slave. You have to put up with whatever you're told. The remote work issue would be a given if people stood up for themselves on it. But too many people are willing to give up time with their kids for the promise of a few more dollars. And I'm betting most people just haven't done the real math (not the back-of-the-envelope finagling that everyone does to justify their current lifestyle) to determine if commuting to a higher paying job is actually economical.

And the school district would be better if they kept their tax revenue there and went to a few school board meetings and showed some interest, school board meetings they probably would have time to go to if they lived in the same town they worked.