This is kind of a false dichotomy. It's not like your only options are living downtown 2 mins walk from your office or living over 100 miles from your office.
100 miles is like working in Manhattan and living in Catskill. Which actually lines up pretty well with what OP said, Google says thats 3 hours by public transit and 12 hours by bike..... But it's also 2 hours 20 mins by car.....