"and Fog Creek had (at the time) a strict no-remote-workers policy. This drove me crazy. These were amazing employees, in whom the company had already invested deeply, who were now walking out the door because they couldn’t live in New York any more."
"Pain" is a very good teacher. It slaps you in the face and tells you're an idiot.
"Remote working isn’t for everyone. There’s a tendency to think that working from home is all sunshine and rainbows and working in your PJs. It’s not. You miss out on being around people (which wears even on introverts), doing fun stuff like playing ping-pong or having lunch together, and (sometimes hardest of all) you lose a clear distinction between work and the rest of your life"
Yes, absolutely. That's why even if I'm hired for a remote position I'll find a way to not work from home (at least not every day).
Go to a cafe, somewhere, or just hire a shared space/shared office.
You'll still commute, but to a place near you. You don't get distracted by house stuff. You can concentrate better. You can meet new people, depending on the place, and even getting from your house to somewhere helps 'tune out' of work for a little bit of time.