Before I retired it was 105 miles each way. I had to wake up 3:30AM in the morning to get to work at 6AM. No direct highway route. You do what you have to make it in life.
That's not my idea of "making it" but if it works/ed for you more power to you.
In California there are quite a few people (thousands really) who commute between Los Angeles and San Francisco; that is about 400 miles. If you fly that route regularly during the week (mornings and evenings) on the same airline you run into each other all the time. A similar dynamic exists between Washington DC and New York City (or NY and Boston). The people who do this commuting tend to have a well paying job in one city and family in the other city; family that they do not want to move for one reason or another. For some people, this is a strain and it can pull a relationship apart. For others the set up works just fine.
I think few of these travelers would admit it but many of them specifically like having the time away from their family (what they do with that time I won’t speculate on). Those who like this set up often have a small apartment in their “work city” and a house in their “home city.” Some commute five days a week, while others remain in their work city during the week and fly home on Friday afternoons.
Bottom line: things don’t just happen to you. We all make
choices.