Living on the family "farm" places some restraints, but also allows us to live where would otherwise be far beyond our means. The proximity of home and work is mostly luck. Under different circumstances, commute distance would be a major consideration for me, but my wife's job isn't in a set location and wouldn't make a difference.

Having lived in Europe for almost 5 years, I noticed folks there are more likely to dress up, but there are still plenty who dress casually or are total slobs too.

I don't own a suit and never wear one even for funerals or weddings, I do have a tweed jacket for when I dress up, but I'm mostly thrift store "LL Bean" casual. I find people who put too much emphasis on fashion to be shallow and pretentious, personally preferring a happy median. The current trend of tight and short is uncomfortable and unappealing to me.