With this as your starting point, I agree.

Here is more advice that I was given early on:

Whether you believe that you CAN or believe that you CAN'T, you are always right.

This applies in survival situations just as much in running your day-to-day life.

If your life depended on finding an affordable home closer to work, do you feel comfortable that up to this moment that have you have done everything possible to make it happen? My guess is that you are a survivor and if your life really depended on it, you would figure out some way to pull it off. Real estate turns regularly. Unless you are looking every day, there is always more property to look at. You never know when a bargain distressed property will hit the market.