3 hours each way? ? That's freaking insane. I don't understand people who drive more than like 45 minutes each day to work(with some exceptions, for example if you have kids and don't want to move them to a new school; or perhaps a wife with a job closer to home).
I used to live about an hour away from my work. But I decided it makes more sense to get a place closer to work--even though it's a small town--because I'd rather drive 1 hour each way to go out, which is probably 1-2 times per week, rather than to drive 1 hour each way to work which is 5 times a week.
I purposely bought a house 6 to 8 minutes from my work.