There's a variety of work-from-home situations. The OP describes a situation of WFH while living in foreign countries, and apparently he's also self-employed.

There's a variety of work-from-home situations. The OP describes a situation of WFH while living in foreign countries, and apparently he's also self-employed. Others (like myself, since 2012) are full time employed and work literally from home. Still others work from local coffee shops or other comfortable hotspots. As a full time employee, and having tricked out my home office with a comfortable chair and good equipment that I paid for myself, WFH is like being at the office, minus the noise and inconvenience. Financially speaking, WFH is a huge win for most of us who aren't lucky enough to be able to walk 10 minutes to the office: - I no longer commute 15-20 hours a week, which to me is worth an extra $20K a year. - I don't have to make lunch, or buy lunch. - I can go running at lunchtime, in fact, just stand up and go out the door, back in 50 minutes, and at some point I'll hop in the shower, at my convenience. - I can time-shift my work; dental, quick shopping trips, running down to the Post Office, etc. become very easy to fit in. - I can time-slice my day, getting my work done while fitting in 5 minutes here and there of practicing the piano, walk out into the woods to clear my head, or reading the news or checking social network sites without feeling self-conscious. - Privacy - Quiet - Lighting as I like it. - Can easily do the laundry. - Easily make a personal call. - Take a "youtube" break now and then, no need for phones. Ditto for having music going, though I'm more of a silence kind of guy. True, you miss the 5-minutes-in-the-hallway kind of interaction that can grease the wheels and answer questions quickly, but phones, chat/texting, Facetime/Skype, screen sharing, and email pretty much cover it. A small price to pay in my opinion.