When I was at Google, you pretty much needed to be in MTV to get a good shot at the most interesting projects. I'd argue that if you want to have a career there

When I was at Google, you pretty much needed to be in MTV to get a good shot at the most interesting projects. I'd argue that if you want to have a career there, you should go to the main office where your hallway serendipity is more likely to involve people who can actually bring you into a career-making AI project (instead of typical drudge work). Of course, it's different for everyone, and I was only there for 6 months, but if I were to do it over again, I'd work in MTV. I'd also advise everyone, regardless of traffic or weather, to show up in the physical office 5 days a week. To make remote work work, you need a culture where in-crowds and promotions and ladders don't matter (they'll always exist, but some companies give them more weight) and where people are pretty much assured that, even if they never get another title bump-- because those things happen less when you're not in-person-- they'll continue to get work that they're happy with.