I think yours and the parent's issue is in misunderstanding the difference between WFH and "remote work".
Remote work is not WFH. It is not a discussion about the home vs office environments. This is largely irrelevant.
The fundamental shift that Remote Work will bring is that it will allow people to separate physically where people live from their work activity. This means that people will no longer have to live close to their jobs - for whatever definition of "close" you have. It's one degree of freedom that everyone can get when choosing where to live.
And it is a very important degree of freedom. When choosing a place to live, one has many things to consider: is this a good environment for my growing family, will I be surrounded by like-minded people, can I find good schools, is the weather good for the kind of activities I enjoy doing the most, etc, etc... but none of that will matter in a location if the jobs are not there. In the current situation, people flock to where the jobs are because they can't afford to choose a nicer place with no jobs.
If you prefer the office environment, you can and will be able to have that even when Remote Work becomes the norm. The key point is in understanding that your office can now be in SV, Texas, Croatia, some city in South America, South East Asia or the Ukraine and you will (should) not be missing out in any professional opportunity.
Remote work is not WFH. It is not a discussion about the home vs office environments. This is largely irrelevant.
The fundamental shift that Remote Work will bring is that it will allow people to separate physically where people live from their work activity. This means that people will no longer have to live close to their jobs - for whatever definition of "close" you have. It's one degree of freedom that everyone can get when choosing where to live.
And it is a very important degree of freedom. When choosing a place to live, one has many things to consider: is this a good environment for my growing family, will I be surrounded by like-minded people, can I find good schools, is the weather good for the kind of activities I enjoy doing the most, etc, etc... but none of that will matter in a location if the jobs are not there. In the current situation, people flock to where the jobs are because they can't afford to choose a nicer place with no jobs.
If you prefer the office environment, you can and will be able to have that even when Remote Work becomes the norm. The key point is in understanding that your office can now be in SV, Texas, Croatia, some city in South America, South East Asia or the Ukraine and you will (should) not be missing out in any professional opportunity.