I know several "distant commuter" workers here in the US- in the case of my acquaintances autoworkers and university faculty. As a rule, they go home for the weekends. I did it myself for a year, about 20 years ago. Rather than permanently move for the job, the family stays in the "family home" (often with a better school for their kids and/or safer neighborhood) and the employee either rents a cheap studio apt or motel room (as I did, or in the case of the couple autoworkers I am thinking of) or lives in on-campus housing (in the case of the faculty) during the working week. Better paying job, with benefits and family health insurance at the cost of only seeing the kids on weekends and vacations.
Granted, a different situation than China, but our culture has evolved differently. The willingness to better provide for one's family even at the cost of separation is the same for both.
