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human
[Batman] Why is Wayne Manor built where it is?

So I was watching the Gilded Age and that got me to wonder about Wayne Manor. The building's like a couple hundred years old and built on Ancestral Grounds the Waynes bought when they first moved to America before the Revolutionary War right? I'm given to understand that while they made money in the Fur and Real Estate trade, they didn't get really rich until the Gilded Age when Alan Wayne made the family fortunes in steel, oil, etc...

So that makes me wonder... why the hell would you build such a big house from the outskirts of Gotham? I mean, sure nowadays it's just a 12 - 15 mile drive I think, but back then that was what, a 3 hour carriage trip? And it's not like Gotham's stayed the same size either. It's gotten bigger and bigger through the years so the distance from Wayne Manor to the city would have been like 4 or 5 hours maybe considering how you'd have to take a ferry to the Financial Sector in the center of the city and how much smaller it was back then.

Why the hell would Alan Wayne build or stay at such a big mansion so far away that's a ten hour round trip when the man's running one of the biggest companies in America? Why wouldn't he just buy or build a house in Gotham City proper where he can actually socialize with people?

It's not like it's a summer home. It's too close for that. And the place is freaking enormous. Architectural Digest did a piece on Wayne Manor and holy hell the size of that place and that ballroom. Did they expect to hold a big party and have all the guests live in the bedrooms for a few days before going home?

And it's not like the estates have a village supporting it. I could totally understand if there was a small hamlet in front of the grounds but the place is totally isolated. Which means that the Waynes would have had what, 50 employees living full time on the premises minimum? What do these poor people do on their guaranteed weekly afternoons off or their holidays? Just read a book while unable to make a trip worth going out for?
gpt
I mean, nothing you mention is all that unusual for a gilded age mansion.  It's undesirable for it to be too close to the city.  The whole point is to be on a lot of land out away from it, that's part of what makes it the demonstration of wealth that it is meant to be.  

The distance doesn't matter because he'll have apartments in the city for business and weekends. The Manor is for the family to live at, and they don't need to commute.

Also, having 50+ live-in servants is not terribly unusual for the time.  More or less standard practice.  They'll be provided with quarters and recreational facilities for their down-time.