Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. I had an ex-employer want me back. They have a 40hr/week culture, mostly onsite, ass-in-seat. I asked for part time (3 days per week) remote. They didn't love it initially. Probably hadn't occurred to them as an option, but after consideration they accepted. Better 24hrs/week than zero I suppose. And I was more motivated to add value for the few precious hours I was on the clock. I bet I produced nearly as well as anyone else physically there (but mentally less focused)
Whenever your web app, mobile app, etc depends on a network response, Charles Proxy (https://www.charlesproxy.com/) can be super helpful. It sits in between and captures all the HTTP request/responses and allows you to manipulate them. So, you could capture an API response (or request), manipulate it, then let it continue. It also let's you interrogate the requests easily.
Long time ExpressVPN user here too, switched from BoxVPN which was slow and unreliable. ExpressVPN on the other hand has been well worth the cost. As mentioned by others, their software is A+ and stays out of the way for the most part. I don't use it to stream netflix while traveling, so that's never been a problem for me. I'm on a gigabit network at home and have found that the throughput speed is pretty good...beyond satisfactory for sure. I don't plan on switching.
— https://mint.com for your spending habits — https://rescuetime.com for your computer habbits (email, web, apps)