yeah i did this and it works brilliantly. An airmouse can be fairly cheap. I got an elitedesk mini from a company's old hardware sale. It works wonders for now. An old laptop should work great (easier to find a used one with ok graphics and HDMI) but i found the mini pc formfactor to be easier to place with the tv.

Yeah i meant the short commute. Ofc, with more context a car does make most sense in your position. I struggle with the multiple sites of my job aswel, making it hard to go by bike everytime. Luckily that doesnt happen every day for me and it is planned so i know when i need to go by car and when i can go by bike. But getting a cargobike did mean many less car rides. Because i get to drop off the kids by bike on my way to work. And i enjoy those commutes so much more.

Dunno about safety on your roads, but a 16 km commute is an e-bike no brainer in the NL.