I've been working remotely from home since 2004, as a contractor/freelancer developer. Before, I had worked in a big consulting company (that one). Since 2008, I've been living so far way from big cities that since then I haven't seen the face of my clients.
Working from home, at least for me, means to be more productive, even with kids at home. It also means eventually I work more hours to accomplish my daily goals, and that can become a problem some time (the oldest son already told me "you don't know anything else?")
Depending on the client, there may be some resistance from the in-office workers that have to stay there every day. The key is to do a good work and win confidence from management.
On socializing, in the last two years I started missing more. Probably less because of working and more because of staying too much time at home.
