The culture bit is what I think makes remote teams more productive, more engaged and in the end happier, when nailed in the right way. This is why I am building a platform [1] to help alleviate the cultural challenges around remote teams.
Not being in the same place, at the same time, not having the kitchen conversation by the coffee machine is something that _can_ be worked around by using the right tools and implementing the right processes where those types of conversations can happen.