Can we omit the indefinite demonstrative pronoun "ce" in this sentence?

Question

Le problème pour moi, c'est que notre nouveau quartier est assez loin du collège.

Le problème pour moi est que notre nouveau quartier est assez loin du collège.

Are these two sentences grammatically correct? If so, what's the difference between them ,then?

I prefer the second one because it would be the closest to the English translation:

My problem is that our new...

Of course the first sentence is fine in English too but I feel like— not sure though as I'm not a native English speaker— that if I use it, there must be two sentences not one or that there must be a pause after "problem":

My problem? It is that our new...

Or

My problem— it is that our new...

But the thing is, I see that "C'est" used all over the stuff I read in French and it's so confusing especially if we already have a subject for our verb like my sentence above: "le problème" is the subject for the verb "est" so why repeat it by using "ce" ?

Answer 1

Both sentences are correct and idiomatic. I would say the difference between them is at most a slight nuance, as using "c'est que" you actually repeat twice the subject (the c being "the problem"), thus insisting even more on it, in this case on the fact it is a problem. If the sentence is long enough you could use this also in order to bring back the subject "closer" to the verb:

Le problème, pour peu que ce soit un problème car l'offre de transports en commun est assez étendue et quoi qu'il en soit nos enfants peuvent se déplacer à vélo, c'est que notre nouveau quartier est assez loin du collège.

Answer 2

You use "ce" you provide a certain opposition to what has been said when that is not what matters much (for instance, someone's is trying to guess what your problem is what they say is not the description of your problem); however, if there no such context you can still use "ce" and there is no great difference between the two; you can then omit it.

(ref) Le problème pour moi est que je dois me trouver devant mon ordinateur à midi et à 18 h 30. Je suis comme une chèvre à son piquet.