3 ms·
I lived in a city with extensive public transportation infrastructure (Moscow) for 7 years without a car. TBH, I would not trade my current suburban US lifestyl
by m0zg 7y ago
I lived in a city with extensive public transportation infrastructure (Moscow) for 7 years without a car. TBH, I would not trade my current suburban US lifestyle for a high density city. Want groceries? Gotta carry them in all the way from the store (which usually within walking distance, but still, shit's heavy unless you buy groceries every day, which can be quite wasteful). Job not within walking distance (which it rarely is)? Say hello to 1-2hrs of daily commute (about 35 min of which for me was walking). Kid has hobbies that aren't within walking distance? Pain. Need to get something from a store that's not nearby (i.e. hardware, household goods)? Long commute _and_ carry stuff as well. Need to get something you can't carry? Gotta rent a car or pay for delivery. It's snowing or raining? Tough luck, gotta walk to the subway and/or store all the same. Etc, etc. Hundreds of these situations where in the US I just get into a car and go wherever I want. I don't even get wet if it's raining outside.
This "car-less" stuff only looks good (on paper) to two categories of people:
1. Europeans who never had a car and therefore don't fully understand the upsides
2. Americans who never lived without a car and therefore don't fully understand the downsides
- esoterica 7y agoThe wheel is 5,000 years old. How did you spend 7 years walking to the grocery store without realizing you could buy a cart instead of carrying your groceries by hand? Also I live in a dense city and have a 10 minute subway commute. A regular city lifestyle does not involve a 2 hour commute, you just lived too far from work for your own good.
- m0zg 7y agoMoscow is quite large, and it is unlikely that your job will be nearby. You should consider yourself lucky if you have only a 10 minute commute, few people are lucky like that. Just getting to the city center (where the job is likely to be) from the periphery (where one is likely to live) can easily take: 10 minutes walking, 5 or so minutes waiting for the right bus to get to the nearest subway station, 5-7 minutes of riding the bus, 15-20 minutes riding the subway (more if there are transfers), etc. That's one way. And it assumes you don't have to ride the bus or walk much on the other end (which is often not the case). In the winter the above ground part of the journey implies -30C weather conditions, slippery sidewalks, and other "fun" challenges.
- agent008t 7y agoGood luck with that cart in winter (snow and ice everywhere) or in spring/autumn (puddles and mud everywhere). Good luck with being able to afford to live near work (city centre). No NIMBYs in Moscow means that chances are you will end up living in a massive apartment block on the periphery of the city and could only dream of a nice US suburb where you could have your own big house, lawn, swimming pool etc.
- gerwitz 7y agoHi, I moved from the US to Europe and have lived both lifestyles. I'm calling BS on your assertions, AMA.