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> But for city folk cars are a luxury Cars aren't a luxury. Being a "city folk" at all is the luxury. Being able to afford a place, where you can outsource all

> But for city folk cars are a luxury Cars aren't a luxury. Being a "city folk" at all is the luxury. Being able to afford a place, where you can outsource all of your errands to poor people, is the luxury. Being able to live in a place where "you can walk everywhere you need" is a luxury. (Not just in location and housing, but in job flexibility and leisure time, and in safety). Having the lifestyle flexibility to completely re-write your entire life around extreme high expense and very limited options, is the luxury. > shave off $1000 from your rent, and instead spend that same amount on your car, in addition to now having to sit in traffic jams for an hour or two every day? No, thanks. For a regular average American, it's more like "pay ~$400/month TCO to own a car, to save $1200/month off your rent". Generally speaking, no one actually spends money on a car, because unless you've made a terrible mistake (or are especially poor), a car earns you more money than it costs. And that's before you get to all the other benefits -- (cheaper housing, larger housing, higher-quality housing, safer transportation, free personal distancing, disease-resistance) -- most of which are especially relevant now that we live in a never-ending-pandemic society.

zip1234 7y ago
At least around me, people buy houses that are not in walkable places not because they can't afford somewhere else. It is because they can get some massive new house with a huge yard and gas is cheap so long commutes are fine. We subsidize roads so much that they can drive 30 minutes/30 miles to work every day and back. Meanwhile there are houses that are 1/3 of the price that are only a few miles away from their work but they are also smaller houses.
- o-__-o 7y ago
  Interesting, can you leave the source where you determined we subsidize roads so people can move to wealthier neighborhoods? Because last I checked, we subsidize roads so big trucks can drive on them every day. If we didn't have trucks and buses, our roads would easily last 100 years.
  - zip1234 7y ago
    Sure we also subsidize them for other vehicles too. https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Bragging-rights-or-embarrassment-Katy-Freeway-at-6261429.php https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Braggin... Edit: would also like to point out that the billions that they spent to widen that freeway 10 years ago did not reduce congestion because more people built in sprawling suburbs 30 miles from Houston: http://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/ http://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/

zip1234 7y ago

At least around me, people buy houses that are not in walkable places not because they can't afford somewhere else. It is because they can get some massive new house with a huge yard and gas is cheap so long commutes are fine. We subsidize roads so much that they can drive 30 minutes/30 miles to work every day and back. Meanwhile there are houses that are 1/3 of the price that are only a few miles away from their work but they are also smaller houses.

o-__-o 7y ago
Interesting, can you leave the source where you determined we subsidize roads so people can move to wealthier neighborhoods? Because last I checked, we subsidize roads so big trucks can drive on them every day. If we didn't have trucks and buses, our roads would easily last 100 years.
- zip1234 7y ago
  Sure we also subsidize them for other vehicles too. https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Bragging-rights-or-embarrassment-Katy-Freeway-at-6261429.php https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Braggin... Edit: would also like to point out that the billions that they spent to widen that freeway 10 years ago did not reduce congestion because more people built in sprawling suburbs 30 miles from Houston: http://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/ http://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/