I've lived in Europe, SE Asia, Australia, and very briefly America. I used to own a car in the UK about 20 years ago. Since then, bicycle and public transport

I've lived in Europe, SE Asia, Australia, and very briefly America. I used to own a car in the UK about 20 years ago. Since then, bicycle and public transport (and renting a car if I need one). Europe (I now live in Berlin, but I've been most places in Europe) is obviously fine. There's 3 different rail systems, plus trams, plus buses. Plentiful bicycle lanes. Big wide pavements made for walking. And the city is so compact it's possible (even pleasant) to walk to the other side in a few hours. Australia (Perth, one of their least pedestrian-friendly cities) was sometimes a pain. Do-able - I lived there for almost 10 years with no car, but it was unusual enough to be remarked on. There is public transport, and it's mostly excellent; on time, affordable, clean and safe. But the scale of the city makes transport tedious regardless of method (half the population of Berlin, about 10 times the size). In SE Asia the "public" transport was non-existent, but you could get a tuk-tuk/red car/whatever to wherever for a few dollars (a 6-hour tuk-tuk ride in Sri Lanka cost us $20, getting anywhere in Phnom Penh was $2). And walking is usually fine - hot, sweaty, and fascinating. Transport is never a problem there. In San Diego, there was nothing. No pavement. No bus service (and I was advised not to take whatever bus there was because it was dangerous). Walking to the local 7-11 half a mile away was a 20-minute adventure dealing with road systems that made no provision for pedestrians at all. Obviously I haven't seen a bunch of the places you mention (they're on the list), but so far the USA (well, San Diego) is a completely different experience from the others. I would not want to live in San Diego without a car.