Where in Europe (approximately)? Life in rural Bavaria 30km outside of Nürnberg without a car is far more difficult than without one in Nürnberg, within 500m of

Where in Europe (approximately)? Life in rural Bavaria 30km outside of Nürnberg without a car is far more difficult than without one in Nürnberg, within 500m of an U-Bahn station, and Nürnberg isn't that dense. Non-ownership of a car in the mid-sized Texas city I grew up in basically meant you were unemployable for anything beyond minimum-wage jobs, and even then, employers were apprehensive, because there was a good chance you were going to have trouble getting to work reliably - there, bicycles are children's toys or for spandex-clad enthusiasts to ride on rural roads, not transportation, and the rather minimal bus system is fairly useless for people who don't need to get to the main hospital. It also takes time to wean from car dependence - it's a mental shift that took me a couple of years to complete, but now that I've made it, it contributes to the reverse culture shock I have when visiting home (central Texas). At this point, I strongly prefer the train for travel to locations in or near the rail network, even if it takes a bit longer, because I find that having to deal with a car limits what I can do. Recreational biking is easier if you can go by train. Not having to stay alert for 3-5 hours (depending on traffic) after a day of skiing means being able to afford to go more often. Back on topic: when I first found out about Singapore's CoE system and extremely high car sales taxes, I felt awful for them, because I couldn't fathom life without a car. Now, having spent several years as a transit user who shares a car that stays parked most weeks, and having visited Singapore, I completely understand. Maybe our difference in perspective is due to any restrictions on my car usage after age 16 being by choice (college, moving to a place where the car/transit usage boundary conditions were extremely different from where I grew up).