3 ms·
i have lived in san diego, los angeles and auckland for the greater part of a year each, without a car, and i didn't live downtown in any of those places. befor
by em-bee 3y ago
i have lived in san diego, los angeles and auckland for the greater part of a year each, without a car, and i didn't live downtown in any of those places. before i moved to san diego i thought this is it, i'd have to get a car now. but no, i was able to arrange my life around public transport and avoid a car.
a car is not objectively better.
the greatest pain point from my perspective: parking.
do you know how ridiculously expensive parking is in los angeles? it's insane.
public transport, even as bad as it was in those cities gave me a lot more freedom to go to the places that i wanted to go to within the city at least.
the only benefit for a car would have been to go on road trips, explore the rural areas, etc, but that's not something i'd have wanted to do on my own anyways.
- nradov 3y agoNow try it with a spouse and multiple small children who can't walk long distances.
- em-bee 3y agofair point, but i don't see much difference. we still have to pick a location with some public transport, shopping and ideally work nearby.
- foxyv 3y agoThe best part about building our neighborhoods at human scale is that you don't have to constantly act as a taxi for your children and family members. They can just walk to where they want to go. It's also much friendlier for disabled folks because they don't have to worry about getting destroyed by a Mercedes while crossing the street in a mobility scooter.