> I know people that take buses to "do city things", and it takes them > 1 hour to get anywhere. I know others that walk (20+ minutes) or drive (20+ minutes to

> I know people that take buses to "do city things", and it takes them > 1 hour to get anywhere. I know others that walk (20+ minutes) or drive (20+ minutes to get a mile away, or to get a few city blocks due to traffic). I grew up in a rural area, 3 miles from the grocery store & post office, a 40 minute drive to the "big" town (20k). My parents end up driving to the "big" town a couple times a week. I always thought this was nuts and looked forward to living in a city where that wasn't necessary. Now I live on the SF peninsula... and everybody regularly drives 40+ minutes to do things. Just to get dinner, go to Ikea, or take the dog for a walk in a nicer park. It's a 10 minute drive to BART or to Caltrain, too. Unless you truly dedicate yourself to hardcore SF living, your average middle-class Bay Area resident is driving just as much as my rural parents did.