I've lived both lifestyles: car free (NY) and absolutely car dependent (TX). I can say that the best lifestyle is to have decent public transit and cycling inf

I've lived both lifestyles: car free (NY) and absolutely car dependent (TX). I can say that the best lifestyle is to have decent public transit and cycling infrastructure available, for example for commuting to work in a nuclear city on the weekdays to avoid traffic, in conjunction with 1 car for the family to use on weekends and evenings: grocery runs, errands, weekend getaways, etc. In a city with sensible roads and limited parking, not monstrous freeways and parking lots that dominate the landscape like in Texas, so I can have an efficient hatchback or crossover and not feel like I'm going to get killed. And it's much more affordable to have one car for a family that gets shared. Growing up in TX, when my sibling and I were both over 16, we had four cars (!) in our household, which is absurd.