[slight]

I lived in the UK until I was 28 and never had a car. I lived mostly in small towns and the country, never had a car, wasn't a problem.

The UK has a reasonably good public transport network though it's horribly over-priced since privatisation, especially trains.

[tezza]

try doing the school run with 2+ differently aged kids

try getting stuff back from ikea with kids

what about plumbers and tradespeople

sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££

just because it worked for you does not mean everyone else could follow suit

[slight]

I'm not trying to talk for anyone else, just giving my experience. I now live in Barcelona and have a 4 year old son. Most of the furniture in our flat is from Ikea. So while a car would certainly make things easier at times, it's not essential in many cases. Depends where you live of course. In the country with kids would be a lot less manageable I agree.

[pizza234]

As wrote above, it depends on the culture.

I can tell you for certain that kids and ikea can be handled, and are handled, without the need for a car, where the culture supports it.

Plumbers and tradespeople (and who else) are a small part of the population. That is not representative, especially considering that nobody's talking about banning cars completely.

I don't doubt that in a city without good public transport and bike support the activies above are practically impossible.

Ultimately, it depends on the direction a given culture wants to point to.

sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££

Owning a car costs, and not little. So very general statement like this don't make much sense.

[ekianjo]

indeed a car costs money so you can be sure that when most people have one it means they really need it and that its not for show.

[bildung]

I live in a town in Germany, with two kids and no car. Zero problems. If I order furniture online (or even in my town), a truck delivers it to the doorstep.

[ekianjo]

It does seem like many germans live wiThout cars. I lIved in Germany before and everyone I knew aroUnd me, in a small town, had a car and really needed one.

[majewsky]

In smaller towns and villages, certainly. I live in the city, and most friends who live in the same city don't have a car. I don't even have a driver's license. If I need a car (to buy furniture or to bring something to the recycling depot), I ask a friend to rent a car for two hours at my expense.