[cpursley]

This. Occasionally whenever I would walk the mile to our nearest grocery store (at least there was a sidewalk) my neighbor would see my while he was driving and offer to give a ride. He was always totally perplexed why I was walking and ask if my car was broken. There's an attitude especially prevalent in the south (USA) that only poor people who can't afford a vehicle walk.

I'm glad to now live in a human-scale city in Eastern Europe. There are three "western style" grocery stores with a 5 min walk and (not including all the low-cost high-quality locally-grown fruit and vegetable kiosks). It's a bit difficult to convey how much better (or natural, rather) this way of living is to my suburb friends and family back home without experiencing it first hand.

[smoe]

Some of the suburbs described here really baffle me, because of how unpractical it seems for a country that is otherwise quite focused on optimizing things for the "lazy" and businesses supposedly popping up and flourishing wherever there is opportunity.

I get that, if you have a car it probably doesn't bother you, but the amount of logistics to have your children and maybe elderly no longer able to drive shipped around for everything must be enormous? I don't have kids but just from remembering what me and my siblings did on ourselves (from getting hair cut to going to sport clubs) from kindergarten age onwards, by walking and later cycling. I'd have to hire a driver. I only remember ever been in the car as a kid when going to another city or weekend trips.