[andrepd]

Cars are a viable option only on low-density rural areas + long distance trips. Short distance you can do by biking (e-bikes are the modern evolution of the old two-stroke scooter) or walking. In high density public transportation is massively faster, cheaper, and more efficient that personal automobile.

[_dain_]

>In high density public transportation is massively faster, cheaper, and more efficient that personal automobile.

This assumes the public transportation is competently run, which is a rarity in the Anglophone world. In the UK I think the only good one is TfL.

Meanwhile Birmingham has a million people and no metro.

The one time I visited NYC the subway seemed third world.

[jfk13]

UK here: My brother and my 3 (adult, independent) kids all seem to manage fine without cars, and have done so for years. Only one of them lives in London, the others in much smaller places.

Sure, there are plenty of areas where it would be really difficult. But there are also a lot more places than just London where it's perfectly possible, depending on family circumstances and lifestyle choices.

[_dain_]

Yeah I live car-free in Cardiff. It's doable. But I won't kid myself and say that the public transport is good. It's mediocre like every British city outside London. It's a city of half a million and we don't even have a tram. As a nation we have far too low expectations for public transport.

[vanilla_nut]

You're entirely right that public transit in the UK isn't great. Compared to European countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, or Switzerland, it's mediocre. But compared to American transit it's incredible.

Two big differences in country design:

- in the UK, I felt like I could get to any town by transit. I imagine that isn't strictly true, but compared to the US, where I live in a half a state that's entirely devoid of any trains... big improvement

- UK cities are walkable, that is you can generally get anywhere just on foot. In the US cities I've lived in, downtown generally supports foot traffic, but as you get further out the sidewalks disappear, get scarier, and never have anyone walking around then.

[olddustytrail]

Glasgow and Edinburgh are fine for public transport.

[nicoburns]

Most cities in the UK are small enough that you can walk most places. Maybe combined with catching a bus into the center and back out again. Birmingham is possibly in an awkward middle ground where it doesn't have good public transport but is big enough that that's awkward.