[ajmurmann]

I bought a brand new Kia Soul for $20k and am very happy with it. I greatly enjoy driving twisty rural roads, especially in Europe where speed limits don't change for every curve. However, I dislike driving in urban areas where it's all about avoiding an accident and looking out for other drivers doing stupid stuff. Even worse if I'm driving somewhere new and have to navigate at the same time. So stressful!

What I really dislike though is living in a place that's made for cars. I miss walking to a grocery store to pick up a few things, walking to a friend's to hang out or just walking to a bar or restaurant to meet up. I've lived in the American suburbs now (mostly due to affordability) and hasn't had that experience in a long time. However, I recently had to do a unusual trip to a city in Germany near where I grew up and stayed at a downtown hotel. I mentioned to a friend that I was there and he texted me that he and his girlfriend happened to be having dinner in a restaurant not far away. Just being able to walk over and sit outside on a street filled with other diners, playing children and some guy playing piano was incredible. I'm not sure if this is all due to car centricity or other circumstances like having childhood friends in that city, it was a beautiful summer day, I was going through a tough emergency and seeing friends is extra nice then. However, given all the caveats I don't think I'd headed over to meet them if I had needed to get into a car, find parking etc since it was very short notice and I didn't know if I had 10 minutes or 3 hours till I had to go back to the emergency situation.

What I do know is that I do badly want more of that all the time!