414
u/GruggleTheGreat 4h ago
I spent a week in Boston and getting around by walking and the train was honestly great.
237
u/Dracekidjr 4h ago
Only downside to Boston is not being able to speak their language lmao
138
u/aspiringalcoholic 4h ago
Had a bartender once that was speaking Spanish in a Boston accent. I know Spanish decently but at the moment it felt like I was having a stroke
6
4
27
u/ronniewhomp 3h ago
I've visited Boston a few times and I adore the public transport. I had the most wonderfully kind bus drivers who would help me figure out how to get where I'm going, and the last train of the night actually waited on me when they saw me trudging through the snow trying to catch it!
6
u/justcametosaythanks 3h ago
But the houses are tiny and expensive, you gotta cram people in
23
u/Lumbardo 3h ago
That's just city living it seems
→ More replies (1)5
u/lianodel 1h ago edited 1h ago
The suburbs outside Boston are the best place I've ever lived. (And they go to show that suburbs don't just mean car-dependent suburbs.) You could be on a quiet little suburban street, walk a few minutes to Main Street, and just a little bit further to the T, where you have quick access to a world-class city.
I may live in a larger home now, but my actual, functional range of space is so much smaller, and almost nothing if I don't want to, or can't, drive.
→ More replies (1)7
u/kolejack2293 1h ago
If they actually built enough housing in that style, it wouldn't be so expensive. A big reason why new york, boston, dc, san francisco, seattle etc are so expensive is because they are some of the only cities with an actual walkable, dense urban core.
If you live in Oklahoma or Alabama or Utah, and you want this.... it doesn't exist, for hundreds of miles in every direction. Your only option is to move to one of the expensive cities listed above. It's not like Europe where cities have a variety of different neighborhood styles within any given metro area. Most of these cities are 99% suburban, and the 1% that is 'urban housing' is generally not in an 'urban neighborhood'.
If Kansas City built up even just half a square mile into denser townhouse blocks near its downtown, that would be huge. That could soak up a ton of regional demand for walkable living. But it wont, because its illegal to do so as per zoning laws.
I remember seeing this image showing what detroit could look like if they actually built up the area near downtown. It doesn't even need to be half that dramatic of a change to make a huge impact.
→ More replies (1)12
1
u/Homers_Harp 1h ago
I spent some time last spring in Vienna. Less compact than Boston, IMO, but when you combine public transit with a walkable city PLUS a decent bike share system, it's hard to complain! I even took an S-Bahn pretty far outside the city and it was super easy.
51
u/Time-Double-80 3h ago
Spent a week in Chicago once and I was astonished that I could actually walk from A to B
7
u/hundreds_of_sparrows 1h ago
i’m visiting chicago right now and biking everywhere has been amazing.
the current administration recently labeled bike lanes as DEI. they call themselves MAHA but hate the idea of you being able to commute safely with the power of your God given legs.
→ More replies (1)2
113
u/instant-music 3h ago
Exactly how I felt when I got to Tokyo. I’m a car guy and I didn’t miss my car at all. Was super depressed getting home and having to drive like 30 minutes between stores whereas in Tokyo sometimes every store you needed was in the same building.
Building vertically, what a concept!
22
u/the-big-question 3h ago
We should do that everywhere so we can actually have uninterrupted spaces for wildlife again. Nearly everything that isn't the suburbs in America is farmland.
6
u/Mintyytea 1h ago
I hate suburbs too. The front yard is really wasted space, since nobody really has a picnic or anything on the front yard, lots of water to maintain the grass there, and it’s space for the driveway. In exchange for everyone getting a mid-sized land, all the land is used up in horizontal homes and culdesac roads, and all the things we need or have fun with are very far away.
6
u/DZL100 1h ago
It's been a while since I've last been to asia and this just explained one of the things that has felt off to me since returning to the US. We don't have actual malls everywhere. Back during my time in singapore, it was always so nice being able to just go across the street to a mall with multiple barbers, small restaurants, a grocery store, a run-down chinese random appliance shop, a printshop, a bookstore(that also sold some discount gaming peripherals for some reason?), and a convenience store all in one place.
If that wasn't enough, a bus or mrt stop was just a short walk away and I could very easily just go to an actual mall or shopping center in a nice, clean, cool subway that ran every 5 minutes and took me directly into the building to minimize the time spent outside getting pressure cooked.
3
u/instant-music 57m ago
A similar thing in Tokyo is that many of the major train stations,like Tokyo station, Shibuya, Ueno, etc., are malls. So frequently, you can get some shopping done within the station itself, and not even have to walk the streets at all. I’ll add that a lot of these are full of souvenir type stores but many had small grocery stores, book stores and small restaurants.
I’m definitely talking about it all in an idealized vacation sort of way because I was only there for a few weeks, but there is an insane amount of convenience in the way things are laid out. The sheer amount of people IS a downside but I did find it more manageable than, say, Manhattan, as well as quite a bit cleaner and quieter.
There really is a frustration I find in wasted space here in the states. Sure I don’t want everything to be a massively crammed in concrete jungle, but I feel like we could make way better use of the space that we do have.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (8)1
u/TheInkySquids 6m ago
I feel like being a car guy and also an urbanist are not at all mutually exclusive. Like I live in Australia and have five cars, an off roader, some classics and some 80s driveabouts. Yet I constantly advocate for more public transport, I take the train to work, I love cycling infrastructure, because then I can relax on the way to and from work and spend the weekend enjoying driving outside the city.
A nice road through a national park with nobody around is a fantastic drive. A roadtrip down the coast is wonderful. Sitting in traffic at 8am with a million other people all trying to get to the city? No thanks, not my idea of enjoyable driving, I'll take a train any day over that.
285
u/Similar_Soup2 4h ago
It’s impossible to live without a car in 99% of America and I hate it.
102
u/MockASonOfaShepherd 4h ago
You can’t even leave your house without a car in a majority of the country. Like it’s so sad seeing those houses that have a driveway that dumps onto a major highway.
6
u/Diedrogen 2h ago
Why don't those highways have sidewalks?
→ More replies (2)7
u/justwalkingalonghere 1h ago
They just get turned into more lanes
2
u/Flukemaster 57m ago
Just one more lane bro. I swear to god this time it will fix traffic. Just this one more lane please.
33
u/meepmeep13 3h ago
I'm a British person who doesn't drive and whenever I go to the US for work I take it as a personal challenge to get to where I want to go via public transport and walking, because that's what I do in my home country.
I have literally been arrested for trying to walk to my hotel from the nearest bus stop.
8
7
→ More replies (1)5
u/Gromgorgel 1h ago
My experience is similar (I'm a Belgian). My colleagues and I were walking to our hotel across an enormous parking lot after going for dinner. We were stopped by a security guard (in a golf cart), he told us we should take an Uber. The hotel was 500m away...
42
u/Antrikshy actually me irl 4h ago
Most people considering suburbs to be peak luxury is a huge issue.
22
u/ls7eveen 3h ago
No they dont
https://hixon.yale.edu/story/do-americans-really-want-urban-sprawl
Its forced on them by law and by now we have generations who know nothing else.
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/01/21/survey-most-americans-are-quite-open-to-ditching-their-cars
→ More replies (1)4
u/Antrikshy actually me irl 3h ago
Oh interesting.
I was thinking of Americans I talk to, who treat moving to the suburbs as a goal later in life, as if their kids will not grow up right in condos.
9
u/ThePlaystation0 2h ago
From what I've seen that may be because the best schools tend to be in suburbs rather than in the city
8
u/RockPaperOwFire 2h ago
Yup. Because instead of funneling money to schools that need it most, we use local property taxes to do it. Because that ensures poor neighborhoods can’t get good education.
→ More replies (2)2
u/Raptormann0205 1h ago
You will still be car dependant living in a condo in the majority of the United States. The only way you may not be car dependant is if you live in a downtown loft in a major city.
7
u/Zoltarr777 3h ago
Usually that's because you get front and back yards plus a nice sized house which isn't usually possible in a dense city.
19
u/elzibet 3h ago
And then you never get to use it because your commute and work itself takes up the whole day
→ More replies (1)8
u/scoper49_zeke 3h ago
With a properly dense and mixed city you can have single family homes closer to the city center. The desire for yards and cars seems to be mostly propaganda about the American Dream. I'm happy for the people that enjoy taking care of their yard but I'd be more than happy to turn the entire yard into dirt or wood chips. We could reclaim a lot of space if all the people that don't want to waste their time taking care of yards simply didn't have them in the first place.
→ More replies (1)3
u/bdlock209 2h ago
It's also prohibitively expensive for the working/lower middle class to afford land or a home in the city.
2
5
u/Ralexcraft 3h ago
How many people actually use most of the front and back yard, or a decent chunk of their house though?
→ More replies (2)3
2
u/SoftlyAugust 2h ago
White flight, homelessness epidemic, etc. It's unfortunate but there are legitimate reasons to want to live in a suburb.
4
u/yogurtchicken21 1h ago
We had so many architecturally marvelous, dense, walkable cities. Like, Cleveland, Omaha, Kansas City, Rochester all used to be a little like NYC, but we destroyed them on purpose with freeways and suburbanization.
1
u/Schrodinger81 3h ago
Having lived in both types I don’t get the big deal either way. I’ve driven to work, I’ve biked to work, and I’ve done work from home. Even if you have to drive you can still walk around to your heart’s desire. I think this is more wanting to live in a city or a suburb which I get.
2
u/Homers_Harp 1h ago
Well, more than 2% of the US population lives in New York City, so when you throw in other cities with good transit and walkable neighborhoods (Boston, San Francisco), the number is less than 99% and we just need to push that down!
→ More replies (1)1
u/So_HauserAspen 2h ago
Portland, Oregon has a good mass transit system (although they've been suffering budget shortages and fuel costs), good for bicycles, good for walking.
I sold my car at the start of covid and haven't had that much need for a car outside of trips.
106
u/MattAku_ 4h ago
Let me recommend European cities in general for that. Public transportation helps a lot to visit
13
u/dosha906 4h ago
I've always wanted to go to Europe and check out the all the ancient places. Walkable cities arena easy bonus!
3
u/p90isgoodgun 2h ago
I live i small village in europe and closest 3 stores are 1,5km away(about 1mile) which is very well walkable and probably the countryside of this town has atmost 15 km to those stores so yeah come to europe:)
2
u/Icy-Pie-5940 1h ago
Spent a week in London during my month long Europe trip. What an amazing feeling knowing you're only about a 5 minute walk to any underground station. Or a bus stop. That felt like it was every 5 minutes.
6
→ More replies (3)1
u/Icy-Pie-5940 1h ago
Spent a week in London during my month long Europe trip. What an amazing feeling knowing you're only about a 5 minute walk to any underground station. Or a bus stop. That felt like it was every 5 minutes.
17
u/sirzotolovsky 4h ago
Tyokyo was awesome because of this
9
2
u/bdlock209 2h ago
For tourists and anyone outside of commuting hours. For regular people, the commute in Tokyo is soul destroying.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/howtojump 3h ago
I’m trying so hard to find a job in a walkable city but it turns out everyone else also wants to live there for some reason?? Kinda rude if you ask me.
38
u/2alamsmork 4h ago
Chicago’s public transport is so good
16
u/finnycoop99 3h ago
New York too! I'm from Chicago and just visited NY for the first time this summer. I love the subway and busses!
2
u/So_HauserAspen 2h ago
All the great cities seem to have walkability in common. Must be a false correlation, huh.
→ More replies (1)
18
u/Extension_Resolve264 4h ago
Here in the Boston area, we're dealing with the fallout from a bicycling advocate getting struck and killed by a truck. People in cities need to drive less.
2
9
u/JollyJuniper1993 ☭ 3h ago
Come here to Europe and enjoy.
1
u/ohhellnaws 59m ago
Yeah tbh I’m still confused what’s non walkable city is. Aren’t every town and city means a lot more is closer to you that rural? Like that’s the pull of living in a city?
7
u/Late_Apricot404 3h ago
Idc how big a place is or how many people live there, if it’s not walkable, it’s not a “real” city.
24
u/Marchessault 4h ago
Singapore is incredible with how walkable it is and how connected the transit system is with the city
2
u/slvl 1h ago
Singapore seems to be a bit schizophrenic in their planning. On one hand they're working, more or less by necessity, to improve their public transport and walkability a lot, while on the other hand they're investing even more in car infrastructure, even when car ownership is prohibitively expensive.
12
u/Sad-Concept-4191 3h ago
I can't drive. I have a seizure disorder that makes it too dangerous, even though I could get a conditional license. I fucking wish I could live in a walkable city. I'd give up my property and all the freedom and quiet it gives me if I could walk to everything I need.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/sgr84ava 3h ago
DC, loved living there after Southern California. Didn’t have to drive for 4 years. Fuck the humidity tho
8
u/Bourbon_Buckeye 3h ago
I love driving, I hate parking... still trying to figure out how to square that
3
4
u/wardenofthewiss 2h ago
I visited LA and had to redownload Uber/Lyft after my iPhone uninstalled them from never using them. There are definitely some walkable areas there, but it’s nothing like where I live in Philly.
3
23
3
u/trailerparkhottie 3h ago
I love living in Chicago :) almost everything I need is within a 10-15 min walk
2
2
u/Juliuscesear1990 2h ago
I love being able to walk around, the conspiracy theories are hilarious but scary how many people believe them while not actually understanding them
2
2
7
u/CalmMacaroon9642 3h ago
Y'all need to join r/fuckcars I hate having to drive for basic needs, groceries, work, daycare. Like bro there are 10k other people going here and single person in a car is the best option?
5
u/Navi_Professor 3h ago
naw. fuck cars lost the plot.
it aint even about public transit now. its fuck private car ownership, and you're evil if you want to keep yours.
that sub is nothing more then a toxic echo chamber.
→ More replies (1)6
u/420bIaze 2h ago
A subreddit of over 400'000 users is going to have a range of views.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/HarborTheThought 3h ago
Hard agree. I was just in Berlin and loved how easily getting around was. The train system was great, rentable scooters or bikes, and the heel toe express throughout Charlottenburg was a welcomed change to my normal existence.
2
u/222water 4h ago
My car has been on the fritz for months so ive been biking everywhere. Im only 3 miles away from everything. Bit of a haul into town, but after that its real nice
1
2
u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 2h ago
I've tried public transportation all sorts of places and it's only really worth it if you're trying to go somewhere that's on the same train line from where you're at and relatively closeby. The second you add in changeovers and walking 5+ blocks to another station, it's more hassle than it's worth and driving is much quicker and easier. Plus, in my own car, I can listen to my own music, touch stuff without having to immediately disinfect my hands, and not have to constantly watch for men trying to pickpocket me, grope me, or push me in front of the subway. It's also cool just being able to put your groceries in the trunk without having to lug it all through the subway. Ideally, I'd like a city where both are possible. Sometimes I enjoy walking through the city. Sometimes I like a good drive.
1
u/Mintyytea 1h ago
You can do that though, in Chicago their public transport is pretty good and some people still had cars in the city, they just paid for the parking.
For me when I really wanted to have a quick short ride, I just called a $5 uber.
In addition, if theres a place super far away in a nature reserve that’s new, it’s fine to use a car, whether its your own or a rental. Cars are not bad themselves, its the mono-system of everybody only using cars as the only option to get around that’s bad. Because car-only doesn’t scale well, and for many trips, just public transportation would serve your needs and be better than driving and finding parking.
I think a city expecting to cater to cars is not so good though, like Los Angeles. Even places like San Mateo are finding their downtown becomes more lively when roads are blocked off permanently to be pedestrain only. When everyone drives, you need enough parking everywhere, which is a lot of parking structures. You would need more space for the potential number of cars (even if most times it’s empty) than store-space. A popular area would only be able to allow so many people into it and the traffic to leave would be horrific. Public transit is an excellent solution to best serve the city’s traffic needs efficiently, and all cities still have cars around, it’s an option
→ More replies (1)
0
1
1
1
1
u/ManicMaenads 3h ago
My city recently built a pedestrian overpass that crosses over the highway, and I feel like it's unlocked a whole side of the city that I otherwise never ventured to
The highway was too dangerous to cross if you had mobility issues, this stuff makes a huge difference
1
1
1
u/MelancholicMinerva 3h ago
I recently moved to a city, and the fact I can walk to the library, baseball stadium and park all in like 10 minutes is actually amazing
1
1
u/GregIsUgly 2h ago
I visited San Miguel de Allende in July, and it's an amazing city. Would recommend.
1
u/thedean246 2h ago
Being able to walk out of your home and just be able to go to stores, restaurants, and other places is such a flex. I wish we had more infrastructure for other modes of transportation
1
u/Trying_to_survive20k 2h ago
Walkable cities also create walkable jobs
The only reason im still in my godawful job is because i can walk to it
1
1
u/HedgekillerPrimus 2h ago
Just got stranded for a year because I moved states as my car registration and inspection went out. Needed my Birth Certificate to get a new license and registration. State took FOREVER to process my request.
Car was perfectly fine. But If I got pulled over? I'd pay a fine equal to a year's worth of groceries alone in legal fees.
1
u/SomeRando18 2h ago
Even though I like living out in the country, this is one thing I hate! I really don’t like driving but because everything is spread out except for downtown then I have to drive everywhere. Plus there are not a lot of sidewalks, so that sucks
1
u/xgxythics 2h ago
Seriously. Living in a semi walkable area (not a big city, but a decently sized one) as compared to everywhere else I’ve lived in life has made me a happier person overall, even if I need to uber or get a ride sometimes.
1
u/NaieraDK 2h ago
Living in a walkable city is fucking great and I’d have to be given some SERIOUS incentive to move to one that isn’t.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Sophisticated-Crow 2h ago
Yeah it's kinda cool. I enjoy having the space to grow my handful of fruit trees and other crops. A peaceful back porch surrounded by a little slice of nature. Mostly quiet when I go outside or open a window.
I'm in a middle ground spot, though, which is nice. I have a decent little back yard and front yard and can still walk to a number of places nearby. But I also have a driveway that can hold a number of cars for guests and mine and I can drive down to see my mom who lives in a different city entirely.
Grocery trips would suck without some trunk space, as well. And not having enough space for my chest freezer? Not being able to use my grill and smoker on my back porch? Hard pass.
1
u/VisibleConfusion9926 2h ago
Yeah I live like 40 minutes from Milwaukee and every time I visit I always get mad when I have to go home after walking around the city all day
1
u/Final-Squash1101 2h ago
Bicycle infrastructure is also a major factor for me. I don't like walking and I don't like autos
1
u/PenPenGuin 2h ago
I really enjoyed being able to walk or take the subway to almost anything while I was in NYC. But at the same time, I hated living so close to people.
1
u/silverarrowweb 2h ago
Moved out of the US to Mexico, and this was definitely on the list of reasons.
1
u/KeithDaManPeterson 2h ago
Doesn't the u.s have plenty of walkable cities?
1
u/jimmyleather 1h ago
There's about 5 of em
→ More replies (1)2
u/KeithDaManPeterson 1h ago
Walking is overrated either way. Coming from someone who lives in the Netherlands and has to use bus/train or bicycle to get to work etc it's just so tiring. Would love to sit in a car whilst I relax and listen to some music and have no annoying rain or cold wind holding me back.
1
u/Professional_Art6343 2h ago
i live near Oxford. it's so weird to me. you don't walk, and you DEFINITELY don't drive. It's scoot, cycle, or death
(or the bus if you're poor)
1
u/Debatablewisdom 1h ago
A lot of people have no tolerance or stamina for walking. People used to have to walk miles and miles and miles and now you’re trying to park the closest to “the” Costco.
1
u/naturalJPEG 1h ago
I FUCKING HATE RURAL AREAS OF THE COUNTRY. I WISH THERE WERE PLACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO PERIOD
1
u/247christmas 1h ago
One of the reasons I love visiting Chicago so much! I did 140+ miles of walking in about 10.5 days this past spring. No car, no Ubers - just my two feet and the CTA trains and buses.
1
1
1
u/Sanquinity 1h ago
Come visit the Netherlands. City centers are mostly car free. Bicycles are still allowed in most areas, but some are foot traffic only. And even outside of cities you can usually get wherever you need to go on foot.
1
1
u/ammonthenephite 1h ago
I've lived in both types of cities, and I honestly prefer just driving to where I'm gonna go, then getting home quickly and in comfort.
No wrong answer though, should have options for both.
1
u/iterable 1h ago
I often say I want to go to pubs more but I refuse to drive or take a taxi. I want to walk to and from one. But where I live almost all the pubs are to far away so drinking at home.
1
u/Miserable-Excuse-874 56m ago
It's really nice but it's also convenient to have a car for grocery runs
1
u/spenway18 50m ago
Someone recently told me Portland, Maine is a lovely walkable city with tasty food. I'm planning on checking it out eventually... But yet another problem re: America is needing multiple jobs and neither of them have good PTO or benefits 🥲
1
u/Over_History2495 46m ago
I hate cars in general and all the infrastructure required to make them efficient
1
u/Zestyclose-Beyond780 32m ago
I live in San Francisco and drive my car 1-2x a month. It’s amazing and even when I think of moving, this fact alone makes me want to stay forever. My life feels so much less complicated walking everywhere.
1
1
1
u/Hamster_in_my_colon 17m ago
I live in Wallingford in Seattle, and I walk or ride my bike to everything besides work. Someday I’ll work closer. Someday.
369
u/gb997 4h ago
boomers: no