I think one of the worst things about America being so car dependent is that kids do not leave the house anymore. They don’t walk around town or bike anywhere. If they want to hang out with their friends they have to get their mom to drive them to their house, or get their moms to drive them to a specific location and then pick them up at a certain time later. Kids have no way of exploring the world around them without planning in advance what their ride situation will be.
I was shocked by how bland and boring American kids' lives are when I first came to the US. They literally can't go anywhere without their parents driving them, thanks to the terrible public transit.
So many times I thought how clean and beautiful are these places but now I am realizing how much tough it is to just feel the nature which is absolutely free. What I like so much about American house and neighborhoods is, it has so many trees.
As a kid, I was fortunate to live in an older style suburb that had opportunities to leave the house and ride bikes and at least some decent walking to small stores. I never realized how fortunate the environment was until I lived to other parts of the country
I'm 19 and live in the suburbs and I have no car, and I'm completely dependent on my parents and other people to get anywhere. The nearest bus is a 1.5 hr walk to the mall, which would be a 10 minute drive away. The nearest grocery store (Walmart) is a 30 minute walk away and there are barely any sidewalks, crosswalks, etc. A year ago I applied for my job because it was one of the few remote jobs available entry level, but now they've moved to a hybrid schedule and I need to walk over an hour to and from work part of the week because there's no public transport near me and Uber is expensive. People who cannot drive a car or do not have a car are almost kind of punished and ostricized. It shouldn't be this way.
If possible maybe you can move to an older suburb in the Philadelphia, New York or Boston area. I grew up in an older suburb where I could walk to small stores for basic errands and there was a trolley station where I could go further for more errands
This!! I'm often insulted for not driving at 21. I have a huge fear of driving because there's a huge drunk driving issue in my city and I was already sent to the hospital because of a drunk driver. Focusing is also very hard and I'm visually impaired. Seeing in the dark has gotten harder for me as well. It doesn't help that some vehicles have lights that don't allow you to see too well either.
@@bigbk3278 get a car loan, then a mortgage, then a better job (maybe student loans too???), for better car/house, health insurance, medical debt,...family?? then more debt trap,.... get out now at 19 before american debt trap catches you. When I was in europe I saw lots of people living with less things and less desires, walking everywhere, eating much less food too, just paying their taxes, have NO DEBT and living happily.
While visiting a friend in the US, I once suggested we could go for a walk around her neighbourhood. You know, so I could get a feel for the place and to get some fresh air away from the roommates. She found this idea charmingly adventurous.
Tf? Who doesn't occasionally walk around their neighborhood? At least the city I'm in, it's very common for people to do that, or they know it's common to do it but don't want to. Somebody finding that adventurous is quite uncommon, at least where I'm from. The only reason I'd think that people would find that adventurous is if you live in the downtown area or in a big city like NYC.
@@Phillowownz why don't you move to Europe if it's so wonderful? If you hate America so much why do these videos? You could move to one of these wonderful places and find out about all the problems they have.
@@peterwelby You seem easily offended by someone who has pointed out the truth and yes European countries have some bad stuff too but the US not much of walkability,good transportation,or cycling paths can impact some Americans.
This is my biggest problem with North America. In Canada I knew of the problem but didnt understand the scale until I worked at a factory and saw the reality. People drive 2 hours a day just for work. People often live in semi-rural areas where a cab is $60+ and there is 0 transit. Throw in alcohol dependence and thats what you get.
I had my first seizure when I was 19 due to adult onset epilepsy. The worst thing about it was the fact that I couldn't drive (I'm in TX). I spent a total of 2 years being unable to drive due to seizures and it was horrible. Made it super hard to do anything. I couldn't get a job because there's no public transit and there's no way to get a ride from someone every day, no rideshare either which even if there was it would be super expensive. I pretty much became a NEET for a lot of that time. Easily the worst 2 years of my life.
@@brandonm1708 seizures got under control. You have to be seizure for a certain period of time depending on where you live. In Texas it's only 3 months which is lower than anywhere else (other states are 6 months to 2 years) but you also have to have permission from a doctor. Most doctors here in TX think 3 months is too short so I would have to go 6 months without having one.
I live in an American suburb yet I have never owned a car in my life. Although it takes time to walk places I value the open spaces and would not want to live in crime ridden American city.
In USA life without a car is so limited and distressing it causes hopelessness and depression. But we have a "Mental Health Awareness Day" now so that should help.
Mental health awareness is not enough to save people with mental health issues who are living in poverty with depression and massive amounts of stress each day.
I didn't thought things in Usa are THAT bad, but this video really opened my eyes. I live in small town in Poland with around 3000 inhabitants. I could easily do all of these 3 things: go to grocery store, eat dinner and buy clothes, just under one hour by simply walking. Even if public transport sucks here and closest big city is 60km away. I have sidewalks on every street, bike lanes on main street and even some bike roads to closest villages. And suburb next to Minneapolis in "wealthy" country like Usa doesn't have any of these... I can't imagine how would I be able to live in such a horrible place like this?
When you grow up here you get numb to it I guess. I mean no one actually likes it like this but it’s all they know. They don’t know another way of life is possible.
You don’t have to live in a suburb u can easily live in a nice apartment in a walkable neighborhood and is usually cheaper than a house in the suburbs.
Smaller towns and cities in the U.S. are generally very walkable. I live in a city of 14,000 in Oregon and I have a full grocery store, several convenience stores, a laundromat, bank, a movie theatre, restaurants, and other shops within a 15-20 minute walk. The older neighborhoods and downtowns of large cities are also pedestrian friendly. Suburbs, though, are often bad for anyone who isn't driving, especially those built since the 1960s. It's worse in the central U.S. than in other parts of the country because sprawl has been allowed to occur unchecked, partly due to the lack of mountains or older developments.
@@scsstopmotions989 But, most people still need a car for their job, kids, etc.. It is the rare lifestyle that can do reasonably well and not make major sacrifices without a car in the US.
@@DDBurnett1 True. And, sadly, it is illegal to build most of those small-town downtown areas today. The zoning laws don't permit it. The obsession with R1 single-family zoning and strict separation of residential from any commercial in most cities prevents walkability. It is the rare city that zones for mixed-use that was the norm until the age of the automobile.
I live in Stuttgart, Germany. Getting groceries is a 4 minute walk, getting to a mall takes 20 minutes through walking and public transit and dinner is an 8 minute walk, but you can extend it to 15 minutes to have a wide variety of options of where to eat. Stuttgart is considered a car-friendly and car-infested city in Germany with lots of traffic in and around it, but you can get anywhere you need to go, without a car, in a reasonable amount of time. This video is shocking…
The traffic comes mostly from outside the city, since there is no way to build around. I just visited Stuttgart and besides the cars, it has a nice public transportation and walkable streets without cars. I love Stuttgart.
I stayed in Köln for about a week and even that city was surprisingly walkable. And it was a scenic place to be! I love how in Europe there’s always a cheap way to get around.
@@tybarker5038 Sofia, Bulgaria is like that as well. By foot you can have (almost) everything needed in 15-20 minutes. And by using public transportation, it is even faster.
A few things I don't understand about US life now 1. How do people drink alcohol since they must drive everywhere. It seems like the only option would be to drink alone at home 2. How do people go jogging and dog walking with these suicidal roads and lack of footpaths? 3. If you take a plane across the country to another city, then what do you do? Are you forced to rent a car? Life just seems impractical and restrictive there.
@@ElZilchoYo 1. Not sure, but I think alcohol is unnecessary. 2. I guess they find a path that isn’t suicidal. Pets are generally unnecessary as well. 3. Yes, unless you have contact with a family member or friend. Where are you from
@@ElZilchoYo Their only option is to drink at home? Unfortunately no, people just drive drunk. We constantly hear lots of cases on the news of drunk drivers causing deadly accidents. It's so common no one thinks it's that shocking. People also usually drive 30 minutes to a park or a gym...or neither.
It's funny. As someone from Europe, I'd often watch Kitchen Nightmares America with Gordon Ramsay. They'd talk about how their business is struggling and how they just don't know why! Being an innocent naive European person, I'd always look at the exterior shots of their Restaurant and be like "The location!! It's horrible! That's why they don't get customers, they're located on the most ugly street I've ever seen!" And I thought it was a coincidence that ALL the Restaurants featured on the show had similar locations. It literally took RUclips urbanists to let me know that apparently all food places in the US are located on horrible stroads. As someone who is used walking to a small little family owned place in the middle of a pedestrian zone near a little spring or surrounded by trees... this was quite the shock! Americans are really missing out. The soul needs peaceful places designed for people. Places you can discover spontaneously and organically. A Starbucks off an intersection ain't it.
And because these food places are on stroads they need to be corporate chains or franchises in order to survive. People driving down the stroad won't stop at your business if they don't recognise it from 500 feet away
This idiot makes it seem like all of US suburbia is designed this way, lol. Most have an arterial road that looks like this, the rest is UTTERLY walkable in every way, shape, and form. It is perhaps the whiniest fucking video I've ever seen in my entire life. Oh no! You had to... walk somewhere and you had to do it while adjacent to a bike lane that you didn't like the look of! Oh, heavens no!
@@glenngordon846 The channel Not Just Bikes has an excellent video on that. Basically it's a street that's designed like a road and becomes very dangerous and unpleasant because of it.
The United States decided "the car is the future" back in the 50s and overbuilt for it, not for people, while also actively removing the robust public transportation the country used to have. Now, everyone is forced to drive a car because all the other options are either inconvenient, nonexistent, or dangerous... and the constant "freedom" propaganda patting the backs of the motor vehicle and petroleum industries reinforces this economic dead end. It needs to do better.
Actually we did the same in the Netherlands. But then there were a lot of protests in the 70s of kids on bikes being run over by cars. We then decided that every road user should have equal rights to the road. In the end this is what made our country the best for walking and cycling. Those sub-urban roads shown in this video would be considered illegal here.
@@SanderEvers I really hope what happened in the Netherlands happens everywhere eventually. If we're going to reduce our emissions & not decimate the environment in other ways, we need to build so we can do more with less. Electric cars are not a solution, they're barely even a bandaid. Plus it just improves life in so many ways. Car-centric environments make the world hostile to everything that's not a car & I hate that everyone's just accepted it. The old boomers moan about how "kids don't play outside these days", but they've made outside uninhabitable.
@@InnuendoXP electric cars are a non solution. They don't do anything to make the environment more walkable, they don't make pedestrians any safer than with ICE cars, they're still big and heavy (esp with those batteries). I'm convinced that EVs are just a lazy solution to justify keeping roads and highways exactly the way they are now. If anything, they're less creative and imaginative than recreating our infrastructure to serve people once again.
To highlight just how "free" it is, consider this: the primary method of identification throughout the US is a driver's license. Now, if that does not seem unusual to you, it's likely because you grew up here.
Yes. You do need a driver’s license for ID and since I didn’t need a car in Philly I got a non-driver’s license, and then the same in NJ (both around 30 years ago). But since 99% of New Jersey is suburb I finally got a drivers license and car at 25.
So you can get a normal state ID as well. But I’ve had friends who have had theirs not accepted because it’s not a drivers license. You can’t make it up that some places won’t even accept a valid state ID because it does indicate you drive. This was to buy alcohol at a baseball game by the way.
@@aidarosullivan5269 We do, but they are not really used for anything other than international travel. A driver's license is expected for nearly everything else, and most companies will not even hire you if you don't have one.
So when you lose your license you lose your ID? But i guess a US license is cheap and easy to get? Here in Germany its super expensive, you have to take so many hours of private driving classes, theory classes, first aid class, ... before you can take the tests.
thank you for bringing more awareness to this issue. im chronically ill, blind in one eye, and have never felt confident driving. after my friend died in an accident last year and i almost died, my life has been ruined by driving anxiety. im trying to get over it, but it just feels so unsafe for me. but it's impossible to live here without driving, even though i live in a city with 130,000 people. my 15 min commute by car would take almost 2 hours by bus. this country simply doesnt care about disabled people. just look at these comments. people saying we're whiny and weak for not being able to drive. yes, i am weak. i am literally disabled and have an incurable autoimmune disease. what am i supposed to do about it other than whine and hope others start to care?
@@RAAM855 key word is "commute". Having to use ubers just to take care of basic necessities becomes prohibitively expensive very fast, especially depending on the city
@@RAAM855 whenever I had McDonald's delivered directly to my job (which was literally right across the street!) It would always cost at least 30-50% more than had I just walked over due to the delivery fees and markup
@@RAAM855 That fails to solve the problem. It is meant to be cheaper, it is public transport there for the public, not public transport there for those with heavy wallets. A fifteen minute drive being a two hour bus drive is *hilariously* bad. Where I live the worst conversion of a 15 minute drive is a 30 minute bus trip.
I am surprised the cops never tugged your collar & accused you of being a stray vagabond . From what I heard in parts of the USA if you don’t own a car ,they think you’re from another planet .
Yeah, I remember visiting a friend who lives in a suburb. I walked to the store. Took like 20 minutes, which is fine. But I remember I was the only person walking outside. Everyone has a car in a suburb. And the people in cars stare at me walking like they never seen a person walk to a store.
This is one of the big reasons why I moved to walk, bike, and transit-friendly Berlin after over 40 years in the US. I was paying well over $1,000/month for 2 cars for a family of 4 in depreciation, insurance, maintenance, and fuel. And, not to mention the stress from driving and lack of exercise. And, I save in other ways like not needing a gym membership, Costco membership, etc.. I can always rent a car in 15m time blocks the rare times when I need one. I am happier and healthier here and am kicking myself for not doing this sooner. And, Berlin is not even the "best" transit city or Germany the best transit country.
Maybe the US should have followed both Europe’s and Japan’s footsteps by improving and upgrading the railroads and public transportation rather than letting the oil industry and automakers pressure us into an unsustainable lifestyle.
The scariest thing for me walking in the suburbs is running across the huge streets without getting run over as many intersections don't have traffic signals. The most annoying is having the bottom of my pants dirty when I have to walk on the wet grass and having mud all over my shoes.
What the hell are you talking about? I grew up in the suburbs and I cannot imagine a scenario where you would ever be forced to get mud on you for any reason whatsoever. Use the fucking sidewalk, lmao. Half the comments here like "ya suburbs suk i used to hate [insert mundane task that every human on Earth contends with]
@@davemccombs Nice that you've lived and experience every suburb in the entire US and can share your experiences with us. You're a real gem for letting us know 💎
As someone with massive fears of driving, the amount of roads with no sidewalks or bike lanes genuinely makes me think it should be a requirement so people can still travel with less fear of being hit by a car
I'm epileptic so can't drive, made it impossible to hold down a job in the suburbs. Had to move to a more urban town where I ride my e-bike on the sidewalks. Life is good now, but I empathize with the sentiment completely.
So you can't go a year without seizures so you can get/hold your driving license? I went years with atleast 1 seizure pr day and everytime that happened the clock resets (one year without seizures to drive), luckily orfiril and lamictal works and now i've been driving for years! So good luck and stay healthy! Greetings from Norway
@@Kay-jg6tf It took about 15 years to find the right meds but I finally have it under control. However in that time I totaled 3 cars having seizures at the wheel. Couldn't drive for 6 months after the first, then a year after the second, and after the third the state said 'send us your license you're done bro' and I agreed lol. It's been 6 years since I've had a seizure but with that history who knows if I should ever drive again.
This is one of the many reasons I left America. I now live in Istanbul where there are many bakeries, cafes, and markets within a minute's walk. And, the mass transit system is excellent.
@@WillmobilePlus Embarrassing. Americans can't take one comment about another moving away from our country without talking shit. But I bet you're one of those who'll also say "if you don't like it you can leave" whenever someone has an opinion differing yours.
@@WillmobilePlus and if he doesn't work online or has his own business then I must agree that that's very odd indeed, he could just move to a better place in the us or idk, something even more developed than his homeland such as netherlands
As an international student in the US, getting around the city/ suburbs is quite a task.. There is okayish public transportation, BUT weekends are quite bad since every bus/ light rail isscheduled like 30-45 minutes apart. For groceries, the nearest supermarket is like 30 minute walk away and I dread the days when I have to get those milk cans. The bike lanes leading up to the university are a joke as I see those petrol-guzzling monstrosities called "pick up trucks" frequently making generous use of a fricking bike lane! I don't know how I've made it 7 years here without a car, but thanks a million 'Murica- I lost 20 kilos and haven't been fitter lol!
I lived in a Detroit suburb for a summer and my girlfriend visited from Germany. She didn't have a car and so I said she should walk to the town. She said that the entire time it was loud and people wouldn't stop staring at her. She was so uncomfortable that she never tried it again... American bare minimum is well below the global standard... Also, how do you crank these videos out so fast?
I remember waking home from the dealership when I was getting my car worked on... Literally no safe way to get home. Just had to run across a busy intersection.
This is what I wish the people who don't care about this would understand. What if you get an injury that means you can't drive? What if your car breaks down? What if the road closes for whatever reason? The go-to argument is "just take an Uber", but have you thought about how prohibitively expensive that would get? Wouldn't it be nice to have options when you need them?
@@safe-keeper1042 yes I know some people say just take an Uber, but those can change the prices unlike a bus or a street car. They don’t set prices they can go up based on how much demand that Uber has at the time you want it
4:25 This right here is the reason why a lot of people are financially struggling. Because almost the entire majority of our country sees a car as an absolute necessary. Because you can't go to work without it. Not to mention basic tasks you tried in this video. I also feel bad for the disabled and elderly people are left abandoned to die if they don't have anyone to drive them everywhere. America is turning into a pretty shitty country.
I'm getting awfully tired of American exceptionalism only being invoked to defend things that America is exceptionally bad at anymore, as though that makes it okay to be bad at something. We really need a new vision for the future, rather than just clinging to the broken stuff we have now.
As a European I dont get it, dont have a car then dont go live in a suburb lol. Tough luck for the kids but they will just say “theres no bike lane so I cant ride my bike” and complain about it on youtube instead of just riding it on the street like everyone without a car does🤦🏽♂️
@@blanco7726 Blanco, in Europe in every city there are suburbs but also many living opportunities (flats) closer to the city center, still at a reasonable price. The problem in the USA is that it is completely forbidden to build houses in the commercial areas. You have to live only in a suburb because houses are allowed only there. Furthermore: in European suburbs there are still some shops (grocery shops) that are reachable by bike or walking. In USA suburbs ANY commercial building is forbidden, bars, restaurants, grocery shops, and even doctors are forbidden!
@@BICIeCOMPUTERconGabriele I doubt there's no option other than suburbs. You have the city for one, which should have some cheap real estate, since in general half the workforce in a city is not that well off.
Man. This video resonates with me. I grew up in the Netherlands, and always dreamt of living in the US for some time. I got an internship in Silicon Valley and thought I had won the jackpot. The best, most innovative high tech region in the world. That stay was a huge disappointment and frankly also an enormous eyeopeners on how much of an influence proper city planning influences your everyday life. EVERYTHING sucked in Silicon Valley. The infrastructure in the 'most bike-friendly place in the US' in near to non-existent and biking there is dangerous AF. I didn't have a car nor bike during the first 2 months of my internship, which meant that every single 'standard' activity costed a ton of planning and time, or was just near to impossible. Just like this clip shows. Doing groceries meant at least a 40 minute walk basically right next to a highway. The 'city center' of the city I stayed in was basically a giant parking lot. It felt like walking around some kind of industrial area. Nothing to do there, no nice little streets, no place to sit in the sun and enjoy a drink. The public transfer that does exist is ancient. BART (the Bay Area's 'light rail' system) looks like it was built in the seventies and didn't get any update, let alone maintenance, since. And that's just the traffic infrastructure. Silicon Valley should be the peak of technology and engineering. In reality, many places don't even have proper electricity. Electricity infrastructure that does exists consists of wires attached to old wooden poles, with shortages happening all the time. Technology used is maybe from the 80s? Here in the Netherlands, all wiring has been put underground more than 40 years ago. The US is nothing short of a Third World country. Most places in Asia and Africa look a lot better than what I have seen in the US. And that's the richest part California, of the richest state of the US. I can only image the state the rural US must be in. Disgraceful.
Lol and SF is considered one of the top US cities in terms of biking and public infrastructure. That tells you how low a bar the US has for this. Americans pay a lot of attention to the inside of a house...but it comes off as overcompensation for paying no attention to how the outside environment works at all
Hey, ik begin binnenkort aan de tu en zou ook graag in silicon valley willen werken uiteindelijk. Denk je dat het beter zou zijn als je wel een auto zou hebben? p.s. Welke studie heb je gedaan?
How is the US a third world country? Bike lanes and public transport are not an indicator of what a first world country is. Especially when the people of the country simply don’t want it because they’d rather just use cars and they can actually afford to do so.
@@cowfat8547 How is the US a third world country? The leading cause of death for children is firearms, beating out cars, and life expectancy for US citizens has been declining. How is it not?
@@flagrarus The US life expectancy is higher this year than it’s ever been. It really seems like you don’t understand what a first world or third world country is because you haven’t been able to give a single valid reason as to why you think it’s a third world country. The only people that would even suggest that the US is a third world country are people that have a personal vendetta and bias against the country.
One of the features of a free country is that you don't need a special permit from the government that licenses you to go to school or visit a grocery store. A country that relies on private cars for transportation can therefore never be truly free
lol holy woke nonsense batman just say "I can't afford or drive a car yet but I will one day," damn! 🤣🤣 Cars exist so freedom is not? Because there are clear and obvious safety measures in place? Oh hell no, 13 year old, hell no
So what is stopping you from moving to a city? Too expensive? BS. You can move to any minority neighborhood and live cheaply and have all the mass transit access you want. What’s that? You say you are scared of blacks? Why? It’s not nice to be racist, you know. Take a diversity class, do some homosexual exploration of yourself and learn to love and live. A cheap apartment, some cool fresh out of prison neighbors who want to top you(hope you are a power bottom), and the dirtiest subway cars can all be yours. Nothing stopping you. All your talk of not being able to live the dream is nonsense. The cities are waiting for you!
Having no Sidewalks in a populated Area speaks on so many social, economical and cultural levels. It´s so weird to see as a German. Only expect no sidewalks around Autobahns or Interstate roads and even interstate roads gradually becoming parallel Sidewalks and Bike Lanes even in the middle of nowhere. What are the elderly People with no car are doing? Thanks for sharing.
It’s one of the reasons elderly people drive way beyond the point of it being safe for them to drive. We want them to give up driving when it’s unsafe for them, but do not give them safe alternatives. *sigh* 😔
Older neighborhoods here from the 70s and 80s tend to not have sidewalks, as it was seen as an eye sore and attractive to buyers at the time to not have one. Older and newer homes have sidewalks. Elderly people drive with no car as even walking is to far. We also have assisted living homes which you live on your own but they have staff to help you with things like getting groceries. Then nursing homes for people who can't take care of them selves. When I worked in a coffee shop every morning we had a group of old men come and sit for a drink. Over time the group started to shrink and one day the guy told me he is legally blind but still has a drivers license. That he no longer feels safe driving and we won't be seeing him anymore and this was his farewell morning coffee with the boys. Growing up I felt safer riding my bike then I do now. So I have not ridden a bike in over 15 years. My childhood home had really nice sidewalks that were not up against the road and had a ditch between us and them, and as a kid you are allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk. You can get a ticket for riding a bike on the sidewalk as an adult and must use the right lane of traffic. It was a 10 minute walk to a forest with trails we use to ride our bikes through. A 20 minute walk to the mall and a 10 minute walk for groceries. Now I have 3 busy roads surrounding my subdivision with the south road connected to both of them and needing to follow one of them. The one north of me has skinny sidewalks that have cars passing by at 60km/h about 2 feet from you, east has no sidewalks but is more of an old industrial area becoming commercial and west of me is regular sidewalks with busy roads.
Canada is quite similar in a lot of ways. However, I noticed that when I moved to Calgary, most suburbs have their own little "town square", where you can buy groceries, get dinner, a haircut, and other necessities within walking distance. There is also a bus route that goes through all of the communities that will take you to the closest transit station or shopping plaza/mall. Pathways lead through parks and cul-de-sacs, which sometimes even makes it easier to just walk vs. driving to the store. I see a lot more people walking here compared to the US. Calgary only has about 1.3 million people, but it's spread out over the size of all of NYC (including Staten Island). I'm not saying that this is ideal, and Calgary is definitely not a good example of urban planning, but it's a huge improvement compared to most American suburbs and goes to show that IS possible to maintain walkability and quality of life despite the suburban sprawl if municipal governments are willing to provide the funding for it.
Most Canadian suburbs are far worse. Where I live, not a single street, even major roads, have even a single thin sidewalk on one side, not a single local store. The suburbs are still being built, and nobody can afford to move in, but of course it's pretty much illegal to build anything remotely dense. If I want to walk to school, I have to walk through a busy, 6 lane highway, and a large 6 point intersection, and I ahve to walk in the street. I fucking hate this country..
I'm amazed at some of the poorer suburbs where the house looks like it is falling apart yet late model cars are in the drive. The priority seems to be a car over everything else.
Some poor people also prioritize 300 dollar shoes instead of a rack of clothes so what's your point? You need a shoe as much as you need a car, yet I don't see a video about how shoes are needless...
@@AB-pl1ko yes, the guy who made the video mentioned it as if it's the only option. I guess most people in the US would feel poor if they were to buy an older second hand car which I guess can be very cheap in the US. But no it has to have the best air con and electric vibrator in the seats. Just imagine how much cars we make we don't actually need. Imagine the amount of wasted energy and material. Just imagine how much phones we are making which we don't need. This is why the US is draining the world of its energy. The American people are the biggest consumers, per capita, in practically every category-gas, food, energy... It's absurd. Imagine if 1..6 billion Chinese consumed that much. Then we have talks about global warming coming from the US. First you clean your own backyard
@@TheRocknrollmaniac - this reply is just in regards to vehicles. One major reason for that in the US is leasing allows a person to 'punch above their socioeconomic status' so your can lease a flash car that makes you 'look' wealthier than you actually are. To too many that superficial perception is the most important thing they want to project to others/potential mates.
My bestie literally just went to Toronto to work for her family. We're both from Gdańsk, Poland, where we always travel using only public transport cause having a car in the city is unnecessary and expensive. So yeah, she's staying at her family's house in suburban area. Her family is on a trip to Ireland, so this first week she's alone. With no car. For last 3 days she's been telling me she's never felt so lonely and depressed in any place in the world (she's a solo-traveler and been to many places before). It takes her 30 minutes to walk to the nearest market and walking through depressing, same-looking, straight-line streets is not ideal. Same with going to the park. Where we live, and in a lot of cities in Europe, parks are usually very well connected via public transport. There, everyone drives to the park. We didn't know parks could ever have huge parking lots in front of them! She either has to walk 45 minutes to get there, walking through a highway (highways going through the city are also a new thing, as in Europe highways surround the cities, so their centers can remain closed for cars) take a 20 minute suicide bike ride, or go there by a bus, that mostly doesn't even come and, of course, it can take you there, but there is no return line. So yeah, she can't wait for her family to return from Ireland and drive her places, cause she says it's the most depressing trip of her life.
Ugh grow a pair, get a car, rent a car, the hell. Call a uber like why are yall so anal? Europe has the same looking streets too over and over. Is she a child? So people take their car to the park, whats the difference if you had taken the bus? We drive get over it!!!
In the city, Toronto can be quite public-transit friendly. However, the buses in the suburb where I used to live (Vaughan) it’s inadequate and up north in Aurora it’s non-existent. Canada is a lot like the US in these cases and it’s nothing to be proud of.
I can attest to that loneliness part. I moved to a different state for a new job and I'm here alone, no friends or family, and I'm just sitting in my house alone whenever I'm not at work. I'll literally do 16 hour days by choice due to literally having nothing better to do.
@@pianosbloxworld4460 The east end is improving, adding in bus lanes from Toronto to Oshawa about 1/10 done. They added in a new bus route the 900 which follows highway 2 all the way to Oshawa from UoT Scarborough campus that has busses every 15 minutes. Since most people live pretty close to the 900 and work along highway 2 in these cities it has improved the no car life. But it is still horrible compared to any Europe city.
This is basically why I missed Korea as soon as I left. Even with army restrictions breathing down my neck, the possibility of being called back onto base at any time, and nighttime curfews, there was still so much more agency that one person got out of their own two feet and a wallet. You could literally just walk out and get some food if you wanted, take a day trip to Seoul, go out and get drunk with your friends and still be able to simply walk home, whatever you wanted to do. I come home, and it's practically desolate in comparison.
Your videos explain why, as a retired person in the US, currently in the Seattle area, I'm forced to consider only Europe and parts of Latin America as suitable retirement destinations. My requirements include, a walkable medium to large city, affordable rent, good healthcare, good public transportation (don't want a car), cafe culture, museums, galleries and historical sites and a moderate climate. A laid-back lifestyle and better quality food is an added bonus in many of these other countries. After watching many, many videos and reading many articles, I feel there really isn't a place for me, and thousands like me, in the US. Also, I do have adequate retirement income every month, but I refuse to continue to pay high and increasing rent amount. If there were cities in the US that met my criteria I would happily stay.
@@rbasket8 Yes, quite a coincidence. A beautiful area to be from, for sure. The reason I'm seriously thinking of planning an exploratory trip to Valencia and Alicante is that even though I've been in the Seattle area for almost thirty-two years, I'm originally from Santa Monica and Venice, California and would love to again live near the water and beautiful beaches. Add in the Mediterranean climate, wonderful people, food, wine, walkability, cafe culture and history of Spain and you really can't do much better.
@@brianwhite1189 Never been in USA or California, but knowing from outside, Alicante (Murcia and Almería) is like the SoCal of Spain. Alicante eventhough has a lot of suburbia sprawl because of construction booming, and the thousands of northern european retirees that live there. But there are also high density and balanced areas. I even know "secret" places next to the sea (literally) perfect to be built (I am studying architecture so I always take a look at those things).
Wow, I went food shopping this morning (near Brighton, UK) and walked past a clothes shop and several restaurants on the way. 30 minute round trip. I've a feeling that the car industry had some input into urban planning in the US years ago which accounts for a lack of alternatives. In the UK, most cities and towns were already here long before the car.
Oh it did. I have a book filled with pictures of my city in Massachusetts, from about a hundred years ago. We have a population of 40,000 now, a century ago it was much less. But there was a cable car. Lots of cities had them. General motors bought out cable car companies all over the place and then dismantled the infrastructure so people would be forced to buy their cars. It's like if Hoover (I'm referring to the specific brand) came into your house and put wall to wall carpet down on your nice hardwood floors, and then when you got home said, "it looks like you could use a vacuum, my friend!"
This is really lifeless and depressing. These suburbs depict a dystopian environment that offers an extreme mediocre experience of living. The striking hypothesis that you made concerning the fact that the inability to drive equals an exclusion from society is really scary. Your content is really valued as it pushes for socio-cultural change. The media has always portrayed America as a surreal land full of life and opportunities, and this has affected our perception and attitudes. The truth is that the predatory capitalistic mindset of the powerful corporations has turned the land into a slavery farm that serves their own exclusive profit, therefore, the USA started losing the charm and magic that it once had at many levels. A friend of mine was living in Morocco, he had a decent lifestyle, eating healthy food and running his business, owning a car and an apartment, and living a seriously genuine life, but because of media brainwashing, he applied for the annual lottery and moved to the US, he became obese and drained because of the long never-ending job hours since he runs his own business, he has also become more paranoid, less secure and violent, the guy had never touched a gun, but now he keeps one since he has been experiencing rubbery acts and severe incidents of racial discrimination, he was unable to visit his dying parents due to time and economic constraints, he got married to a native psychopath who threatens him every time since she is a female and a native. The guy regrets every second he thought about leaving his country. Speaking of my personal experience, I stopped thinking about the US as a potential destination for living as a Moroccan. I was dreaming of moving to America since my childhood, I still believe that the country provides some opportunities thanks to its competitive atmosphere. However, I have stopped belittling my Moroccan experience in terms of aesthetics, economy, and culture because thanks to the advent of the internet I have been able to discover more about the hardships and challenges that shape such a country including racism, violence, economic instability, healthcare challenges, lack of aesthetics, crime rate, divisive politics, social alienation and most importantly mediocrizing the lifestyle of American citizens and turning them into NPCs. There is no wonder why many Americans prefer to settle in Morocco and never go back to their homeland. American media represents Morocco or other north- African Eastern places as a lifeless Sahara but when you compare, you may find out that some of the third world countries like Morocco may provide a decent living experience where joy and hospitality immerse the place, stores, shops, restaurants, and quality food are available and cheap, sidewalks, social interaction, and security are dominant. Any country that consumes its people and destroys their mental stability and sense of liveability is not worth living in.
"Predatory capitalist mindset of the powerful corporations has turned the land into a slavery farm that serves their own exclusive profit." That really tells the tale of the tape.
Out of curiosity, how much do the basic apartments in the Moroccan cities you admire cost per month these days? I am actually considering migrating out the U.S. permanently myself.
@@utubeskreename9516 thank you for the feedback. If you are talking about rent, a 300$ would provide you a quality apartment in the center of the city. Owning apartments start from 25k to 70k. If you are an American or European individual with a decent professional experience and/or degrees you may find amazing opportunities and privileges. You know the country is francophone as far as the administration and job market is concerned but international companies consider bilinguals or anglophone profiles. The country itself is heading towards English as the language of the business. You may feel less alienated here since people are humble and foreigners are well treated. You can also consider marrying a Moroccan , it happens alot here.
As a racial minority living in the U.S. , I can assure you that America has never been the land of magic or prosperity for my family. We have always struggled to survive. Never underestimate the power of propaganda. The view of the United States from people outside the country is distorted by the American government, television and movies. Here are two things to consider, The United States has the second highest rate of violent deaths by firearms in the world. (Only Brazil is worse) Americans do not have any national healthcare and many people go without medication or surgery because they can't afford it. Americans are constantly told by their leaders, they live "in the greatest country in the world". It's all lies and unfortunately many citizens believe it.
He literally falsifies the entire video. Pretends distances are longer than they are, that alternatives don't exist that are closer, and omits all the crosswalks he's sometimes standing RIGHT NEXT TO while claiming there are no safe ways to cross a road. Douchebag lmao
Finally, a video I can relate to. My family has been in the rough with finances since before I was born. A little over 18 years old now, and still we cannot afford to buy me a car so that I can travel beyond my suburb. With one parent having a ever-flexing schedule and the other being able to neither drive nor work, we do not have a reliable method of transportation to go anywhere except when my working parent is off for a day. Without enough money coming in to sometimes get groceries, nothing comes easy whatsoever. And yet, I hear all the time about how other people get their first car on literally their 16th birthday (even if the car is merely a beater car, which is still too expensive for me). But what about those like myself, who do not get such mid-teens luxuries? Overall, living in this remote suburb, too far from any jobs that I can work, is a whole lot of fun... That's America for you.
@@cowfat8547 I am speaking of physical location. The only jobs nearby require that I know how to drive (food delivery) which I don't, or there are jobs that sell tobacco and alcohol products (at convenience stores), which, by age, prohibits me from taking those positions. And they're the only positions within walking distance.
Some years ago I flew to Washington DC with a friend a mine and we stayed a bit outside the city in a suburb. We had tickets for a Football game and decided to walk the 3km (2miles) to the stadium instead of taking the car. Well it was an "adventure"...A guy stopped with his car asking us, what we are doing outside in the rain (light rain, nothing unusually here in Germany, we are used to it) and where we are going, people driving by looked at us like we're aliens. It took us like 5-10 minutes and trying out various traffic lights to get a green light to pass the busy street on our way to get there.
Yea not a good idea to walk to FedEx field. It's pretty much surrounded by the hood and is a pretty violent part of town. Seeing white people walking around alone is very unusual in those areas. I'm surprised you didn't get harassed more. If it was nighttime you probably would have been shot.
Sounds like a great way to save money from parking and time from traffic imo. Americans are so used to being glued to the inside of a car that people using the outside world look foreign to us
Washington DC area's old Football stadium RFK which actually is still standing yet rotting away is about 100m from a Stadium-Armory Station on the DC Metro. Both FedEx Field and RFK seem to be really crappy buildings. Its rumored however that when RFK is demolished, The Washington Commanders aka Redskins will build their new stadium on the RFK site if they get approval from the Federal Government.
I moved from a suburb of Chicago to the city itself last year and I have absolutely LOVED not needing a car to get me everywhere. After spending my teens and early-mid-20's in the suburbs, a car-dependent life is all I knew, but I can't even imagine going back to that at this point. The next neighborhood I move to will be either equally or more walkable than my current one.
Besides the cost of a car, getting your license is incredibly expensive too. The state where I live: $30 for a permit $700-1000 drivers ed $20 to send drivers ed records to rmv $30-150 road test $30 to process road test results $50 for a five-year license And that's all you have to spend before purchasing a vehicle, insurance (which is through the roof when you're new), fuel, maintenance, etc.
Junobug I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese. Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car. This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
Good God, that was depressing. I live downtown in a small city and I don't want or need a vehicle for most errands. I do visit a Medspa in the "burbs" which requires a $25 Uber both ways. After my treatment, I typically patronize the restaurants on the same side of the street because it is MUCH too dangerous to cross the gigantic stroad to explore the strip mall across the street. There is no crosswalk or any pedestrian signal that lets you know whether to walk or don't walk. The sad part is that if I took the two hour bus trip to this location, I would have to cross this deathtrap of an intersection.
Very happy this notion is becoming more widely accepted recently. Still haven't stopped running into people that think any other way besides car dependency is impossible. Like yeah, because it was designed that way, but that doesn't mean we can't try to fix things! There are clear ways to do transportation better, and I think the more people watch videos like this, the less resistance to change we'll see when this problem ultimately comes to a head. Great video.
Naturally, all these roads are just patches of dirt. If you can pave over them with asphalt for cars like we do now, then you can replace them with more varied forms of transportation someday!
I live in the US suburbs (north of Chicago), but I now feel very lucky to have the closest stroad be a few miles away, and having a charming downtown with no chain restaurants. We have some public transit, and regular commuter trains to Chicago.
I also enjoy the same city layout living in my downtown area, like two supermarkets within a 10-minute walk. But the nearest train is a 2 hour greyhound bus ride away...I'll take what I can get.
I am located in Bucktown, Chicago and it is literally heaven for me. Everything is a short walk away, multiple styles of homes intermixed with shops, dedicated bike lanes, beautiful architecture, low crime, history. 😁 This city doesn't get old for me even after returning from various European cities
I agree with the premise of this video: the suburbs aren’t friendly for pedestrians, and most are built around cars. But then there’s: - Films a public transit sign, later says “do you think a suburb would have public transit? yeah right” (the suburb has public transit). - Shows a bike lane that shares the road. It’s not ideal but it is marked. Shows a bike which has its own lane, says “Yeah, I’m not going to ride there”. Fair, without a separator between car traffic and bike traffic, it’s more dangerous - but there is a bike lane. - Films a busy road. “I wonder if there’s a way I can cross this safely, probably not” cuts to a shot showing an intersection which would be a safe way to cross. I mean, it’s valid to say that there aren’t enough intersections and because there are so few intersections, pedestrians will likely just cross the road wherever, which can cause accidents, absolutely. Again, I agree with the premise entirely: we really should stop giving up so much land to cars. We should stop designing our suburbs and cities around cars. We’re 100% in agreement on this. And yes, the suburb you’re showing is a bit of a hell scape to navigate. You know what we really ought to have? Superblocks, where cars can exist but where the roads are built for pedestrians and cars are second-class citizens. This could work in cities, but suburbs are another evil entirely. Suburbs need to exist because cities don’t sprawl and don’t have good public transit options. Many people who need to work in a city can only afford to live in the suburbs, and need a car to commute to the city (due to lack of public transit). Can we just get rail everywhere? Connecting cities and states? Suburbs are going to be f**ked up for some time to come, unfortunately.
I agree with you about the video peculiarities! As someone who walks and cycles around a lot, I kept on asking constantly "but why don't you just use it?!". The Intersection was literally within a minute's walk and 20mins between locations is quite normal to me. The much farther t-shirt shop would have been doable had he used a bicycle, maybe doable in around 30-40mins. Ofc, I also agree that the US seems to be built too much for car usage. I've heard of two establishments on opposing sides of a road and the only way crossing that was using a car to drive to an intersection 5mins away and turning the opposite way. There was apparently no way to walk across.
I bike through this exact intersection all the time on my way to work in Golden Valley. Surreal. I don't love this area's bike infrastructure, but it's a hell of a lot nicer than what they have further south on Glenwood, especially where it crosses highway 100, which is where I've had the most close calls by far. And don't even get me started on where I live now, out in Mound😬 Appreciate the effort you put into this video. Hopefully it will help make my future bike commuting nicer! Thanks!
'Only a little' farther north in Winnipeg, your options mostly boil down to: -get on a bike and experience just how shitty our roads are, while hoping today's not the day yo become a meat crayon for someone who doesn't like bikes being on the road -use the often-overcrowded bus service (which doesn't come by often enough, and sometimes it just passes you by because there were already too many riders) if it even arrives within 10 minutes of your scheduled time (before or after, sometimes it's much later or much earlier) -get in the wage cage you poor
What you showed was bad enough, but you forgot the bit about getting your groceries home once you've bought them! You're pretty unlikely to want to walk 20 minutes with bags of food. Biking might work. Those bike lanes were non-existent, but I wouldn't mind biking without them on quiet suburban streets. The problem would be on the big 4 lane strodes. I would probably just ride on the path, but I'm guessing that's illegal (even though there are no other pedestrians to knock into!)?
No you can ride on the path, I do it all the time at that exact spot in the video. But it is a long walk with groceries, if you do them the American way, where you buy for the whole week or more
@@altriish6683 - I’d get quite annoyed if i had to go shopping multiple times per week. Walking/biking forces that because you can’t carry much. And no, lugging tons of bags on a bus is not realistic.
@@phu5005 it's not annoying if the grocery store is right there, and I waste far less food when I grocery shop every other day as opposed to going every week
@@phu5005 Not really. When we go shoping usually we go out as a family (ie.2-3 people) and its not that hard especially if shops are close. And good public transit wouldn't be overcrowded anyways. You can always just bring a 2 wheel shopping cart which makes things so much easier.
@@phu5005 it is just a matter of habit and surrounding that you are used to. Living in an European city I shop groceries every day, buying just the things I need, never have to carry a lot. Because I have a farmer market ( open every day a week) and several supermarkets in near surroundings, I shop on my way back home. I realized I don't even know how to shop groceries for a whole week: We have a little summerhouse that is six miles away from the first store, and similar to USA, there are no pedestrian or bike lines on the roads there, also lot of hills and curves, a bike ride would be dangerous, no reliable public transport... While being there I realized it costs us up to 25% more to shop (we do it approx once a week) and too much of fresh produce end up in compost, going bad while waiting to be consumed :((((. I know I would be fat in USA. I hate gym but I walk at least seven miles a day and I take time to cook from scratch and with fresh produce, and American way of living wouldn't let me do any of that.
I live at the outskirts of a major German city. I would categorize it as a suburbia equivalent as the city center is about 30 minutes away (by public transport or car). I could run all three errands in my neighborhood's shopping center, build above a subway station, which is only a 5 minute walk away. Housing around here is much more varied though. You have everything from single houses, 3 floor apartment blocks to a few high rises (about 8-10 floors). I can also walk to a park (with playgrounds and sport grounds), multiple schools, public swimming pool, and other public facilities. Bicycle paths are available on major roads, alternatively many bicyclists use the city's extensive park network to get around in the city. Bicycle infrastructure can be improved though, as there are areas where you are forced to drive on the road next to car traffic. It's by no means a posh area or a desirable location (hip, young people prefer to be closer to the center), but quite convenient for normal, daily life.
@@vladtepes481 Cold temperatures are not really a hindrance, but bicycle paths that are not cleared in winter sure are ruclips.net/video/Uhx-26GfCBU/видео.html
@@vladtepes481 But then how do they manage in Finland? Not Just Bikes has a video on Finnish winter biking. I'm pretty sure it's at least as cold there, since it's further north.
@@texicaliblues they are nuts dont you realise🤣😭 they put on 6 layers of clothing to bike on several inches of iced snow, how does this possibly sound normal or even manageable to you lmao. I mean you still need the bike paths for the summer and obviously some people are gonna be on their bikes all year round, but you cant expect people from Minneapolis to say fuck my car, I’ll get around by bicycle this winter😂
I haven't owned a car in 40 years but I've always kept my drivers license up to date for when I've visited areas without good public transportation. Living in the city can be expensive but so is car ownership.
I remember my first week in the US as an exchange student. I checked google maps for how far the next Dominos Pizza was and it said 20 walking. So, I thought that's a walkable distance only to find out that I was the first person to ever do that and that there are partially no side-walks 😅
I am from Europe and spent a little less than a week in D.C. for a work trip. I did absolutely everything using public transports or walking. It was an amazing experience to see how impossible it really was
I'm surprised that you found it so difficult. I live in D.C. and I find it really easy to go everywhere I need to go. D.C. is considered to have one of the best mass transit systems in the U.S., but I suppose it still falls behind many ones in other countries.
@@abhinavpotluri9654 The Northeast really is where it's at, and as much as people shit on NYC, it really is the gold standard for North American public transit.
I moved from California to Tennessee and experienced this. The Central Valley is surprisingly walkable (within town of course) but when I moved East, I instantly recognized the lack of sidewalks. It makes a huge difference
The south is hilarious in how car-centric it is. It's kinda crazy that the frozen north has more bike commuters than down south, which barely has winter. There's no excuse aside from simply bad planning.
@@Descriptor413 closest park to me is an hour and 42 minute walk, a 19 minute bike ride or a 6 minute drive. All along the side of a highway. Kills the joy you have of wanting to get out and be active. One thing I will say though, it’s a sweet ride on a motorcycle
that was my experience of socal. a lot of sprawl, but at least the crosswalks actually work and there's sidewalks everywhere. out east i've frequently walked in the gutter of a stroad only to end up at a massive intersection without any way to get across, not a crosswalk or even a light cycle to protect me
What? Im from the central valley and it is not walkable at all. Sure there are some sidewalks, but that is hardly the only problem. You could walk around at mainstreet, but to get to mainstreet you have to drive.
I'm from the UK but a couple of years ago my family and I went on holiday to Boston, we stayed in the suburbs of Boston in an AirBNB. We walked almost everywhere (as we normally do if we were in the UK) and were surprised to see no one else walking around. I know parts of the UK does not have amazing public transport (many local buses in my area are very unreliable) but I didn't know the US had it much worst.
That's interesting, I survived 40 years without a car and I will die without one. Not that I do t have money, I can buy multiple cars if I want to, but I have no need at all. Living in Europe, in a good neighborhood is super convenient and easy.
I’m a Brit who just spent 5 weeks in Maine and it absolutely shocked me how sparse all the basic amenities were! Considering that in England, you’re always 10 minute walk away from a grocery store and various fast food restaurants, it blew my mind how little you come across when you not in major cities.
uk has an higher urban population rate than any other european country and the car per capita is also the lowest of any high income country outside asia. and in other hand, maine bigger towns are almost rural for north american standards
I'm disabled (visually impaired) living in New Delhi...here we have bus, metro, rikshaw this combination is so good to travel..i don't need to be dependent on someone driving me anywhere...i can travel anywhere around the country alone...i kinda feel privileged after seeing this video lol
Having visited New Delhi for work I would be scared driving there and the pavements are very dangerous for the visually impaired. Still at least they are prepared for pedestrians unlike the US.
This makes me appreciate my small city in the US, we don't have much of this, only buses but many trails connecting areas of town. Not to mention we actually have sidewalks lol
Just out of curiosity, what do you consider small? I live in California and my city has about 70k people. We have a bus system that not many people use because its too slow. That's the only public transit we have here.
This is a great video. Now come to Seattle where I live and show the exact opposite U.S. city. I rarely need a car in Seattle. I can walk, bike or take public transit 98% of the time to any where I need to go. People are out, walking, biking, interacting, enjoying parks and staying fit. These cities do exist in the U.S. but one just needs to research them carefully before relocating to a new city or town. The type of living that I enjoy and take for granted daily in Seattle is a necessary quality of life issue for me.
I am south of you and Pierce Co does not have the same volume of Public Gathering places. I want to move north. I used to live in Surrey BC and Vancouver and wholy WOW the infrastructure is AMAZING!!!!!! I have a whole long list of things that make the city impressive. Know of any houses with a garage that is for rent?
I made the mistake of driving after a couple beers and I’ve had my license taken away for the last couple months. I truly didn’t realize how bad it was till now. I live in a small city in Indiana and it’s nearly impossible to do anything without a car, we have awful public transport, no bike lanes, no sidewalks on my side of town. I had to change my gym because my old one, yes closer was far more dangerous to get there on foot or bike. It’s so much harder for me to even just get groceries. Yet there is a liquor store on every block. This country sucks.
Yup. As an European citizen, my experience in San Antonio for couple of weeks on foot or bike only was crazy. I sold books door to door (crazy summer job, I know) and the infrastructure is nowhere close to bike friendly. To get to some places, the only road is actually a highway. I remember the funny looks people were giving me when they saw me just cruising on my bike in the suburbs of San Antonio 👽.
How is that in such a list? NYC literally stinks (especially this summer) but you can actually walk, ride a bike, or take the subway to almost anywhere.
Your comment makes no sense. This is a suburb located outside of Minneapolis, it’s not a part of the city… Did you even pay attention to the video, he mentions this at least twice…
Sad yeah, my town is literally just houses with a strip mall and that's it, aside from the invasive car infrastructure, suburbs tend tp be enormous and a minimum 40 minute drive from religious centers of worship, dmvs, high education schools, grocery stores, clothes stores, electronics stores, and major police, fire, and medical facilities which really sucks as one could imagine
you skipped the part where you have to bring groceries back home, essentially doubling the trip time, walking with groceries in hand... AND that puts you back at the beginning which is far away from the restaurant. This country is truly sad. I live in fort lauderdale, 5 minutes away from downtown. Public transportation is STILL basically nonexistent... in a major metropolitan area. Yeah there's buses and trains... if you live next to the beach. That's literally it. You can't live in this county without a car. You can't live in this state without owning a car. You can't live in this country without owning a car. Owning a car is the primary way that this country uses to "enslave" (for lack of a better word) us to uncle sam. Now you got car payments, insurance payments, and maintenance payments to make, you got insane gas prices that are constantly rising. But you signed contracts, so you're stuck paying and you fall for the sunk cost fallacy. Gotta work a job that doesn't pay you enough from the start, just to be able to afford those payments. Now you lose 40 hours each week and hundreds of dollars per month just because you are as you said, ostracized for not owning a car. And thats your CAR alone. Just one of the many things this country uses to exploit it's american people to turn them into uncle sam's 9-5 "slaves" (again for lack of a better word). Good luck purchasing a home if you don't come from money. Apartment rentals are yet another way to hold us in these never ending money sinks. You pay 30-40-50-60% of your monthly income to own nothing. Maybe this is a slippery slope but I believe that this then in turns creates idolization of monetary items, which then leads to people leading a fake happy life because the only things of value in our lives are possessions. This makes the idea of losing our phones, our cars, our apartments is the WORST CASE SCENARIO for our lives. How sad? We don't have anything to fall back on. If your car doesn't start one morning, good luck getting to work. Sure you can uber, but thats even more expensive than owning a car. Millions of people live every day without family support, without financial support, and most importantly without mental support. But you got people in this country proudly boasting how enjoyable it is to live here, how much better it is than anywhere else in the world. How US citizens aren't allowed to complain because other countries have it worse. These people suffer from the crazy propaganda this country spews on a daily basis. The US is a fucking horrible country. I will never discredit the fact that it's a much better living situation than people in war ridden or politically ruined countries, because the US will always be a safe haven for many people. But for someone who has lived here for the past 25 years, I frequently wish I was born somewhere else. Most Americans have less than $1,000 in the bank. Most Americans are one emergency away from being homeless. Most Americans can't afford a medical bill if it's not fully covered. This country is depressing as fuck. 25 years in and I want to leave the US every day of my life. Central America is becoming a very enticing region for me. I don't see potential here in the US. I don't see this country growing positively anymore. This country sold out to major corporations years ago. Coming from a huge car enthusiast, watching your videos really opened my mind up a LOT to how sad this reality we live in actually is. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever will in this country. The US is a broken and corrupt nation and citizens have to resort to living like this because of it. We can't even get politicians in office that care enough to make a difference for future generations, because that's all a game to them too.
You typically bring a backpack or granny cart for grocery shopping trips like this one, but this heavily constrains what you can purchase. Liquid weight adds up real quick!
It's getting better, I think a lot of people are missing it. New suburban growth, at least in my area, almost always includes a prominent bike path or bike lane, which makes it easier to not use a car
Nice life... Having an evening stroll. Going past the grocery store on my way home and buy some bread, milk and veggies. I don't want to sit in my home, getting fat, most of my free time. Spending the rest of it in my car. I live in a suburb, by the way.
Im originally from Europe. I now live in a small quaint village in North America, that doesn't have any shops. When my friends see me walking down the street sometimes they ask me if I need a ride? Did your car break down? etc. It's so unfortunate how the suburbs are built around a car. Our lives would be way less sedentary and a lot more healthy if we could just walk to the grocery store or a convenience store. We wouldn't need to drive to the gym, bc you would get that daily exercise, just by living. One other thing that I also find a little nuts, is not being able to bring a backpack to a store, due to shoplifting? (Canada)....if you are a walker like me, bringing a bag and trying to walk back home with it or trying to bike back with it, just doesn't work.
I walked to the liquor store for the first time a few months ago. On my way home some jackass in a lifted black pickup with smoked out windows rolled coal on me. You really aren't welcome in America as a car-less pedestrian. At least i have the privilege of sidewalks and living right next to a strip mall with a Walmart and Target. Although the nimby's had all the convenient walking paths blocked off when the Walmart came in. Now you have to go all the way to the main road and cross the parking lot to get in. You'll never guess why they had all those paths bricked up. It was racism. They asked us to sign a petition to block the Walmart being built because black people might shop there. God bless this country.
I have never seen a comment that so perfectly encapsulated the worst of Middle America. Also, pickup truck drivers are immediately sus to me because so many people only seem to buy them to be as annoying as possible on the roads instead of actually carrying stuff
While I live in a suburb that is significantly better for biking and walking to places than the one depicted in the video, and is pretty equidistant between three of the major four local commercial centers, it's still absolutely ludicrious how bad walking actually is. Half the roads lack street trees, very low density makes it rather far to get anyehwere, and having loud cars zip by at 45mph or higher is deeply unpleasant. I sometimes watch videos or livestreams of someone walking or biking around their city abroad, and have the feelig of "Hmm, I feel like biking into town.", before remembering my own reality. It's been increasingly tempting to move abroad, even though my degree sets me up to be able fix things here once I get my foot in the door for a career.
Golden Valley actually has excellent bike infrastructure for a suburb. Minneapolis metro and Minnesota is arguably the most bike friendly part of north America.
This is true on so many levels. When your city has no bike lanes, no bus stops and your area has no sidewalks or trees and its the hot Arizona sun. plus a 4 hour walk to get to the closest store and anywhere else is over 5 or 6 hours at best. From someone with no car. I can confirm it's impossible to get a job, go to the store, eat out, or do anything at all. It's the most frustrating experience I've ever had to put up with
SLIMY I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese. Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car. This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
@@flat-earther - Be careful with this advice. Even if that's technically true (in most states it's not true) the police in every region of the country will behave as if it's false. So you will get a ticket, which at best will require you to fight them in court. It's unwise to drive a car on public roads, anywhere in the united states, without a state-issued driver's license and car insurance.
Everytime i fly back to the US to visit family, its such a hassle to even figure out how to get from the airport to home. I dont have a license, since in The Netherlands one isnt really needed. So, its always having to hitch a ride off a family member to come pick me up, or hope i get lucky enough to find an uber willing to drive into the rural parts of the state 45 mins from the airport. Amazing, no trains, buses, or anything that i can grab from the airport to get to my final destination. When im back in Europe? Easy, just get on one of the many trains from the airport, and transfer to another train or bus to eventually get even to a smaller village.
1:35, this is great biking service (at least to American Standards). In my suburbs, there aren't even the "biking lane" road-things like shown in in 1:30. The only actual bike paths are recreational ones in parks. Also, many burbs would never have a pedestrian bridge like in 2:30, so this Minneapolis suburb can be considered lucky. The thing that saddens me is that this would be so easy to change, but almost every American suburb has been going in debt and broke because of car-centric sprawl and it would be so easy to take those millions invested into "less time waiting in traffic" for people in "freedom cars" (AKA 2-ton steel death machines) and give it to just some money to the underfunded and, a lot of the time, not funded at all infrastructure for people who just can't’t drive or afford a car!
i'm from Russia and the place you've showed in this video seems absolutely acceptable to me. I walk to my university 2.7 miles everyday back and forth. And my streets don't look that aesthetic as yours, mine just cause depression to many lmao.
What I really don't get is why neighbourhoods don't have sidewalks. How can a community exist when walking from house to house isn't even given a thought by developers of estates
I can walk and bicycle to my grocery store. It's only 5 minutes away and yes I live in America. I simply looked on a map and figured out where I should live. It's not ideal to live far away from the things you do on a regular basis.
@@techtutorvideos most places around grocery stores are near the grocery stores. Not being dishonest about that. People have commutes to work. Doesn't seem like they're living close to work. Seems like they're choosing to do this.
Came from Asia so I took good public transit for granted. The first day I arrived in Canada, I walked 4 hours from a suburban Airbnb on a road with no sidewalk to a mall to buy a sim card so I could call a taxi.
This highlights a major problem with America. Thank you for this video. It has been a major struggle of mine when I have to walk on the edge of roads as cars pass by me at 50 mph. I never knew this was a problem with the whole country.
kal I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese. Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car. This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
No matter how hard we would like it, unless someone lives in a city with great public transportation like New York city, Americans will never give up their cars.
I am American and I would give up my car if I found a reasonable place to live so I can walk and take public transport. I won’t live in New York City that’s too expensive. But I wouldn’t mind a smaller city.
So then we build out more great public transit and walkability, and then we will give up our cars. There’s quite a few cities that are actually starting to change, it’s pretty cool to see
As a Brit, I had this experience in Athens GA a few years ago. Now I was actually staying downtown, so I could get eat out just fine. Getting groceries though? Unless you're counting overpriced snacks from CVS, nope not happening - no supermarkets you can really walk to. Tbh most of it is sidewalked, but some of it wasn't as I discovered to my horror when I decided to go to Dairy Queen. I used to go to gym using a expensive hourly bus service and get a Lyft back. Whilst they are by no means without issue, ridesharing apps have actually done a lot to make living without a car more viable in the US - but it is still weird af. In the UK, there is no city without at least one decent-sized supermarket in the downtown area - and there will invariably be several mini-stores ran by the supermarket chains. Central London is almost the exception, but there are reasonably-sized supermarkets in the Liverpool St., London Bridge and Holborn areas. Even Oxford Street has a decent-sized Waitrose hiding in the John Lewis department store. London does have areas in the suburbs that have been labeled 'food deserts'. I grew up quite near one, and yeah that seems to be more than 15 minutes walk to the nearest supermarket from what I can see.
I definitely recall in Athens, Georgia that unfortunately outside of downtown and places near the University of Georgia campus, a lot of areas are low density sprawl and car dependent. So unfortunately yeah, I have to agree with you.
I'm 77 years old and never owned a car in my entire life. The reason why I learned how to drive and why I got a driver's license decades ago was because it's a mandatory piece of ID. There are things you simply can't do without a driver's license. I've driven a car maybe three times in my entire life. Once was late at night and the person I was with was falling asleep at the wheel. My choice was get killed or drive the car. Luckily, I've always lived in an area with good public transit. And I've used public transit all of my life. That includes things such as grocery shopping. I would never consider living in an area without convenient 24/7 public transit. The auto industry and Big Oil has made society dependent on cars. I have no sympathy for people paying insane prices for gasoline and diesel fuel these days. And by the way, the auto industry and Big Oil deliberately tried to kill off public transit all over North America. This is especially so where it involved electric streetcars and trolley coaches. But electric public transit is making a big comeback these days, much to the dismay of Big Oil.
You're a pretty good talker Peter man. Thanks so much for your vids and hard work! I just found your channel. You have a different perspective on life.
The main problem is NOT the detached home. Many new ones have lot sizes comparable to ones found in Boston, Chicago and Queens. The main problem is that the non-residential areas need to look like the residential structures. Then you need to change the layout of land use, traffic flow and buildings.
The problem is the diversification of homes. Not everyone desires a detached suburban home and cities and states have done a poor job of providing options for everyone. Zoning laws have favored single family homes for decades and as a result we are making ownership much harder. Companies no longer build "starter homes" because they know they can build big homes and charge insane amounts. We need to build homes, condos, tiny homes and apartments that support the majority of people not just the few who want to live in suburbia.
You and other channels in the same vain are really inspiring me to potentially make similar videos on my experience in belgium, which in my opinion has a spacial planning that in many ways is even worse than american suburbia.
In the suburbs you would be in easy walking distance of multiple strip malls at every other intersection. There is much more to do there than in a forest of office buildings. Where people live is where they buy groceries, shop and eat out. Try and find a working class bar on Main Street.
This is definitely true for Golden Valley. I also wouldn't really want to raise kids here because you must drive them everywhere. You're blocked north and south by highways/freeways, there are no sidewalks in any of the neighborhood streets, and the arterial roads are fast and seldom have any crossings, except at major intersections. Very isolating for kids
@@altriish6683 I live in the San Fernando Valley which is the suburban part of Los Angeles and it honestly sucks here. It's not as bad as the burbs but it's still not very walkable and transit here is pretty mid but still depend on it. I personally wouldn't want to raise my kids here as its pretty alienating here
@@donaldthompson6808 My wife is from here so we moved to be closer to her family, We’ve contemplated moving back a few times but obviously as life goes on and you make roots (house, career etc.) it’s harder to just uproot
Doomsday I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese. Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car. This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
Hey Peter, I really appreciate your videos. I was born and currently (still) live in Rome, which is a city you bring up as an example in many of your videos. I wanted to say I really relate to much of your content despite living in a major european city. In fact, I can tell you Rome is hell when you don't own a car. I live in a densely populated peripheral area that has a bus connection to the nearest metro station of Rebibbia, but despite the apparent transit-friendly nature of this city, it is really hard to live here while not being able to afford a vehicle, which I currently cannot. The reasons for this are many: 1) the social aspect: Italy has a strong car culture, having a car is seen as sign of "growing up" and taking public transit is seen as the "poor people option" by the vast majority of people, because of how undesirable it is, which leads me into 2) the time aspect: unlike many other european cities, you can expect it to take 6 to 7 times as long to get around the city with transit than you do with a car. Buses are always late, they're dirty, smelly, often don't have air conditioning (and the heat right now is unbearable) and I basically have to leave an hour early to do anything. It takes me 2 hours to get to my university which is a 15 minute car drive away. Trams are RARE in Rome and only serve rich neighborhoods. We only have 3 metro lines covering an area of 1300 sqkm, and they keep getting more infrequent. At its worst, you can expect to wait 40 minutes for a metro, not joking. 3) the safety aspect: I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have been left stranded at night because of the horrible transit during late hours. If I do anything with friends and stay until, say, 2 AM, I will not be home before 5 AM because the buses at night are THAT bad. 4) the urban decay aspect: this city looks as if it has been entirely neglected for the past 3 decades. It is a constant endless construction site. I live near a horrible stroad-like roadway lined with businesses only accessible by car and abandoned buildings, the greyest saddest place ever. 5) it's not that good even with a car: a prime example is the Cassia road: you can expect to spend an hour to advance just 5 or 6 km there. The planning is horrble and the roads are unable to sustain the ever increasing volume of cars. I hope one day this city learns.
I think one of the worst things about America being so car dependent is that kids do not leave the house anymore. They don’t walk around town or bike anywhere. If they want to hang out with their friends they have to get their mom to drive them to their house, or get their moms to drive them to a specific location and then pick them up at a certain time later. Kids have no way of exploring the world around them without planning in advance what their ride situation will be.
Yeah I wish people realized this, its really sad and no wonder kids are resorting to doing all their Hobbies online nowadays
must be a sad life.
I was shocked by how bland and boring American kids' lives are when I first came to the US. They literally can't go anywhere without their parents driving them, thanks to the terrible public transit.
So many times I thought how clean and beautiful are these places but now I am realizing how much tough it is to just feel the nature which is absolutely free.
What I like so much about American house and neighborhoods is, it has so many trees.
As a kid, I was fortunate to live in an older style suburb that had opportunities to leave the house and ride bikes and at least some decent walking to small stores. I never realized how fortunate the environment was until I lived to other parts of the country
I'm 19 and live in the suburbs and I have no car, and I'm completely dependent on my parents and other people to get anywhere. The nearest bus is a 1.5 hr walk to the mall, which would be a 10 minute drive away. The nearest grocery store (Walmart) is a 30 minute walk away and there are barely any sidewalks, crosswalks, etc. A year ago I applied for my job because it was one of the few remote jobs available entry level, but now they've moved to a hybrid schedule and I need to walk over an hour to and from work part of the week because there's no public transport near me and Uber is expensive. People who cannot drive a car or do not have a car are almost kind of punished and ostricized. It shouldn't be this way.
If possible maybe you can move to an older suburb in the Philadelphia, New York or Boston area. I grew up in an older suburb where I could walk to small stores for basic errands and there was a trolley station where I could go further for more errands
This!! I'm often insulted for not driving at 21. I have a huge fear of driving because there's a huge drunk driving issue in my city and I was already sent to the hospital because of a drunk driver. Focusing is also very hard and I'm visually impaired. Seeing in the dark has gotten harder for me as well. It doesn't help that some vehicles have lights that don't allow you to see too well either.
If you are debt free go to Europe asap.
@@jonasbaine3538thts juss not smart to take a huge leap over not having a car…money to move countries they can just get a car with that😂
@@bigbk3278 get a car loan, then a mortgage, then a better job (maybe student loans too???), for better car/house, health insurance, medical debt,...family?? then more debt trap,.... get out now at 19 before american debt trap catches you.
When I was in europe I saw lots of people living with less things and less desires, walking everywhere, eating much less food too, just paying their taxes, have NO DEBT and living happily.
While visiting a friend in the US, I once suggested we could go for a walk around her neighbourhood. You know, so I could get a feel for the place and to get some fresh air away from the roommates. She found this idea charmingly adventurous.
Trail running would be nice ;)
Omg I visited one of my friend in New York, Long Island and I had the exact same experience😄😂
Saw a relevant Tiktok a while ago called “POV: my European friends visit me in LA and insist on walking”
u visit them so they can finally see how it looks like outside of the house
Tf? Who doesn't occasionally walk around their neighborhood? At least the city I'm in, it's very common for people to do that, or they know it's common to do it but don't want to. Somebody finding that adventurous is quite uncommon, at least where I'm from. The only reason I'd think that people would find that adventurous is if you live in the downtown area or in a big city like NYC.
Survival horror is my favourite genre of urban planning.
Silent Hill has the widest stroads.
Its like playing Speedrun version of Minecraft in survival mode.
I’m unironically fearful of suburbia at night; it looks especially horrifying if there are no lights on.
@@thegodofsoapkekcario1970 There is a reason the movie Halloween is set in the suburbs 🎃 🔪
Walking in a car-dependent suburb feels so alienating, the sounds of the cars, the huge parking lots, how spread out all the businesses are, etc.
It was rough yeah lol
Golden valley doesn't have a whole lot of sidewalks either. It's mostly just arterial roads that have them. It's a lousy walk tbh
@@Phillowownz why don't you move to Europe if it's so wonderful? If you hate America so much why do these videos? You could move to one of these wonderful places and find out about all the problems they have.
@@peterwelby You seem easily offended by someone who has pointed out the truth and yes European countries have some bad stuff too but the US not much of walkability,good transportation,or cycling paths can impact some Americans.
@@peterwelby u act like its so easy for ANYONE to get a visa to live in europe
This also explains why drunk driving is so much more common.
This is my biggest problem with North America. In Canada I knew of the problem but didnt understand the scale until I worked at a factory and saw the reality. People drive 2 hours a day just for work. People often live in semi-rural areas where a cab is $60+ and there is 0 transit. Throw in alcohol dependence and thats what you get.
I had my first seizure when I was 19 due to adult onset epilepsy. The worst thing about it was the fact that I couldn't drive (I'm in TX). I spent a total of 2 years being unable to drive due to seizures and it was horrible. Made it super hard to do anything. I couldn't get a job because there's no public transit and there's no way to get a ride from someone every day, no rideshare either which even if there was it would be super expensive. I pretty much became a NEET for a lot of that time. Easily the worst 2 years of my life.
What changed after the 2 years? Did you move, or did your seizures get better?
@@brandonm1708 seizures got under control. You have to be seizure for a certain period of time depending on where you live. In Texas it's only 3 months which is lower than anywhere else (other states are 6 months to 2 years) but you also have to have permission from a doctor. Most doctors here in TX think 3 months is too short so I would have to go 6 months without having one.
@@McFwoupson why didn’t u move out of suburbs? Apartment in city? No offense I’m Just curious.
They probably couldn't afford to. No job
what do you mean by NEET and jesus i thought we had it bad in ireland...
I just can't wrap my head around how or why people think this is in any way at all acceptable. Luckily, it seems like more and more people don't.
ppl are used to it
It's the effect of decades of social engineering and propaganda.
I live in an American suburb yet I have never owned a car in my life. Although it takes time to walk places I value the open spaces and would not want to live in crime ridden American city.
@@Novusod good job falsely equating "city" with "crime". what open spaces do you value, the endless streams of asphalt?
I don't know. Maybe the same reason they find monthly school gun massacres acceptable.
In USA life without a car is so limited and distressing it causes hopelessness and depression. But we have a "Mental Health Awareness Day" now so that should help.
Mental health awareness day is the corporate pizza party of mental health.
Mental health awareness is not enough to save people with mental health issues who are living in poverty with depression and massive amounts of stress each day.
I didn't thought things in Usa are THAT bad, but this video really opened my eyes. I live in small town in Poland with around 3000 inhabitants. I could easily do all of these 3 things: go to grocery store, eat dinner and buy clothes, just under one hour by simply walking. Even if public transport sucks here and closest big city is 60km away. I have sidewalks on every street, bike lanes on main street and even some bike roads to closest villages. And suburb next to Minneapolis in "wealthy" country like Usa doesn't have any of these... I can't imagine how would I be able to live in such a horrible place like this?
When you grow up here you get numb to it I guess. I mean no one actually likes it like this but it’s all they know. They don’t know another way of life is possible.
You don’t have to live in a suburb u can easily live in a nice apartment in a walkable neighborhood and is usually cheaper than a house in the suburbs.
Smaller towns and cities in the U.S. are generally very walkable. I live in a city of 14,000 in Oregon and I have a full grocery store, several convenience stores, a laundromat, bank, a movie theatre, restaurants, and other shops within a 15-20 minute walk. The older neighborhoods and downtowns of large cities are also pedestrian friendly.
Suburbs, though, are often bad for anyone who isn't driving, especially those built since the 1960s. It's worse in the central U.S. than in other parts of the country because sprawl has been allowed to occur unchecked, partly due to the lack of mountains or older developments.
@@scsstopmotions989 But, most people still need a car for their job, kids, etc.. It is the rare lifestyle that can do reasonably well and not make major sacrifices without a car in the US.
@@DDBurnett1 True. And, sadly, it is illegal to build most of those small-town downtown areas today. The zoning laws don't permit it. The obsession with R1 single-family zoning and strict separation of residential from any commercial in most cities prevents walkability. It is the rare city that zones for mixed-use that was the norm until the age of the automobile.
I live in Stuttgart, Germany. Getting groceries is a 4 minute walk, getting to a mall takes 20 minutes through walking and public transit and dinner is an 8 minute walk, but you can extend it to 15 minutes to have a wide variety of options of where to eat.
Stuttgart is considered a car-friendly and car-infested city in Germany with lots of traffic in and around it, but you can get anywhere you need to go, without a car, in a reasonable amount of time. This video is shocking…
The traffic comes mostly from outside the city, since there is no way to build around. I just visited Stuttgart and besides the cars, it has a nice public transportation and walkable streets without cars. I love Stuttgart.
I stayed in Köln for about a week and even that city was surprisingly walkable. And it was a scenic place to be! I love how in Europe there’s always a cheap way to get around.
@@tybarker5038 there is literally no major city in Germany (or even Europe) where you are dependent on a car. You can basically walk everywhere.
bin aus der schweiz, ist ähnlich wo ich wohne
@@tybarker5038 Sofia, Bulgaria is like that as well. By foot you can have (almost) everything needed in 15-20 minutes. And by using public transportation, it is even faster.
So accurate and true, thank you for bringing awareness to the poor urban planning.
Ayo dead iPhone
A few things I don't understand about US life now
1. How do people drink alcohol since they must drive everywhere. It seems like the only option would be to drink alone at home
2. How do people go jogging and dog walking with these suicidal roads and lack of footpaths?
3. If you take a plane across the country to another city, then what do you do? Are you forced to rent a car?
Life just seems impractical and restrictive there.
Poor urban phone planning
@@ElZilchoYo 1. Not sure, but I think alcohol is unnecessary.
2. I guess they find a path that isn’t suicidal. Pets are generally unnecessary as well.
3. Yes, unless you have contact with a family member or friend.
Where are you from
@@ElZilchoYo Their only option is to drink at home? Unfortunately no, people just drive drunk. We constantly hear lots of cases on the news of drunk drivers causing deadly accidents. It's so common no one thinks it's that shocking. People also usually drive 30 minutes to a park or a gym...or neither.
It's funny. As someone from Europe, I'd often watch Kitchen Nightmares America with Gordon Ramsay. They'd talk about how their business is struggling and how they just don't know why! Being an innocent naive European person, I'd always look at the exterior shots of their Restaurant and be like "The location!! It's horrible! That's why they don't get customers, they're located on the most ugly street I've ever seen!"
And I thought it was a coincidence that ALL the Restaurants featured on the show had similar locations. It literally took RUclips urbanists to let me know that apparently all food places in the US are located on horrible stroads.
As someone who is used walking to a small little family owned place in the middle of a pedestrian zone near a little spring or surrounded by trees... this was quite the shock!
Americans are really missing out. The soul needs peaceful places designed for people. Places you can discover spontaneously and organically. A Starbucks off an intersection ain't it.
And because these food places are on stroads they need to be corporate chains or franchises in order to survive. People driving down the stroad won't stop at your business if they don't recognise it from 500 feet away
Perhaps the guiding philosophy is, "If every location is horrible, no location is horrible!"
This idiot makes it seem like all of US suburbia is designed this way, lol. Most have an arterial road that looks like this, the rest is UTTERLY walkable in every way, shape, and form.
It is perhaps the whiniest fucking video I've ever seen in my entire life.
Oh no! You had to... walk somewhere and you had to do it while adjacent to a bike lane that you didn't like the look of! Oh, heavens no!
What Is a stroad?
@@glenngordon846 The channel Not Just Bikes has an excellent video on that. Basically it's a street that's designed like a road and becomes very dangerous and unpleasant because of it.
The United States decided "the car is the future" back in the 50s and overbuilt for it, not for people, while also actively removing the robust public transportation the country used to have. Now, everyone is forced to drive a car because all the other options are either inconvenient, nonexistent, or dangerous... and the constant "freedom" propaganda patting the backs of the motor vehicle and petroleum industries reinforces this economic dead end. It needs to do better.
Actually we did the same in the Netherlands. But then there were a lot of protests in the 70s of kids on bikes being run over by cars. We then decided that every road user should have equal rights to the road. In the end this is what made our country the best for walking and cycling. Those sub-urban roads shown in this video would be considered illegal here.
@@SanderEvers I really hope what happened in the Netherlands happens everywhere eventually.
If we're going to reduce our emissions & not decimate the environment in other ways, we need to build so we can do more with less. Electric cars are not a solution, they're barely even a bandaid. Plus it just improves life in so many ways. Car-centric environments make the world hostile to everything that's not a car & I hate that everyone's just accepted it. The old boomers moan about how "kids don't play outside these days", but they've made outside uninhabitable.
@@InnuendoXP electric cars are a non solution. They don't do anything to make the environment more walkable, they don't make pedestrians any safer than with ICE cars, they're still big and heavy (esp with those batteries). I'm convinced that EVs are just a lazy solution to justify keeping roads and highways exactly the way they are now. If anything, they're less creative and imaginative than recreating our infrastructure to serve people once again.
I’m glad we made sure to invest in a car based society early on.
@@InnuendoXP Never. Commie Nederlands. I will never give up a single car nor buy an electric rubbish.
To highlight just how "free" it is, consider this: the primary method of identification throughout the US is a driver's license. Now, if that does not seem unusual to you, it's likely because you grew up here.
Yes. You do need a driver’s license for ID and since I didn’t need a car in Philly I got a non-driver’s license, and then the same in NJ (both around 30 years ago). But since 99% of New Jersey is suburb I finally got a drivers license and car at 25.
So you can get a normal state ID as well. But I’ve had friends who have had theirs not accepted because it’s not a drivers license. You can’t make it up that some places won’t even accept a valid state ID because it does indicate you drive. This was to buy alcohol at a baseball game by the way.
You guys don't have passports??
@@aidarosullivan5269 We do, but they are not really used for anything other than international travel. A driver's license is expected for nearly everything else, and most companies will not even hire you if you don't have one.
So when you lose your license you lose your ID? But i guess a US license is cheap and easy to get? Here in Germany its super expensive, you have to take so many hours of private driving classes, theory classes, first aid class, ... before you can take the tests.
thank you for bringing more awareness to this issue. im chronically ill, blind in one eye, and have never felt confident driving. after my friend died in an accident last year and i almost died, my life has been ruined by driving anxiety. im trying to get over it, but it just feels so unsafe for me.
but it's impossible to live here without driving, even though i live in a city with 130,000 people. my 15 min commute by car would take almost 2 hours by bus. this country simply doesnt care about disabled people. just look at these comments. people saying we're whiny and weak for not being able to drive. yes, i am weak. i am literally disabled and have an incurable autoimmune disease. what am i supposed to do about it other than whine and hope others start to care?
15 minute commute? Just get an Uber it's probably the same as what you pay for car insurance or a shuttle fair.
@@RAAM855 key word is "commute". Having to use ubers just to take care of basic necessities becomes prohibitively expensive very fast, especially depending on the city
@@alfred8936 well there's now a lot of delivery apps and what not. So at least there's that
@@RAAM855 whenever I had McDonald's delivered directly to my job (which was literally right across the street!) It would always cost at least 30-50% more than had I just walked over due to the delivery fees and markup
@@RAAM855 That fails to solve the problem. It is meant to be cheaper, it is public transport there for the public, not public transport there for those with heavy wallets.
A fifteen minute drive being a two hour bus drive is *hilariously* bad. Where I live the worst conversion of a 15 minute drive is a 30 minute bus trip.
I am surprised the cops never tugged your collar & accused you of being a stray vagabond . From what I heard in parts of the USA if you don’t own a car ,they think you’re from another planet .
Yeah, I remember visiting a friend who lives in a suburb. I walked to the store. Took like 20 minutes, which is fine. But I remember I was the only person walking outside.
Everyone has a car in a suburb.
And the people in cars stare at me walking like they never seen a person walk to a store.
I had that in Texas. People thought I was so weird walking around
This is one of the big reasons why I moved to walk, bike, and transit-friendly Berlin after over 40 years in the US. I was paying well over $1,000/month for 2 cars for a family of 4 in depreciation, insurance, maintenance, and fuel. And, not to mention the stress from driving and lack of exercise. And, I save in other ways like not needing a gym membership, Costco membership, etc.. I can always rent a car in 15m time blocks the rare times when I need one.
I am happier and healthier here and am kicking myself for not doing this sooner. And, Berlin is not even the "best" transit city or Germany the best transit country.
Berlin has one of the best public transport systems of any city.
Maybe the US should have built transit systems here instead of rebuilding them in Europe after WW2
Maybe the US should have followed both Europe’s and Japan’s footsteps by improving and upgrading the railroads and public transportation rather than letting the oil industry and automakers pressure us into an unsustainable lifestyle.
@@r.pres.4121 Do you realize how big the US is?
@@r.pres.4121 America was built on consumerism
The scariest thing for me walking in the suburbs is running across the huge streets without getting run over as many intersections don't have traffic signals. The most annoying is having the bottom of my pants dirty when I have to walk on the wet grass and having mud all over my shoes.
What the hell are you talking about? I grew up in the suburbs and I cannot imagine a scenario where you would ever be forced to get mud on you for any reason whatsoever. Use the fucking sidewalk, lmao.
Half the comments here like "ya suburbs suk i used to hate [insert mundane task that every human on Earth contends with]
@@davemccombs There are many different suburbs out there. Some in Virginia don't have crosswalks often. In Illinois, some didn't have sidewalks.
@@davemccombs I live in a suburb and there are some areas that simply don’t have sidewalks.
@@davemccombs there are suburbs with literally no sidewalks. You literally have to trudge through whatever landscape is there, usually grass
@@davemccombs Nice that you've lived and experience every suburb in the entire US and can share your experiences with us. You're a real gem for letting us know 💎
As someone with massive fears of driving, the amount of roads with no sidewalks or bike lanes genuinely makes me think it should be a requirement so people can still travel with less fear of being hit by a car
I'm epileptic so can't drive, made it impossible to hold down a job in the suburbs. Had to move to a more urban town where I ride my e-bike on the sidewalks. Life is good now, but I empathize with the sentiment completely.
E-bikes must be a godsent gift for people like you.
So you can't go a year without seizures so you can get/hold your driving license?
I went years with atleast 1 seizure pr day and everytime that happened the clock resets (one year without seizures to drive), luckily orfiril and lamictal works and now i've been driving for years!
So good luck and stay healthy!
Greetings from Norway
@@Kay-jg6tf It took about 15 years to find the right meds but I finally have it under control. However in that time I totaled 3 cars having seizures at the wheel. Couldn't drive for 6 months after the first, then a year after the second, and after the third the state said 'send us your license you're done bro' and I agreed lol. It's been 6 years since I've had a seizure but with that history who knows if I should ever drive again.
@@geoffrymcgary Wow, i have only totaled two cars so i have some catching up to do.
@@Kay-jg6tf lol put your unconscious mind to it and you can achieve anything!
This is one of the many reasons I left America. I now live in Istanbul where there are many bakeries, cafes, and markets within a minute's walk. And, the mass transit system is excellent.
LOL! That utopia that is Istanbul.
Some sidewalk cafes and people watching is not something I'm going to ditch my life here in order to "experience".
Would love to visit Turkey some day.
@@WillmobilePlus Embarrassing. Americans can't take one comment about another moving away from our country without talking shit. But I bet you're one of those who'll also say "if you don't like it you can leave" whenever someone has an opinion differing yours.
@@WillmobilePlus I mean if you work online it can be great, with money no problems there
@@WillmobilePlus and if he doesn't work online or has his own business then I must agree that that's very odd indeed, he could just move to a better place in the us or idk, something even more developed than his homeland such as netherlands
As an international student in the US, getting around the city/ suburbs is quite a task.. There is okayish public transportation, BUT weekends are quite bad since every bus/ light rail isscheduled like 30-45 minutes apart. For groceries, the nearest supermarket is like 30 minute walk away and I dread the days when I have to get those milk cans. The bike lanes leading up to the university are a joke as I see those petrol-guzzling monstrosities called "pick up trucks" frequently making generous use of a fricking bike lane! I don't know how I've made it 7 years here without a car, but thanks a million 'Murica- I lost 20 kilos and haven't been fitter lol!
Okayish? Stop being skeptical.
I lived in a Detroit suburb for a summer and my girlfriend visited from Germany. She didn't have a car and so I said she should walk to the town. She said that the entire time it was loud and people wouldn't stop staring at her. She was so uncomfortable that she never tried it again...
American bare minimum is well below the global standard...
Also, how do you crank these videos out so fast?
Public transit is next to non-existent in Detroit proper, let alone the suburbs.
If you lived in Grosse Pointe you could walk most places. Lots of sidewalks.
@@vladtepes481 true, if the residents don't get suspicious of you. I seem to remember several weird and private beaches there...
I don't think your paranoid girlfriend is a very accurate source of information.
@@deadguy718 I've also experienced this walking there. People just don't expect to see anyone outside of a car on such busy streets.
land of the free and ... home of the brave cyclist and pedestrian who dares to live without a car
its the way to go!!!
I remember waking home from the dealership when I was getting my car worked on... Literally no safe way to get home. Just had to run across a busy intersection.
This is what I wish the people who don't care about this would understand. What if you get an injury that means you can't drive? What if your car breaks down? What if the road closes for whatever reason? The go-to argument is "just take an Uber", but have you thought about how prohibitively expensive that would get? Wouldn't it be nice to have options when you need them?
@@safe-keeper1042 yes I know some people say just take an Uber, but those can change the prices unlike a bus or a street car. They don’t set prices they can go up based on how much demand that Uber has at the time you want it
4:25 This right here is the reason why a lot of people are financially struggling. Because almost the entire majority of our country sees a car as an absolute necessary. Because you can't go to work without it. Not to mention basic tasks you tried in this video. I also feel bad for the disabled and elderly people are left abandoned to die if they don't have anyone to drive them everywhere.
America is turning into a pretty shitty country.
It get's worse with each passing decade.
Ironic that the land of the free would have people trap themselves in motorized metal cages just to get anywhere.
I'm getting awfully tired of American exceptionalism only being invoked to defend things that America is exceptionally bad at anymore, as though that makes it okay to be bad at something. We really need a new vision for the future, rather than just clinging to the broken stuff we have now.
@@xymonvillapando9129 Now imagine the headache of being a car-free American having to deal with the mental gymnastics of these freedom-loving drivers.
@@AssBlasster And the further headache of dealing with NIMBYs too.
A lot of European suburbs also don't have sidewalks but drivers will expect pedestrians to be there and moderate their speed accordingly.
A lot European suburs are even worst thatn that
As a European I dont get it, dont have a car then dont go live in a suburb lol. Tough luck for the kids but they will just say “theres no bike lane so I cant ride my bike” and complain about it on youtube instead of just riding it on the street like everyone without a car does🤦🏽♂️
@@blanco7726 Blanco, in Europe in every city there are suburbs but also many living opportunities (flats) closer to the city center, still at a reasonable price. The problem in the USA is that it is completely forbidden to build houses in the commercial areas. You have to live only in a suburb because houses are allowed only there. Furthermore: in European suburbs there are still some shops (grocery shops) that are reachable by bike or walking. In USA suburbs ANY commercial building is forbidden, bars, restaurants, grocery shops, and even doctors are forbidden!
@@BICIeCOMPUTERconGabriele I doubt there's no option other than suburbs. You have the city for one, which should have some cheap real estate, since in general half the workforce in a city is not that well off.
and they didnt really drive giant hunkin truck too which probably help
Man. This video resonates with me. I grew up in the Netherlands, and always dreamt of living in the US for some time. I got an internship in Silicon Valley and thought I had won the jackpot. The best, most innovative high tech region in the world. That stay was a huge disappointment and frankly also an enormous eyeopeners on how much of an influence proper city planning influences your everyday life. EVERYTHING sucked in Silicon Valley. The infrastructure in the 'most bike-friendly place in the US' in near to non-existent and biking there is dangerous AF. I didn't have a car nor bike during the first 2 months of my internship, which meant that every single 'standard' activity costed a ton of planning and time, or was just near to impossible. Just like this clip shows. Doing groceries meant at least a 40 minute walk basically right next to a highway. The 'city center' of the city I stayed in was basically a giant parking lot. It felt like walking around some kind of industrial area. Nothing to do there, no nice little streets, no place to sit in the sun and enjoy a drink. The public transfer that does exist is ancient. BART (the Bay Area's 'light rail' system) looks like it was built in the seventies and didn't get any update, let alone maintenance, since. And that's just the traffic infrastructure. Silicon Valley should be the peak of technology and engineering. In reality, many places don't even have proper electricity. Electricity infrastructure that does exists consists of wires attached to old wooden poles, with shortages happening all the time. Technology used is maybe from the 80s? Here in the Netherlands, all wiring has been put underground more than 40 years ago. The US is nothing short of a Third World country. Most places in Asia and Africa look a lot better than what I have seen in the US. And that's the richest part California, of the richest state of the US. I can only image the state the rural US must be in. Disgraceful.
Lol and SF is considered one of the top US cities in terms of biking and public infrastructure. That tells you how low a bar the US has for this. Americans pay a lot of attention to the inside of a house...but it comes off as overcompensation for paying no attention to how the outside environment works at all
Hey, ik begin binnenkort aan de tu en zou ook graag in silicon valley willen werken uiteindelijk. Denk je dat het beter zou zijn als je wel een auto zou hebben? p.s. Welke studie heb je gedaan?
How is the US a third world country? Bike lanes and public transport are not an indicator of what a first world country is. Especially when the people of the country simply don’t want it because they’d rather just use cars and they can actually afford to do so.
@@cowfat8547 How is the US a third world country? The leading cause of death for children is firearms, beating out cars, and life expectancy for US citizens has been declining. How is it not?
@@flagrarus The US life expectancy is higher this year than it’s ever been. It really seems like you don’t understand what a first world or third world country is because you haven’t been able to give a single valid reason as to why you think it’s a third world country. The only people that would even suggest that the US is a third world country are people that have a personal vendetta and bias against the country.
One of the features of a free country is that you don't need a special permit from the government that licenses you to go to school or visit a grocery store.
A country that relies on private cars for transportation can therefore never be truly free
lol holy woke nonsense batman just say "I can't afford or drive a car yet but I will one day," damn! 🤣🤣
Cars exist so freedom is not? Because there are clear and obvious safety measures in place?
Oh hell no, 13 year old, hell no
So what is stopping you from moving to a city? Too expensive? BS. You can move to any minority neighborhood and live cheaply and have all the mass transit access you want. What’s that? You say you are scared of blacks? Why? It’s not nice to be racist, you know. Take a diversity class, do some homosexual exploration of yourself and learn to love and live. A cheap apartment, some cool fresh out of prison neighbors who want to top you(hope you are a power bottom), and the dirtiest subway cars can all be yours. Nothing stopping you. All your talk of not being able to live the dream is nonsense. The cities are waiting for you!
@@davemccombs I think the point of his comment went over your head
Freedom is having a choice. Being forced to own a car in order to participate in everyday life is therefore not freedom.
@@snowshoe3274 Being forced to ride a bus or a train against your will is not freedom either.
Having no Sidewalks in a populated Area speaks on so many social, economical and cultural levels. It´s so weird to see as a German. Only expect no sidewalks around Autobahns or Interstate roads and even interstate roads gradually becoming parallel Sidewalks and Bike Lanes even in the middle of nowhere. What are the elderly People with no car are doing? Thanks for sharing.
Elderly people with no car either have their kids take care of them or go to a nursing home.
It’s one of the reasons elderly people drive way beyond the point of it being safe for them to drive. We want them to give up driving when it’s unsafe for them, but do not give them safe alternatives. *sigh* 😔
@@nicktune1219 sad but true.
The elderly are driving and crashing their cars. An elderly man just crashed through a fitness gym last week in my area .
Older neighborhoods here from the 70s and 80s tend to not have sidewalks, as it was seen as an eye sore and attractive to buyers at the time to not have one. Older and newer homes have sidewalks. Elderly people drive with no car as even walking is to far. We also have assisted living homes which you live on your own but they have staff to help you with things like getting groceries. Then nursing homes for people who can't take care of them selves.
When I worked in a coffee shop every morning we had a group of old men come and sit for a drink. Over time the group started to shrink and one day the guy told me he is legally blind but still has a drivers license. That he no longer feels safe driving and we won't be seeing him anymore and this was his farewell morning coffee with the boys.
Growing up I felt safer riding my bike then I do now. So I have not ridden a bike in over 15 years. My childhood home had really nice sidewalks that were not up against the road and had a ditch between us and them, and as a kid you are allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk. You can get a ticket for riding a bike on the sidewalk as an adult and must use the right lane of traffic. It was a 10 minute walk to a forest with trails we use to ride our bikes through. A 20 minute walk to the mall and a 10 minute walk for groceries. Now I have 3 busy roads surrounding my subdivision with the south road connected to both of them and needing to follow one of them. The one north of me has skinny sidewalks that have cars passing by at 60km/h about 2 feet from you, east has no sidewalks but is more of an old industrial area becoming commercial and west of me is regular sidewalks with busy roads.
Canada is quite similar in a lot of ways. However, I noticed that when I moved to Calgary, most suburbs have their own little "town square", where you can buy groceries, get dinner, a haircut, and other necessities within walking distance. There is also a bus route that goes through all of the communities that will take you to the closest transit station or shopping plaza/mall. Pathways lead through parks and cul-de-sacs, which sometimes even makes it easier to just walk vs. driving to the store. I see a lot more people walking here compared to the US. Calgary only has about 1.3 million people, but it's spread out over the size of all of NYC (including Staten Island). I'm not saying that this is ideal, and Calgary is definitely not a good example of urban planning, but it's a huge improvement compared to most American suburbs and goes to show that IS possible to maintain walkability and quality of life despite the suburban sprawl if municipal governments are willing to provide the funding for it.
Most Canadian suburbs are far worse. Where I live, not a single street, even major roads, have even a single thin sidewalk on one side, not a single local store. The suburbs are still being built, and nobody can afford to move in, but of course it's pretty much illegal to build anything remotely dense. If I want to walk to school, I have to walk through a busy, 6 lane highway, and a large 6 point intersection, and I ahve to walk in the street. I fucking hate this country..
I'm amazed at some of the poorer suburbs where the house looks like it is falling apart yet late model cars are in the drive. The priority seems to be a car over everything else.
Decent housing is a luxury in the US but a decent automobile an absolute necessity
- most of those late model cars you see are actually leased especially if a luxury or near luxury brand.
Some poor people also prioritize 300 dollar shoes instead of a rack of clothes so what's your point? You need a shoe as much as you need a car, yet I don't see a video about how shoes are needless...
@@AB-pl1ko yes, the guy who made the video mentioned it as if it's the only option. I guess most people in the US would feel poor if they were to buy an older second hand car which I guess can be very cheap in the US. But no it has to have the best air con and electric vibrator in the seats. Just imagine how much cars we make we don't actually need. Imagine the amount of wasted energy and material. Just imagine how much phones we are making which we don't need. This is why the US is draining the world of its energy. The American people are the biggest consumers, per capita, in practically every category-gas, food, energy... It's absurd. Imagine if 1..6 billion Chinese consumed that much.
Then we have talks about global warming coming from the US. First you clean your own backyard
@@TheRocknrollmaniac - this reply is just in regards to vehicles. One major reason for that in the US is leasing allows a person to 'punch above their socioeconomic status' so your can lease a flash car that makes you 'look' wealthier than you actually are. To too many that superficial perception is the most important thing they want to project to others/potential mates.
My bestie literally just went to Toronto to work for her family. We're both from Gdańsk, Poland, where we always travel using only public transport cause having a car in the city is unnecessary and expensive. So yeah, she's staying at her family's house in suburban area. Her family is on a trip to Ireland, so this first week she's alone. With no car. For last 3 days she's been telling me she's never felt so lonely and depressed in any place in the world (she's a solo-traveler and been to many places before). It takes her 30 minutes to walk to the nearest market and walking through depressing, same-looking, straight-line streets is not ideal. Same with going to the park. Where we live, and in a lot of cities in Europe, parks are usually very well connected via public transport. There, everyone drives to the park. We didn't know parks could ever have huge parking lots in front of them! She either has to walk 45 minutes to get there, walking through a highway (highways going through the city are also a new thing, as in Europe highways surround the cities, so their centers can remain closed for cars) take a 20 minute suicide bike ride, or go there by a bus, that mostly doesn't even come and, of course, it can take you there, but there is no return line. So yeah, she can't wait for her family to return from Ireland and drive her places, cause she says it's the most depressing trip of her life.
Gdańsk is one of the most beautiful cities in the world 🇵🇱
Ugh grow a pair, get a car, rent a car, the hell. Call a uber like why are yall so anal? Europe has the same looking streets too over and over. Is she a child? So people take their car to the park, whats the difference if you had taken the bus? We drive get over it!!!
In the city, Toronto can be quite public-transit friendly. However, the buses in the suburb where I used to live (Vaughan) it’s inadequate and up north in Aurora it’s non-existent. Canada is a lot like the US in these cases and it’s nothing to be proud of.
I can attest to that loneliness part. I moved to a different state for a new job and I'm here alone, no friends or family, and I'm just sitting in my house alone whenever I'm not at work. I'll literally do 16 hour days by choice due to literally having nothing better to do.
@@pianosbloxworld4460 The east end is improving, adding in bus lanes from Toronto to Oshawa about 1/10 done. They added in a new bus route the 900 which follows highway 2 all the way to Oshawa from UoT Scarborough campus that has busses every 15 minutes. Since most people live pretty close to the 900 and work along highway 2 in these cities it has improved the no car life. But it is still horrible compared to any Europe city.
This is basically why I missed Korea as soon as I left. Even with army restrictions breathing down my neck, the possibility of being called back onto base at any time, and nighttime curfews, there was still so much more agency that one person got out of their own two feet and a wallet. You could literally just walk out and get some food if you wanted, take a day trip to Seoul, go out and get drunk with your friends and still be able to simply walk home, whatever you wanted to do. I come home, and it's practically desolate in comparison.
Your videos explain why, as a retired person in the US, currently in the Seattle area, I'm forced to consider only Europe and parts of Latin America as suitable retirement destinations. My requirements include, a walkable medium to large city, affordable rent, good healthcare, good public transportation (don't want a car), cafe culture, museums, galleries and historical sites and a moderate climate. A laid-back lifestyle and better quality food is an added bonus in many of these other countries. After watching many, many videos and reading many articles, I feel there really isn't a place for me, and thousands like me, in the US. Also, I do have adequate retirement income every month, but I refuse to continue to pay high and increasing rent amount. If there were cities in the US that met my criteria I would happily stay.
Alicante, Spain.
@@rbasket8 Yes, I love Alicante and have given Alicante, Valencia and the Costa Blanca North a lot of thought. That whole region is just incredible.
@@brianwhite1189 haha what a coincidence. I am from there (half from there, I am from Barcelona actually). Ask me anything if you want.
@@rbasket8 Yes, quite a coincidence. A beautiful area to be from, for sure. The reason I'm seriously thinking of planning an exploratory trip to Valencia and Alicante is that even though I've been in the Seattle area for almost thirty-two years, I'm originally from Santa Monica and Venice, California and would love to again live near the water and beautiful beaches. Add in the Mediterranean climate, wonderful people, food, wine, walkability, cafe culture and history of Spain and you really can't do much better.
@@brianwhite1189 Never been in USA or California, but knowing from outside, Alicante (Murcia and Almería) is like the SoCal of Spain.
Alicante eventhough has a lot of suburbia sprawl because of construction booming, and the thousands of northern european retirees that live there. But there are also high density and balanced areas. I even know "secret" places next to the sea (literally) perfect to be built (I am studying architecture so I always take a look at those things).
"ItS aMeRiCaN cUlTuRe, YoU cOmMuNiSt!"
Only America are we not allowed to not live the way we want.
Do a similar video about Mexico or Nigeria and the reaction will be very different.
Wow, I went food shopping this morning (near Brighton, UK) and walked past a clothes shop and several restaurants on the way. 30 minute round trip. I've a feeling that the car industry had some input into urban planning in the US years ago which accounts for a lack of alternatives. In the UK, most cities and towns were already here long before the car.
Oh it did. I have a book filled with pictures of my city in Massachusetts, from about a hundred years ago. We have a population of 40,000 now, a century ago it was much less. But there was a cable car. Lots of cities had them. General motors bought out cable car companies all over the place and then dismantled the infrastructure so people would be forced to buy their cars. It's like if Hoover (I'm referring to the specific brand) came into your house and put wall to wall carpet down on your nice hardwood floors, and then when you got home said, "it looks like you could use a vacuum, my friend!"
@@Kevin15047 Hi Kevin, I really appreciate your response. Maybe a monorail could be the answer 😉
@@wannabuyabridge LOL.
As someone who lives in Tennessee, this is still better than 80-90ish percent of suburbs in this part of the US.
Truth.
This is really lifeless and depressing. These suburbs depict a dystopian environment that offers an extreme mediocre experience of living. The striking hypothesis that you made concerning the fact that the inability to drive equals an exclusion from society is really scary. Your content is really valued as it pushes for socio-cultural change. The media has always portrayed America as a surreal land full of life and opportunities, and this has affected our perception and attitudes. The truth is that the predatory capitalistic mindset of the powerful corporations has turned the land into a slavery farm that serves their own exclusive profit, therefore, the USA started losing the charm and magic that it once had at many levels. A friend of mine was living in Morocco, he had a decent lifestyle, eating healthy food and running his business, owning a car and an apartment, and living a seriously genuine life, but because of media brainwashing, he applied for the annual lottery and moved to the US, he became obese and drained because of the long never-ending job hours since he runs his own business, he has also become more paranoid, less secure and violent, the guy had never touched a gun, but now he keeps one since he has been experiencing rubbery acts and severe incidents of racial discrimination, he was unable to visit his dying parents due to time and economic constraints, he got married to a native psychopath who threatens him every time since she is a female and a native. The guy regrets every second he thought about leaving his country. Speaking of my personal experience, I stopped thinking about the US as a potential destination for living as a Moroccan. I was dreaming of moving to America since my childhood, I still believe that the country provides some opportunities thanks to its competitive atmosphere. However, I have stopped belittling my Moroccan experience in terms of aesthetics, economy, and culture because thanks to the advent of the internet I have been able to discover more about the hardships and challenges that shape such a country including racism, violence, economic instability, healthcare challenges, lack of aesthetics, crime rate, divisive politics, social alienation and most importantly mediocrizing the lifestyle of American citizens and turning them into NPCs. There is no wonder why many Americans prefer to settle in Morocco and never go back to their homeland. American media represents Morocco or other north- African Eastern places as a lifeless Sahara but when you compare, you may find out that some of the third world countries like Morocco may provide a decent living experience where joy and hospitality immerse the place, stores, shops, restaurants, and quality food are available and cheap, sidewalks, social interaction, and security are dominant. Any country that consumes its people and destroys their mental stability and sense of liveability is not worth living in.
"Predatory capitalist mindset of the powerful corporations has turned the land into a slavery farm that serves their own exclusive profit." That really tells the tale of the tape.
Out of curiosity, how much do the basic apartments in the Moroccan cities you admire cost per month these days? I am actually considering migrating out the U.S. permanently myself.
@@utubeskreename9516 thank you for the feedback. If you are talking about rent, a 300$ would provide you a quality apartment in the center of the city. Owning apartments start from 25k to 70k. If you are an American or European individual with a decent professional experience and/or degrees you may find amazing opportunities and privileges. You know the country is francophone as far as the administration and job market is concerned but international companies consider bilinguals or anglophone profiles. The country itself is heading towards English as the language of the business. You may feel less alienated here since people are humble and foreigners are well treated. You can also consider marrying a Moroccan , it happens alot here.
As a racial minority living in the U.S. , I can assure you that America has never been the land of magic or prosperity for my family. We have always struggled to survive.
Never underestimate the power of propaganda.
The view of the United States from people outside the country is distorted by the American government, television and movies.
Here are two things to consider,
The United States has the second highest rate of violent deaths by firearms in the world. (Only Brazil is worse)
Americans do not have any national healthcare and many people go without medication or surgery because they can't afford it.
Americans are constantly told by their leaders, they live "in the greatest country in the world".
It's all lies and unfortunately many citizens believe it.
He literally falsifies the entire video. Pretends distances are longer than they are, that alternatives don't exist that are closer, and omits all the crosswalks he's sometimes standing RIGHT NEXT TO while claiming there are no safe ways to cross a road. Douchebag lmao
Finally, a video I can relate to. My family has been in the rough with finances since before I was born. A little over 18 years old now, and still we cannot afford to buy me a car so that I can travel beyond my suburb. With one parent having a ever-flexing schedule and the other being able to neither drive nor work, we do not have a reliable method of transportation to go anywhere except when my working parent is off for a day. Without enough money coming in to sometimes get groceries, nothing comes easy whatsoever. And yet, I hear all the time about how other people get their first car on literally their 16th birthday (even if the car is merely a beater car, which is still too expensive for me). But what about those like myself, who do not get such mid-teens luxuries? Overall, living in this remote suburb, too far from any jobs that I can work, is a whole lot of fun... That's America for you.
Do what I did as a teen, work for you things. It’s not a difficult concept. If you want a car, work for it.
@@cowfat8547 Did you read anything I said? I cannot just "work for it" if there is nowhere near me offering a job to work.
@@cowfat8547 least deranged con mindset
@@ZealousWins There are worker shortages everywhere in the US right now. If you want it enough, you can find a job.
@@cowfat8547 I am speaking of physical location. The only jobs nearby require that I know how to drive (food delivery) which I don't, or there are jobs that sell tobacco and alcohol products (at convenience stores), which, by age, prohibits me from taking those positions. And they're the only positions within walking distance.
Some years ago I flew to Washington DC with a friend a mine and we stayed a bit outside the city in a suburb. We had tickets for a Football game and decided to walk the 3km (2miles) to the stadium instead of taking the car. Well it was an "adventure"...A guy stopped with his car asking us, what we are doing outside in the rain (light rain, nothing unusually here in Germany, we are used to it) and where we are going, people driving by looked at us like we're aliens. It took us like 5-10 minutes and trying out various traffic lights to get a green light to pass the busy street on our way to get there.
They somehow think that a car is the symbol of freedom but true freedom would be the choice to not be forced to drive a car
@@BreadAccountant The freedom to choose what they've decided for you.
Yea not a good idea to walk to FedEx field. It's pretty much surrounded by the hood and is a pretty violent part of town. Seeing white people walking around alone is very unusual in those areas. I'm surprised you didn't get harassed more. If it was nighttime you probably would have been shot.
Sounds like a great way to save money from parking and time from traffic imo. Americans are so used to being glued to the inside of a car that people using the outside world look foreign to us
Washington DC area's old Football stadium RFK which actually is still standing yet rotting away is about 100m from a Stadium-Armory Station on the DC Metro. Both FedEx Field and RFK seem to be really crappy buildings. Its rumored however that when RFK is demolished, The Washington Commanders aka Redskins will build their new stadium on the RFK site if they get approval from the Federal Government.
I moved from a suburb of Chicago to the city itself last year and I have absolutely LOVED not needing a car to get me everywhere. After spending my teens and early-mid-20's in the suburbs, a car-dependent life is all I knew, but I can't even imagine going back to that at this point. The next neighborhood I move to will be either equally or more walkable than my current one.
Besides the cost of a car, getting your license is incredibly expensive too. The state where I live:
$30 for a permit
$700-1000 drivers ed
$20 to send drivers ed records to rmv
$30-150 road test
$30 to process road test results
$50 for a five-year license
And that's all you have to spend before purchasing a vehicle, insurance (which is through the roof when you're new), fuel, maintenance, etc.
Junobug I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese.
Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car.
This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
This pedestrians bridge is not here to help pedestrians cross, but to help motorists not stop.
Good God, that was depressing. I live downtown in a small city and I don't want or need a vehicle for most errands. I do visit a Medspa in the "burbs" which requires a $25 Uber both ways. After my treatment, I typically patronize the restaurants on the same side of the street because it is MUCH too dangerous to cross the gigantic stroad to explore the strip mall across the street. There is no crosswalk or any pedestrian signal that lets you know whether to walk or don't walk. The sad part is that if I took the two hour bus trip to this location, I would have to cross this deathtrap of an intersection.
@@jasonmax5759 Wow, no wonder our middle class is vanishing!
"explore the strip mall" lmao I have never heard that one before
Jesus Christ, exaggeration much.
Very happy this notion is becoming more widely accepted recently. Still haven't stopped running into people that think any other way besides car dependency is impossible. Like yeah, because it was designed that way, but that doesn't mean we can't try to fix things! There are clear ways to do transportation better, and I think the more people watch videos like this, the less resistance to change we'll see when this problem ultimately comes to a head. Great video.
The problem has already come to a head. Only the people refusing to drive are missing out. Everyone else is living their lives as normal.
Naturally, all these roads are just patches of dirt. If you can pave over them with asphalt for cars like we do now, then you can replace them with more varied forms of transportation someday!
I live in the US suburbs (north of Chicago), but I now feel very lucky to have the closest stroad be a few miles away, and having a charming downtown with no chain restaurants. We have some public transit, and regular commuter trains to Chicago.
Chicagoland at least has decent Public transit for the most part. Go to the South where some cities don't even have a Bus system!
I also enjoy the same city layout living in my downtown area, like two supermarkets within a 10-minute walk. But the nearest train is a 2 hour greyhound bus ride away...I'll take what I can get.
I am located in Bucktown, Chicago and it is literally heaven for me. Everything is a short walk away, multiple styles of homes intermixed with shops, dedicated bike lanes, beautiful architecture, low crime, history. 😁 This city doesn't get old for me even after returning from various European cities
Calm voiceover, very steady walking shots, Google maps, stroads. Yep it checks out. This is a city planning channel.
RUclips City planning starter pack.
I agree with the premise of this video: the suburbs aren’t friendly for pedestrians, and most are built around cars. But then there’s:
- Films a public transit sign, later says “do you think a suburb would have public transit? yeah right” (the suburb has public transit).
- Shows a bike lane that shares the road. It’s not ideal but it is marked. Shows a bike which has its own lane, says “Yeah, I’m not going to ride there”. Fair, without a separator between car traffic and bike traffic, it’s more dangerous - but there is a bike lane.
- Films a busy road. “I wonder if there’s a way I can cross this safely, probably not” cuts to a shot showing an intersection which would be a safe way to cross. I mean, it’s valid to say that there aren’t enough intersections and because there are so few intersections, pedestrians will likely just cross the road wherever, which can cause accidents, absolutely.
Again, I agree with the premise entirely: we really should stop giving up so much land to cars. We should stop designing our suburbs and cities around cars. We’re 100% in agreement on this. And yes, the suburb you’re showing is a bit of a hell scape to navigate.
You know what we really ought to have? Superblocks, where cars can exist but where the roads are built for pedestrians and cars are second-class citizens. This could work in cities, but suburbs are another evil entirely. Suburbs need to exist because cities don’t sprawl and don’t have good public transit options. Many people who need to work in a city can only afford to live in the suburbs, and need a car to commute to the city (due to lack of public transit).
Can we just get rail everywhere? Connecting cities and states? Suburbs are going to be f**ked up for some time to come, unfortunately.
I agree with you about the video peculiarities! As someone who walks and cycles around a lot, I kept on asking constantly "but why don't you just use it?!". The Intersection was literally within a minute's walk and 20mins between locations is quite normal to me. The much farther t-shirt shop would have been doable had he used a bicycle, maybe doable in around 30-40mins.
Ofc, I also agree that the US seems to be built too much for car usage. I've heard of two establishments on opposing sides of a road and the only way crossing that was using a car to drive to an intersection 5mins away and turning the opposite way. There was apparently no way to walk across.
I bike through this exact intersection all the time on my way to work in Golden Valley. Surreal.
I don't love this area's bike infrastructure, but it's a hell of a lot nicer than what they have further south on Glenwood, especially where it crosses highway 100, which is where I've had the most close calls by far. And don't even get me started on where I live now, out in Mound😬
Appreciate the effort you put into this video. Hopefully it will help make my future bike commuting nicer! Thanks!
'Only a little' farther north in Winnipeg, your options mostly boil down to:
-get on a bike and experience just how shitty our roads are, while hoping today's not the day yo become a meat crayon for someone who doesn't like bikes being on the road
-use the often-overcrowded bus service (which doesn't come by often enough, and sometimes it just passes you by because there were already too many riders) if it even arrives within 10 minutes of your scheduled time (before or after, sometimes it's much later or much earlier)
-get in the wage cage you poor
@@JeansWithPockets541 "meat crayon!" I'm stealing that 😂
What you showed was bad enough, but you forgot the bit about getting your groceries home once you've bought them! You're pretty unlikely to want to walk 20 minutes with bags of food. Biking might work. Those bike lanes were non-existent, but I wouldn't mind biking without them on quiet suburban streets. The problem would be on the big 4 lane strodes. I would probably just ride on the path, but I'm guessing that's illegal (even though there are no other pedestrians to knock into!)?
No you can ride on the path, I do it all the time at that exact spot in the video. But it is a long walk with groceries, if you do them the American way, where you buy for the whole week or more
@@altriish6683 - I’d get quite annoyed if i had to go shopping multiple times per week. Walking/biking forces that because you can’t carry much. And no, lugging tons of bags on a bus is not realistic.
@@phu5005 it's not annoying if the grocery store is right there, and I waste far less food when I grocery shop every other day as opposed to going every week
@@phu5005 Not really. When we go shoping usually we go out as a family (ie.2-3 people) and its not that hard especially if shops are close. And good public transit wouldn't be overcrowded anyways. You can always just bring a 2 wheel shopping cart which makes things so much easier.
@@phu5005 it is just a matter of habit and surrounding that you are used to. Living in an European city I shop groceries every day, buying just the things I need, never have to carry a lot. Because I have a farmer market ( open every day a week) and several supermarkets in near surroundings, I shop on my way back home.
I realized I don't even know how to shop groceries for a whole week:
We have a little summerhouse that is six miles away from the first store, and similar to USA, there are no pedestrian or bike lines on the roads there, also lot of hills and curves, a bike ride would be dangerous, no reliable public transport... While being there I realized it costs us up to 25% more to shop (we do it approx once a week) and too much of fresh produce end up in compost, going bad while waiting to be consumed :((((.
I know I would be fat in USA. I hate gym but I walk at least seven miles a day and I take time to cook from scratch and with fresh produce, and American way of living wouldn't let me do any of that.
This area is giving me anxiety. You're literally surrounded by traffic and pit stops and no public bench to even sit down!
I live at the outskirts of a major German city. I would categorize it as a suburbia equivalent as the city center is about 30 minutes away (by public transport or car). I could run all three errands in my neighborhood's shopping center, build above a subway station, which is only a 5 minute walk away. Housing around here is much more varied though. You have everything from single houses, 3 floor apartment blocks to a few high rises (about 8-10 floors). I can also walk to a park (with playgrounds and sport grounds), multiple schools, public swimming pool, and other public facilities. Bicycle paths are available on major roads, alternatively many bicyclists use the city's extensive park network to get around in the city. Bicycle infrastructure can be improved though, as there are areas where you are forced to drive on the road next to car traffic. It's by no means a posh area or a desirable location (hip, young people prefer to be closer to the center), but quite convenient for normal, daily life.
The author lives in Minneapolis where the winter is quite cold. No bicycling in the winter is possible.
@@vladtepes481 Cold temperatures are not really a hindrance, but bicycle paths that are not cleared in winter sure are ruclips.net/video/Uhx-26GfCBU/видео.html
@@vladtepes481 But then how do they manage in Finland? Not Just Bikes has a video on Finnish winter biking. I'm pretty sure it's at least as cold there, since it's further north.
@@texicaliblues they are nuts dont you realise🤣😭 they put on 6 layers of clothing to bike on several inches of iced snow, how does this possibly sound normal or even manageable to you lmao.
I mean you still need the bike paths for the summer and obviously some people are gonna be on their bikes all year round, but you cant expect people from Minneapolis to say fuck my car, I’ll get around by bicycle this winter😂
@@vladtepes481 Germany has also cold winters
I haven't owned a car in 40 years but I've always kept my drivers license up to date for when I've visited areas without good public transportation. Living in the city can be expensive but so is car ownership.
I remember my first week in the US as an exchange student. I checked google maps for how far the next Dominos Pizza was and it said 20 walking. So, I thought that's a walkable distance only to find out that I was the first person to ever do that and that there are partially no side-walks 😅
I am from Europe and spent a little less than a week in D.C. for a work trip. I did absolutely everything using public transports or walking. It was an amazing experience to see how impossible it really was
And the mass transit in D.C. is considered among the best in the United States
A week is one thing. Try doing it year round without getting run over.
I'm surprised that you found it so difficult. I live in D.C. and I find it really easy to go everywhere I need to go. D.C. is considered to have one of the best mass transit systems in the U.S., but I suppose it still falls behind many ones in other countries.
@@abhinavpotluri9654 The Northeast really is where it's at, and as much as people shit on NYC, it really is the gold standard for North American public transit.
Washington is a beautiful city and the public transportation system is fantastic.
I moved from California to Tennessee and experienced this. The Central Valley is surprisingly walkable (within town of course) but when I moved East, I instantly recognized the lack of sidewalks. It makes a huge difference
The south is hilarious in how car-centric it is. It's kinda crazy that the frozen north has more bike commuters than down south, which barely has winter. There's no excuse aside from simply bad planning.
@@Descriptor413 closest park to me is an hour and 42 minute walk, a 19 minute bike ride or a 6 minute drive. All along the side of a highway. Kills the joy you have of wanting to get out and be active.
One thing I will say though, it’s a sweet ride on a motorcycle
that was my experience of socal. a lot of sprawl, but at least the crosswalks actually work and there's sidewalks everywhere. out east i've frequently walked in the gutter of a stroad only to end up at a massive intersection without any way to get across, not a crosswalk or even a light cycle to protect me
@Central Based Agency strongly considering it. Car dependence is expensive
What? Im from the central valley and it is not walkable at all. Sure there are some sidewalks, but that is hardly the only problem. You could walk around at mainstreet, but to get to mainstreet you have to drive.
I'm from the UK but a couple of years ago my family and I went on holiday to Boston, we stayed in the suburbs of Boston in an AirBNB. We walked almost everywhere (as we normally do if we were in the UK) and were surprised to see no one else walking around. I know parts of the UK does not have amazing public transport (many local buses in my area are very unreliable) but I didn't know the US had it much worst.
Boston is fairly walkable & bikeable compared to other US cities, but their subway, at least the one I went to, is dark and scary.
You were lucky. Boston has one of the best mass transit systems in the USA.
Part of the problem is the oil and automotive industries lobbying to prevent mass transit.
Living in an American suburb without a car, can relate when there is hundreds of cars passing and you feel being looked down upon
As a driver and pedestrian at times, I don't look down on my fellow traveler. It's all about yielding.
@@JerEditz same here.
That's interesting, I survived 40 years without a car and I will die without one. Not that I do t have money, I can buy multiple cars if I want to, but I have no need at all. Living in Europe, in a good neighborhood is super convenient and easy.
I’m a Brit who just spent 5 weeks in Maine and it absolutely shocked me how sparse all the basic amenities were!
Considering that in England, you’re always 10 minute walk away from a grocery store and various fast food restaurants, it blew my mind how little you come across when you not in major cities.
uk has an higher urban population rate than any other european country and the car per capita is also the lowest of any high income country outside asia.
and in other hand, maine bigger towns are almost rural for north american standards
I'm disabled (visually impaired) living in New Delhi...here we have bus, metro, rikshaw this combination is so good to travel..i don't need to be dependent on someone driving me anywhere...i can travel anywhere around the country alone...i kinda feel privileged after seeing this video lol
Having visited New Delhi for work I would be scared driving there and the pavements are very dangerous for the visually impaired. Still at least they are prepared for pedestrians unlike the US.
GTA taught me that in America you hardly ever need to walk.
This makes me appreciate my small city in the US, we don't have much of this, only buses but many trails connecting areas of town. Not to mention we actually have sidewalks lol
Just out of curiosity, what do you consider small? I live in California and my city has about 70k people. We have a bus system that not many people use because its too slow. That's the only public transit we have here.
Where is that?
This is a great video. Now come to Seattle where I live and show the exact opposite U.S. city. I rarely need a car in Seattle. I can walk, bike or take public transit 98% of the time to any where I need to go. People are out, walking, biking, interacting, enjoying parks and staying fit. These cities do exist in the U.S. but one just needs to research them carefully before relocating to a new city or town. The type of living that I enjoy and take for granted daily in Seattle is a necessary quality of life issue for me.
I am south of you and Pierce Co does not have the same volume of Public Gathering places. I want to move north. I used to live in Surrey BC and Vancouver and wholy WOW the infrastructure is AMAZING!!!!!! I have a whole long list of things that make the city impressive. Know of any houses with a garage that is for rent?
But... Isn't it just fucking sad that 90% or more of your country sucks ass to get around without a csr?
I made the mistake of driving after a couple beers and I’ve had my license taken away for the last couple months. I truly didn’t realize how bad it was till now. I live in a small city in Indiana and it’s nearly impossible to do anything without a car, we have awful public transport, no bike lanes, no sidewalks on my side of town. I had to change my gym because my old one, yes closer was far more dangerous to get there on foot or bike. It’s so much harder for me to even just get groceries. Yet there is a liquor store on every block. This country sucks.
Yup. As an European citizen, my experience in San Antonio for couple of weeks on foot or bike only was crazy. I sold books door to door (crazy summer job, I know) and the infrastructure is nowhere close to bike friendly. To get to some places, the only road is actually a highway.
I remember the funny looks people were giving me when they saw me just cruising on my bike in the suburbs of San Antonio 👽.
Your experiment is exactly what many people have to do who either have disabilities or who are very low income on a regular basis
For the Europeans here:
Minneapolis is rated as one of the most walkable and bikable places in America.
Yes, this one of the best case scenarios.
How is that in such a list?
NYC literally stinks (especially this summer) but you can actually walk, ride a bike, or take the subway to almost anywhere.
Your comment makes no sense. This is a suburb located outside of Minneapolis, it’s not a part of the city… Did you even pay attention to the video, he mentions this at least twice…
Sad yeah, my town is literally just houses with a strip mall and that's it, aside from the invasive car infrastructure, suburbs tend tp be enormous and a minimum 40 minute drive from religious centers of worship, dmvs, high education schools, grocery stores, clothes stores, electronics stores, and major police, fire, and medical facilities which really sucks as one could imagine
you skipped the part where you have to bring groceries back home, essentially doubling the trip time, walking with groceries in hand... AND that puts you back at the beginning which is far away from the restaurant. This country is truly sad. I live in fort lauderdale, 5 minutes away from downtown. Public transportation is STILL basically nonexistent... in a major metropolitan area. Yeah there's buses and trains... if you live next to the beach. That's literally it. You can't live in this county without a car. You can't live in this state without owning a car. You can't live in this country without owning a car. Owning a car is the primary way that this country uses to "enslave" (for lack of a better word) us to uncle sam. Now you got car payments, insurance payments, and maintenance payments to make, you got insane gas prices that are constantly rising. But you signed contracts, so you're stuck paying and you fall for the sunk cost fallacy. Gotta work a job that doesn't pay you enough from the start, just to be able to afford those payments. Now you lose 40 hours each week and hundreds of dollars per month just because you are as you said, ostracized for not owning a car. And thats your CAR alone. Just one of the many things this country uses to exploit it's american people to turn them into uncle sam's 9-5 "slaves" (again for lack of a better word). Good luck purchasing a home if you don't come from money. Apartment rentals are yet another way to hold us in these never ending money sinks. You pay 30-40-50-60% of your monthly income to own nothing. Maybe this is a slippery slope but I believe that this then in turns creates idolization of monetary items, which then leads to people leading a fake happy life because the only things of value in our lives are possessions. This makes the idea of losing our phones, our cars, our apartments is the WORST CASE SCENARIO for our lives. How sad? We don't have anything to fall back on. If your car doesn't start one morning, good luck getting to work. Sure you can uber, but thats even more expensive than owning a car.
Millions of people live every day without family support, without financial support, and most importantly without mental support. But you got people in this country proudly boasting how enjoyable it is to live here, how much better it is than anywhere else in the world. How US citizens aren't allowed to complain because other countries have it worse. These people suffer from the crazy propaganda this country spews on a daily basis. The US is a fucking horrible country. I will never discredit the fact that it's a much better living situation than people in war ridden or politically ruined countries, because the US will always be a safe haven for many people. But for someone who has lived here for the past 25 years, I frequently wish I was born somewhere else. Most Americans have less than $1,000 in the bank. Most Americans are one emergency away from being homeless. Most Americans can't afford a medical bill if it's not fully covered.
This country is depressing as fuck. 25 years in and I want to leave the US every day of my life. Central America is becoming a very enticing region for me. I don't see potential here in the US. I don't see this country growing positively anymore. This country sold out to major corporations years ago.
Coming from a huge car enthusiast, watching your videos really opened my mind up a LOT to how sad this reality we live in actually is. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever will in this country. The US is a broken and corrupt nation and citizens have to resort to living like this because of it. We can't even get politicians in office that care enough to make a difference for future generations, because that's all a game to them too.
You typically bring a backpack or granny cart for grocery shopping trips like this one, but this heavily constrains what you can purchase. Liquid weight adds up real quick!
How true all of this is.. I read all of it. Excellent write up.
@@george.r Your standards are absolutely in the gutter, then
It's getting better, I think a lot of people are missing it. New suburban growth, at least in my area, almost always includes a prominent bike path or bike lane, which makes it easier to not use a car
You need to watch less news, America with all its faults, it still has a lot of good things to offer. As a non-American.
Unironically more riskier than going to baltimore at night.
It's interesting to compare this with China, where there are dense networks of subways and bus routes, all with low fares.
Yes Russia too.
You know what else they have in common?
They are horrible places to live.
And absolutely devastating to your health pollution and air quality
@@trentbergin3776 Ten years ago yes. Today, no. China's made huge strides to reduce pollution.
@@John_259 might have made strides but still exceeds world health guidelines by like 10x
@@trentbergin3776 Source?
Funny thing is you can get all three of those things delivered without ever leaving your house.
Nice life... Having an evening stroll. Going past the grocery store on my way home and buy some bread, milk and veggies. I don't want to sit in my home, getting fat, most of my free time. Spending the rest of it in my car. I live in a suburb, by the way.
And have you considered the cost of said 3 things whenever needed?? Why add another expense if budget is already tight?🤔
You must be young….
Im originally from Europe. I now live in a small quaint village in North America, that doesn't have any shops. When my friends see me walking down the street sometimes they ask me if I need a ride? Did your car break down? etc. It's so unfortunate how the suburbs are built around a car. Our lives would be way less sedentary and a lot more healthy if we could just walk to the grocery store or a convenience store. We wouldn't need to drive to the gym, bc you would get that daily exercise, just by living. One other thing that I also find a little nuts, is not being able to bring a backpack to a store, due to shoplifting? (Canada)....if you are a walker like me, bringing a bag and trying to walk back home with it or trying to bike back with it, just doesn't work.
I walked to the liquor store for the first time a few months ago. On my way home some jackass in a lifted black pickup with smoked out windows rolled coal on me. You really aren't welcome in America as a car-less pedestrian. At least i have the privilege of sidewalks and living right next to a strip mall with a Walmart and Target. Although the nimby's had all the convenient walking paths blocked off when the Walmart came in. Now you have to go all the way to the main road and cross the parking lot to get in. You'll never guess why they had all those paths bricked up. It was racism. They asked us to sign a petition to block the Walmart being built because black people might shop there. God bless this country.
I have never seen a comment that so perfectly encapsulated the worst of Middle America. Also, pickup truck drivers are immediately sus to me because so many people only seem to buy them to be as annoying as possible on the roads instead of actually carrying stuff
The US is a massive shithole. Pickup trucks are terrible.
While I live in a suburb that is significantly better for biking and walking to places than the one depicted in the video, and is pretty equidistant between three of the major four local commercial centers, it's still absolutely ludicrious how bad walking actually is. Half the roads lack street trees, very low density makes it rather far to get anyehwere, and having loud cars zip by at 45mph or higher is deeply unpleasant.
I sometimes watch videos or livestreams of someone walking or biking around their city abroad, and have the feelig of "Hmm, I feel like biking into town.", before remembering my own reality. It's been increasingly tempting to move abroad, even though my degree sets me up to be able fix things here once I get my foot in the door for a career.
Golden Valley actually has excellent bike infrastructure for a suburb. Minneapolis metro and Minnesota is arguably the most bike friendly part of north America.
This is true on so many levels. When your city has no bike lanes, no bus stops and your area has no sidewalks or trees and its the hot Arizona sun. plus a 4 hour walk to get to the closest store and anywhere else is over 5 or 6 hours at best. From someone with no car. I can confirm it's impossible to get a job, go to the store, eat out, or do anything at all. It's the most frustrating experience I've ever had to put up with
SLIMY I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese.
Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car.
This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
@@flat-earther - Be careful with this advice. Even if that's technically true (in most states it's not true) the police in every region of the country will behave as if it's false. So you will get a ticket, which at best will require you to fight them in court. It's unwise to drive a car on public roads, anywhere in the united states, without a state-issued driver's license and car insurance.
Everytime i fly back to the US to visit family, its such a hassle to even figure out how to get from the airport to home. I dont have a license, since in The Netherlands one isnt really needed. So, its always having to hitch a ride off a family member to come pick me up, or hope i get lucky enough to find an uber willing to drive into the rural parts of the state 45 mins from the airport. Amazing, no trains, buses, or anything that i can grab from the airport to get to my final destination.
When im back in Europe? Easy, just get on one of the many trains from the airport, and transfer to another train or bus to eventually get even to a smaller village.
1:35, this is great biking service (at least to American Standards). In my suburbs, there aren't even the "biking lane" road-things like shown in in 1:30. The only actual bike paths are recreational ones in parks. Also, many burbs would never have a pedestrian bridge like in 2:30, so this Minneapolis suburb can be considered lucky. The thing that saddens me is that this would be so easy to change, but almost every American suburb has been going in debt and broke because of car-centric sprawl and it would be so easy to take those millions invested into "less time waiting in traffic" for people in "freedom cars" (AKA 2-ton steel death machines) and give it to just some money to the underfunded and, a lot of the time, not funded at all infrastructure for people who just can't’t drive or afford a car!
Yeah I was actually surprised to even see a bike lane.
i'm from Russia and the place you've showed in this video seems absolutely acceptable to me. I walk to my university 2.7 miles everyday back and forth. And my streets don't look that aesthetic as yours, mine just cause depression to many lmao.
What I really don't get is why neighbourhoods don't have sidewalks. How can a community exist when walking from house to house isn't even given a thought by developers of estates
I can walk and bicycle to my grocery store. It's only 5 minutes away and yes I live in America. I simply looked on a map and figured out where I should live. It's not ideal to live far away from the things you do on a regular basis.
Yes, I'm sure EVERYONE can just "look on a map and decide where to live" with $1k-3k per month rents.
@@utubeskreename9516 Live near the things that matter to you. Most people do.
@@techtutorvideos most places around grocery stores are near the grocery stores. Not being dishonest about that. People have commutes to work. Doesn't seem like they're living close to work. Seems like they're choosing to do this.
Came from Asia so I took good public transit for granted. The first day I arrived in Canada, I walked 4 hours from a suburban Airbnb on a road with no sidewalk to a mall to buy a sim card so I could call a taxi.
This highlights a major problem with America. Thank you for this video. It has been a major struggle of mine when I have to walk on the edge of roads as cars pass by me at 50 mph. I never knew this was a problem with the whole country.
kal I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese.
Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car.
This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
No matter how hard we would like it, unless someone lives in a city with great public transportation like New York city, Americans will never give up their cars.
I like driving but I also wish our public transportation was better
I am American and I would give up my car if I found a reasonable place to live so I can walk and take public transport. I won’t live in New York City that’s too expensive. But I wouldn’t mind a smaller city.
We will give up our cities.
So then we build out more great public transit and walkability, and then we will give up our cars. There’s quite a few cities that are actually starting to change, it’s pretty cool to see
They will if they can't afford them.
This video reeks of 'snarky 16 year old is unhappy with his surroundings and knows just how to fix it'.
As a Brit, I had this experience in Athens GA a few years ago. Now I was actually staying downtown, so I could get eat out just fine. Getting groceries though? Unless you're counting overpriced snacks from CVS, nope not happening - no supermarkets you can really walk to. Tbh most of it is sidewalked, but some of it wasn't as I discovered to my horror when I decided to go to Dairy Queen. I used to go to gym using a expensive hourly bus service and get a Lyft back. Whilst they are by no means without issue, ridesharing apps have actually done a lot to make living without a car more viable in the US - but it is still weird af.
In the UK, there is no city without at least one decent-sized supermarket in the downtown area - and there will invariably be several mini-stores ran by the supermarket chains. Central London is almost the exception, but there are reasonably-sized supermarkets in the Liverpool St., London Bridge and Holborn areas. Even Oxford Street has a decent-sized Waitrose hiding in the John Lewis department store. London does have areas in the suburbs that have been labeled 'food deserts'. I grew up quite near one, and yeah that seems to be more than 15 minutes walk to the nearest supermarket from what I can see.
I definitely recall in Athens, Georgia that unfortunately outside of downtown and places near the University of Georgia campus, a lot of areas are low density sprawl and car dependent. So unfortunately yeah, I have to agree with you.
I'm 77 years old and never owned a car in my entire life. The reason why I learned how to drive and why I got a driver's license decades ago was because it's a mandatory piece of ID. There are things you simply can't do without a driver's license. I've driven a car maybe three times in my entire life. Once was late at night and the person I was with was falling asleep at the wheel. My choice was get killed or drive the car.
Luckily, I've always lived in an area with good public transit. And I've used public transit all of my life. That includes things such as grocery shopping. I would never consider living in an area without convenient 24/7 public transit. The auto industry and Big Oil has made society dependent on cars. I have no sympathy for people paying insane prices for gasoline and diesel fuel these days. And by the way, the auto industry and Big Oil deliberately tried to kill off public transit all over North America. This is especially so where it involved electric streetcars and trolley coaches. But electric public transit is making a big comeback these days, much to the dismay of Big Oil.
That’s quite an accomplishment
You're a pretty good talker Peter man.
Thanks so much for your vids and hard work!
I just found your channel.
You have a different perspective on life.
The main problem is NOT the detached home. Many new ones have lot sizes comparable to ones found in Boston, Chicago and Queens.
The main problem is that the non-residential areas need to look like the residential structures. Then you need to change the layout of land use, traffic flow and buildings.
The problem is the diversification of homes. Not everyone desires a detached suburban home and cities and states have done a poor job of providing options for everyone. Zoning laws have favored single family homes for decades and as a result we are making ownership much harder. Companies no longer build "starter homes" because they know they can build big homes and charge insane amounts. We need to build homes, condos, tiny homes and apartments that support the majority of people not just the few who want to live in suburbia.
You and other channels in the same vain are really inspiring me to potentially make similar videos on my experience in belgium, which in my opinion has a spacial planning that in many ways is even worse than american suburbia.
In the suburbs you would be in easy walking distance of multiple strip malls at every other intersection. There is much more to do there than in a forest of office buildings. Where people live is where they buy groceries, shop and eat out. Try and find a working class bar on Main Street.
This is why I will never move to and raise a family in a suburb. I'd rather raise them in a big city or in a small town or even a compact small city.
This is definitely true for Golden Valley. I also wouldn't really want to raise kids here because you must drive them everywhere. You're blocked north and south by highways/freeways, there are no sidewalks in any of the neighborhood streets, and the arterial roads are fast and seldom have any crossings, except at major intersections. Very isolating for kids
@@altriish6683 I live in the San Fernando Valley which is the suburban part of Los Angeles and it honestly sucks here. It's not as bad as the burbs but it's still not very walkable and transit here is pretty mid but still depend on it. I personally wouldn't want to raise my kids here as its pretty alienating here
As a European in Texas, I found this extremely relatable
Why did you move to texas.
@@donaldthompson6808 My wife is from here so we moved to be closer to her family, We’ve contemplated moving back a few times but obviously as life goes on and you make roots (house, career etc.) it’s harder to just uproot
My nearest family dollar is 5 miles. The closest actual grocery store is about 20 miles haha
Doomsday I think the reason owning a car is such a burden is because people think they have to have a driver's license, insurance, etc. when in fact according to the government's own rules those papers are only needed if you use the roads for profit, commerce. The word _driving_ is a commercial term in legalese.
Most people don't use their car for commerce so they don't need any of those papers to _travel_ with their car.
This is a not well known FACT but it's true and I have some videos regarding that in my favorites playlist that you can see as an example.
Hey Peter, I really appreciate your videos. I was born and currently (still) live in Rome, which is a city you bring up as an example in many of your videos. I wanted to say I really relate to much of your content despite living in a major european city. In fact, I can tell you Rome is hell when you don't own a car. I live in a densely populated peripheral area that has a bus connection to the nearest metro station of Rebibbia, but despite the apparent transit-friendly nature of this city, it is really hard to live here while not being able to afford a vehicle, which I currently cannot.
The reasons for this are many:
1) the social aspect: Italy has a strong car culture, having a car is seen as sign of "growing up" and taking public transit is seen as the "poor people option" by the vast majority of people, because of how undesirable it is, which leads me into
2) the time aspect: unlike many other european cities, you can expect it to take 6 to 7 times as long to get around the city with transit than you do with a car. Buses are always late, they're dirty, smelly, often don't have air conditioning (and the heat right now is unbearable) and I basically have to leave an hour early to do anything. It takes me 2 hours to get to my university which is a 15 minute car drive away.
Trams are RARE in Rome and only serve rich neighborhoods. We only have 3 metro lines covering an area of 1300 sqkm, and they keep getting more infrequent. At its worst, you can expect to wait 40 minutes for a metro, not joking.
3) the safety aspect: I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have been left stranded at night because of the horrible transit during late hours. If I do anything with friends and stay until, say, 2 AM, I will not be home before 5 AM because the buses at night are THAT bad.
4) the urban decay aspect: this city looks as if it has been entirely neglected for the past 3 decades. It is a constant endless construction site. I live near a horrible stroad-like roadway lined with businesses only accessible by car and abandoned buildings, the greyest saddest place ever.
5) it's not that good even with a car: a prime example is the Cassia road: you can expect to spend an hour to advance just 5 or 6 km there. The planning is horrble and the roads are unable to sustain the ever increasing volume of cars.
I hope one day this city learns.
A saying about Italy is that Africa starts south of Milan…no reason to dispute it.