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When I was in Europe ( Austria, Italy, Germany) I've noticed that in big cities with the system of public transportation one could easily get by without owning a car ( unlike in the US.)
How about life in smaller cities? Would that be still a case, or in smaller European cities car ownership is a must as much as it is in the US?
It may depend on where exactly in Europe. I grew up in a very rural area and we had two buses a day going to the next biggest town from where in turn you could take a train to the next city. Everyone has at least one car there.
Even in big cities many people own cars. Maybe not for their daily commute to work, but to go shopping, on vacation...
It may depend on where exactly in Europe. I grew up in a very rural area and we had two buses a day going to the next biggest town from where in turn you could take a train to the next city. Everyone has at least one car there.
Even in big cities many people own cars. Maybe not for their daily commute to work, but to go shopping, on vacation...
OK, I hear you that many people own cars to go shopping or on vacation, however if you don't have a car, can you still get by without it, while communing to work or going grocery shopping?
So is it a necessity as in the US, or a luxury (I am not talking price wise, but in practical sense of it.)
Large parts of Britain (excluding rural areas of which there are many) are able to be lived in without owning a car quite comfortably. It's not a necessity just a convenience. Sadly using public transport all year works out to be just as expensive as car ownership but without the flexibility.
OK, I hear you that many people own cars to go shopping or on vacation, however if you don't have a car, can you still get by without it, while communing to work or going grocery shopping?
So is it a necessity as in the US, or a luxury (I am not talking price wise, but in practical sense of it.)
In some areas (like the one I grew up in) it definitely is a necessity and even in the big cities public transportation can be a hassle, depending on where you want to go and how much time you have for that. It would've been impossible for me, even as a student, to accept a job anywhere outside of town if I hadn't had access to a car.
A car isn't a necessity in the US either, it all depends on where you live and what your expectations are. I lived in Milwaukee for quite some time without a car and got by. I also traveled to several smaller Midwestern cities such as Madison or Cincinnati without a car and got around without one, too. Just grocery shopping on the bus sucks. Obviously in towns with 50,000 people or less you need a car, but in many smaller European towns (or let's say German since that is the only country I know good enough to say that) as well.
Large parts of Britain (excluding rural areas of which there are many) are able to be lived in without owning a car quite comfortably. It's not a necessity just a convenience. Sadly using public transport all year works out to be just as expensive as car ownership but without the flexibility.
Public transport in your country is atrociously expensive. It's about the same price or cheaper (and much more convenient) owning a car like a Citroën C1 or its competitors' equivalents. Buy a car like that with a diesel engine in it, forget about public transport, I'm going to drive like so many in the UK do
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Obviously in towns with 50,000 people or less you need a car, but in many smaller European towns (or let's say German since that is the only country I know good enough to say that) as well.
