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I think that a lot of North Americans have an idealized view of how walkable life in most of Europe is. I realize we are mostly talking about central cities here on this thread and if we limit our scope to them, it is true they tend to be fully walkable. This is even true of relatively small cities (50,000 and even less) in Europe.
But you just have to go out into the suburbs of European cities big and small and practical life for people is rarely 100% car-free. If you are close to a big enough city then your suburban area will generally have decent public transport for work commutes to and from the centre of town. But you will still usually need a car for shopping, going out, activities, etc.
Life in the suburbs of European cities is much more auto-dependent than many people realize. It is not that dissimilar to life in North American metropolitan areas which have decent public transit systems: people tend to use transit to get to and from work downtown, but use their personal vehicles for most everything else.
My experience with the suburbs in Europe is that they aren't nearly as sprawled out as American cities, and they're better planned. They typically have good public transportation, and most roads tend to go somewhere (vs. housing tracks). I certainly can't speak for all cities or countries in Europe, but I've never seen anything even remotely close to the type of sprawl in America. They appear to be more similar to the inner-suburban ring to many US cities.
I wouldn't doubt that many people have cars in the burbs, but (as you kind of said), they can get into the center of town without them and it's really more of a convenience than a necessity. Of course, I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. However, I would guess that the percentage of people that need cars in Europe is considerably smaller than the percentage of people that need cars in the US.
I know when I was living in London, I had to take occasional trips into small towns (Northern England), and the train was efficient, dropped me off in the middle of town and I could always walk to wherever I needed to go (for business). That is far from the norm in the US IMO.
I think that a lot of North Americans have an idealized view of how walkable life in most of Europe is. I realize we are mostly talking about central cities here on this thread and if we limit our scope to them, it is true they tend to be fully walkable. This is even true of relatively small cities (50,000 and even less) in Europe.
But you just have to go out into the suburbs of European cities big and small and practical life for people is rarely 100% car-free. If you are close to a big enough city then your suburban area will generally have decent public transport for work commutes to and from the centre of town. But you will still usually need a car for shopping, going out, activities, etc.
Life in the suburbs of European cities is much more auto-dependent than many people realize. It is not that dissimilar to life in North American metropolitan areas which have decent public transit systems: people tend to use transit to get to and from work downtown, but use their personal vehicles for most everything else.
I share your observation, at least for the countries west of the former Iron Curtain.
People here who have never been to Europe, and even many of those who have (considering the tourist districts tend to be in the central parts of town), tend to have an idealized Amelie-like image of the entire continent, when in reality, your "typical (Western) European" is just as likely to drive to work in a suburban office park and do most of his shopping at Carrefour (the European equivalent of Wal-Mart, with the same gigantic parking lots).
only in NYC and Chicago - for USA - that I basically don't need car.
Aussie - car is a must.
Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai - happy with their public transport esp the subways.
I think that a lot of North Americans have an idealized view of how walkable life in most of Europe is. I realize we are mostly talking about central cities here on this thread and if we limit our scope to them, it is true they tend to be fully walkable. This is even true of relatively small cities (50,000 and even less) in Europe.
But you just have to go out into the suburbs of European cities big and small and practical life for people is rarely 100% car-free. If you are close to a big enough city then your suburban area will generally have decent public transport for work commutes to and from the centre of town. But you will still usually need a car for shopping, going out, activities, etc.
Life in the suburbs of European cities is much more auto-dependent than many people realize. It is not that dissimilar to life in North American metropolitan areas which have decent public transit systems: people tend to use transit to get to and from work downtown, but use their personal vehicles for most everything else.
Not really. A car is still more convenient in European suburbs, but most have decent bus service and usually train service. I was amazed how much denser suburbs in the UK are than in the (most seem designed to be walkable) and how it seemed every town had train service, often to more than one big city.
I share your observation, at least for the countries west of the former Iron Curtain.
People here who have never been to Europe, and even many of those who have (considering the tourist districts tend to be in the central parts of town), tend to have an idealized Amelie-like image of the entire continent, when in reality, your "typical (Western) European" is just as likely to drive to work in a suburban office park and do most of his shopping at Carrefour (the European equivalent of Wal-Mart, with the same gigantic parking lots).
I never owned a car until we recently moved to the US. My mum (aged 73) lives in the suburbs and doesn't even have a driving license. She walks 5 mins to get her morning paper and has only a 10 min walk to get groceries from her 'village centre'. She walks to her doctor and friends......
I share your observation, at least for the countries west of the former Iron Curtain.
People here who have never been to Europe, and even many of those who have (considering the tourist districts tend to be in the central parts of town), tend to have an idealized Amelie-like image of the entire continent, when in reality, your "typical (Western) European" is just as likely to drive to work in a suburban office park and do most of his shopping at Carrefour (the European equivalent of Wal-Mart, with the same gigantic parking lots).
Actually that wasn't my observation for the 29 years I lived in small towns across Europe. It's much more typical to take the bus to work or to the supermarket, not everyone is shopping at the hypermarche. In fact neither my husband or I had a license before moving to the US, and several of our relatives and friends back home still don't.
Personally, I have never needed to own a car. I passed my test four years ago and since then have only driven for a grand total of about 15 minutes.
Good information. I'm not surprised that you don't need a car. I lived in London for a short while and loved it. Even in its suburbs, you don't need a car.
The one thing about London for an American, is that if you don't get used to looking right first and then left, while stepping onto a cross-walk, your days are numbered. It took me about 3 days to break the habit of looking the opposite way when stepping out, and wow, I almost got hit by someone on a scooter more than once!
Good information. I'm not surprised that you don't need a car. I lived in London for a short while and loved it. Even in its suburbs, you don't need a car.
The one thing about London for an American, is that if you don't get used to looking right first and then left, while stepping onto a cross-walk, your days are numbered. It took me about 3 days to break the habit of looking the opposite way when stepping out, and wow, I almost got hit by someone on a scooter more than once!
I rode a motorbike before it got stolen. Best way to get around the city in good weather, I'd say. Just last summer riding through central London I had to swerve to avoid hitting an American tourist looking the wrong way crossing the road, and then swerve a second time to avoid an oncoming taxi. I had to have two operations on a broken wrist, and I've only just stopped having physio on it
Same for us when we go abroad though. My parents generally get stopped by the police for some breach of traffic law they didn't know about every time they go to Spain/US, and riding a scooter in Spain I accidentally ended up going the wrong way down a one-way street I got so confused about which lane I was meant to be in.
As an European, I can say that most of the time, a car is needed. Just the big cities have trainstations, but most of the rural towns are depending on their cars. Small town just have a little grocery store, and most of the time people need to get to a nearby city to do their 'big groceries'
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