Being an American is so undignified—humiliating, even.
I lived in what's known as a food desert. It was a place which required a car to get food. We drove on roads which crumbled and destroyed our car. The insurance (which we paid a pretty premium for) covered the fix. Lucky us! We found a garage, which took some time, but they scammed us. While we waited for the insurance to believe us, and we had no car, we tried to walk to get food. Technically, it was a 10 minute walk there, but the trucks (which were very large) made the 8-lane road impassible. We only realized this after trying. Our neighbors doorbell informed the police of this, and we were briefly detained for questions. It wasn't lost on me that the police's main suspicion was that we were homeless. Though not technically a crime, it is very incriminating. After our release, we asked an app to bring us food. It was a weekend, so there was an additional convenience fee. We also left a tip which "went directly to" pay for the human. We didn't hear them or see them, but the app told us the food had arrived and showed a picture of bags on a porch which wasn't ours. It was our neighbor's, whose doorbell had—once again—dispatched police for the intrusion. On Monday, we had no car to drive to the industrial park for work. The bus, which incidentally stopped on the other side of the 8-lane road, arrived once every 50 minutes, but must have had issues since it simply never arrived—though the app had no explanation for this. Nevermind, we called in "sick," which was laughable because being "sick" and taking a personal day were one in the same, but at least being "sick" avoided the shame of being desperate. We did eventually get our car back, not entirely the same, but we could at least move beyond the house again. The insurance app insists our case is settled, but we had to pay out of pocket (a credit card) and we needed reimbursed. We received a letter from the police not long after. A 300 USD fine for disorderly conduct in crossing the road. The date and time were wrong, but the social security number wasn't. We will take a sick day and go to court at 8:20AM next Thursday to appeal.
Such places definitely exist, but it's a choice to live in a food desert vs live in a city with public transportation and walkability. There definitely exist cities in the US where you can live without a car. It's mostly a question of choosing how many square feet of personal space you want to have; it's not really technically possible to have a big house with a backyard, with all neighbors having the same, and being served by a good public transport at the same time.
That's the indignity: really believing you must have chosen this—really believing everyone is free to improve upon their circumstances as freely as anyone else.
You wanted cheaper prices for food, so of course Walmart would push out the local shops. You wanted to drive more, so of course the zoning laws were updated to expand the road. You wanted more convenience, so of course an automated bot handles your insurance claim. You wanted to feel safer, so of course your doorbell will dispatch police. You wanted better jobs, so of course your work and salary history is sold to employers.
Individual indignity caused by a privileged pride; you chose this.
Without being too dramatic, this reminds me of the U.S. Department of Transportation's page on A Consumer Guide to Air Travel:
The elimination of government regulation of airline fares and routes has resulted in lower fares and a wide variety of price/service options. In this new commercial environment, consumers have had to take a more active role in choosing their air service... In other words, airline delays aren't unusual, and defensive planning is a good idea when time is your most important consideration.
There definitely exist cities in the US where you can live without a car.
Those cities have high COL and very competitive job markets because everyone wants to live there, and good luck moving if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck
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Being an American is so undignified—humiliating, even.
Such places definitely exist, but it's a choice to live in a food desert vs live in a city with public transportation and walkability. There definitely exist cities in the US where you can live without a car. It's mostly a question of choosing how many square feet of personal space you want to have; it's not really technically possible to have a big house with a backyard, with all neighbors having the same, and being served by a good public transport at the same time.
You wanted cheaper prices for food, so of course Walmart would push out the local shops. You wanted to drive more, so of course the zoning laws were updated to expand the road. You wanted more convenience, so of course an automated bot handles your insurance claim. You wanted to feel safer, so of course your doorbell will dispatch police. You wanted better jobs, so of course your work and salary history is sold to employers.
Individual indignity caused by a privileged pride; you chose this.
Without being too dramatic, this reminds me of the U.S. Department of Transportation's page on A Consumer Guide to Air Travel:
Those cities have high COL and very competitive job markets because everyone wants to live there, and good luck moving if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck