I might be a little spoilt by living where I do. I can hardly imagine having to get into a car to buy milk or post a letter. I am right next to businesses and recreation. I also love living within meters of the SkyTrain service providing easy access to downtown Vancouver and other local business centers. I'd never give up having a vehicle but only because one provides the opportunity for longer trips.
This is why I look with hesitation to many warm weather locations for our eventual winter retirement. The places most affordable and accessible to us are not pedestrian friendly at all. Phoenix, AZ has some excellent values at present but who'd want to live out in the middle of a desert suburb? A single block in that city is about two miles! Even smaller towns such as little Palm Springs, CA would require a car for most daily errands.
I don't understand why society is structured this way in North America. It's as if we've very poorly reinvented how people live. I guess everybody wants a little patch of their own ground and is willing to drive two hours to get to and from it. It makes much more sense creating environments mimicking how people have lived for most of human history. I want to find a compact downtown area where businesses and housing coexist. I want to find a sunny destination that has easy public transit. I want to spend my winters in a place where having a car would be a luxury and not a necessity.
