Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Servo
Exactly my questions. The Chicago forumers on this page seem to be living in some kind of hyper romanticized idea of a city. Unless you live within a few blocks of a grocery store, car-less shopping just is not practical. Public transportation + grocery shopping sucks. I fell bad for the less fortunate that can't afford a car and are forced onto our busses and trains. Oh, and please spare me all the anecdotal "I do my shopping one bag at a time throughout the week and take the train just fine" bullshit. No family shops like that, so don't even try.
It's really obnoxious how everyone on this forum has this bizarre attitude of car=bad or parking lot=bad
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i am 30 (almost 31...crap) and have never owned a car in my life. why is this so hard for YOU to understand? i plan ahead where i will rent so that i have daily conveniences nearby. its really not that complicated or difficult if it is the way you decide to live and structure your life. if you choose to structure your life around a car....well, it wouldnt surprise me that you live your life based around one.
this isnt imaginary or a "romantic view" of city life, this is my life and the life of many other people who you can choose to pretend also dont exist. it has to do with choices you make and the tradeoffs you are willing to live with. theres far less stress to me in plopping down on a bus and reading a book until i get to my destination, than contending with traffic/parking/car issues, etc. In return, I have money left over to spend and save for things Im more passionate about. 6 months out of the year I dont even buy a CTA pass, and can get pretty much everything i need with a bike and a messenger bag. I realize this might not always be possible and life situations change, but it is now and I plan to get as much mileage out of it as possible.
and i DO shop 2-3 times a week. besides the fact that its less to carry at once, it means im eating fresher food and i can plan meals on the fly. you pick some bizarre crusades to get indignant about. rather than getting upset about how this is difficult wherever it is that you live, maybe, you know, petition for better planning rather than acting all befuddled by models that have been proven to work, and work quite well for many people all over the world.
the "first-world suburban model" is not the way the vast majority of the people on earth live either....