> Most elderly don't feel comfortable driving but in the US...
I'm talking about people who can't do stairs anymore. They're not walking a few blocks or driving cars. They're taking shuttles places or taking trips with the family. Shuttling the elderly around is cheaper and simpler in car towns. Scooting around NYC or downtown SF with Grampa in his wheelchair is rough. Rougher still when it's cold, raining, or hot. It's often bad for their health, even.
Car towns, maybe just because they are newer on average, are easier to deal with.
* basically never having to illegally park just to function
* car towns have plenty of bathrooms and indoor places to stop and relax
* elevators and handicap accessibility is much more common; dense cities are lousy staircases, steps, and narrow aisles
* keep gear in the trunk (changes of clothes, extra diapers, umbrellas, ponchos, picnic lunches, etc.)
* buckling a tired kid in a car is safer and more convenient than dragging them across intersections
* a screaming kid in a car is nicer all around than a screaming kid on a train
* getting around a dense town with luggage is rough: cabs don't stop, big/extra suitcases on buses is rough, and there are stairs everywhere
The math changes, of course, if everyone in your party is old enough, healthy enough, and responsible enough to carry their own gear. Some families with kids are in this category. But most families aren't that way, at least through different seasons.
I'm talking about people who can't do stairs anymore. They're not walking a few blocks or driving cars. They're taking shuttles places or taking trips with the family. Shuttling the elderly around is cheaper and simpler in car towns. Scooting around NYC or downtown SF with Grampa in his wheelchair is rough. Rougher still when it's cold, raining, or hot. It's often bad for their health, even.
Car towns, maybe just because they are newer on average, are easier to deal with.
* basically never having to illegally park just to function
* car towns have plenty of bathrooms and indoor places to stop and relax
* elevators and handicap accessibility is much more common; dense cities are lousy staircases, steps, and narrow aisles
* keep gear in the trunk (changes of clothes, extra diapers, umbrellas, ponchos, picnic lunches, etc.)
* buckling a tired kid in a car is safer and more convenient than dragging them across intersections
* a screaming kid in a car is nicer all around than a screaming kid on a train
* getting around a dense town with luggage is rough: cabs don't stop, big/extra suitcases on buses is rough, and there are stairs everywhere
The math changes, of course, if everyone in your party is old enough, healthy enough, and responsible enough to carry their own gear. Some families with kids are in this category. But most families aren't that way, at least through different seasons.