Many thanks to all who responded (both for and against) to my little
diatribe on "needing" a car, and all the side issues (salary, availability
of public transportation, personal safety, housing) that arose from it.

I have made some observations from the discussion:

There are a lot more differences between city and country living and
American and Canadian cities than most people realize;

Distance to and from work is less of a factor than personal safety when it
comes to whether or not one drives to work (on a personal note, I have two
jobs (that's another discussion) and I travel the +40km between them
without a car);

Almost everyone thinks that the current state of public transit is lousy,
wherever they live; and

While many people choose not to own a car, far more have that "choice" made
for them by their personal financial situation.

While I still don't feel I need a car  I'm pretty sure I've concluded that
I'm glad I live where I do, and while LA sounds like an interesting place
to visit, I wouldn't want to live there.

Alex Avdichuk
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