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 [log in to unmask]