system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
I think it is true to say that most people in the US are almost forced to have a car.- People that don't have one, or don't have a license to drive, are at a huge disadvantage.

The country is big, we spread out a lot.

The American Dream was to have a house in the suburbs -- a free-standing house, in a neighborhood with other houses, 2 cars in the driveway, vacations taken at places that take at least a few hours to drive to.

You drive to get groceries; the grocery store is probably too far to walk (particularly carrying groceries), but it is also situated in a place that is not easy to walk to. You might have to cross a roadway or two with streams of cars traveling 35mph (56kph), a common speed in the suburbs. And you can only purchase what you can carry if you walk; if driving, you can shop for a family for a week and bring it all back at once.

Even more unlikely than walking to shop is walking to work. Someone in the US who lives within walking distance of their work is highly unusual. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown a lot of employers that working from home is viable, a lot of people don't have to come to their office, but we've had many decades of establishing a society oriented around cars before we got to that. Less rare, but still rare, are people who share their cars for the commute to work; the large majority of people going to work travel in their car alone.

There is an element of freedom and independence wrapped up with this. If you are able to count on having a car, then you are not bound to work or shop within walking distance of your home. You can work across town and shop wherever you want. You can take a vacation at the beach. You can -- and I think this is a bigger factor than many people think about -- leave when you want and return when you want. You are not constricted by any public transportation schedule, and the limits on what you can carry are greatly expanded.

Once the country started getting set up this way -- mid-20th century, with inexpensive gas and mass-produced cars, and a dream of owning the cars and being independent -- things snowballed that way. Any town or city will have zoning laws, prohibiting putting businesses in neighborhoods with houses (and, in fact, putting large multi-family apartment complexes in neighborhoods with single-family homes). Since the cities and the builders could assume everyone would have a car, everyone ended up needing one.

You must have health insurance to have decent health care in the US -- to get checkups, go to the dentist, etc., it is far too expensive for anyone to pay for out of income. The insurance companies started making agreements with individual health care providers for special pricing, and then requiring their members to go to those providers. No provision is made for providers being within walking distance of one's home, it is assumed you have a car.

There are attempts currently for some developers and communities to have "mixed-use areas", where living and commercial spaces are put close together and people can walk to things instead of driving. Many people are advocates for this sort of thing and seem to enjoy it; I wouldn't want to live in such a place, and I think many middle-class US people would not want to. I gave up apartment living decades ago, I don't want to be stacked up with my neighbors, able to hear anything of moderate volume that goes on next door. I want a yard to let my dog out in, have some flowers if I want, install electricity for my electric car if I want, etc. 

While it is true that a car is practically a necessity in most of the US, I do not know that (for instance) grocery shopping takes any more time. I drive to my regular grocery store in about 5 minutes, and I can buy more than someone walking can buy. So while the shopping might last longer, I can make fewer trips.
gpt
&gt;While it is true that a car is practically a necessity in most of the US, I do not know that (for instance) grocery shopping takes any more time. I drive to my regular grocery store in about 5 minutes, and I can buy more than someone walking can buy. So while the shopping might last longer, I can make fewer trips.    

People living in cities in Europe rarely make grocery "trips".    

I just pop into whatever store I pass whenever I'm on my way home. No need for a special trip to the grocery store when I can just do it when I'm already going home anyway