Seattle is among the most walkable cities in the US but San Diego is not. The nominally walkable areas of San Diego are for tourists with tourist desires; locals don’t live there for the most part and for good reason. I loved living there but walkable it was not.

Seattle, on the other hand, is a city where I’ve never really needed a car no matter where I lived or worked. I think that part of the lifestyle is brilliant. I have a car, but the battery goes dead between usages as often as not.

Northgate, West Seattle, Delridge. There are lots of suburban enclaves within the city.

Seattle has plenty of walkable parts, but I grew up in a working class suburban neighborhood within the city where driving to the store was most certainly necessary.

I wouldn't call Chicago and San Diego walkable (I'm talking about like european cities walkable)

> Chicago

Some individual portions of Chicago are very walkable. Likewise with some small bits of San Diego, though you are right, not as good as European cities.

I don't know about European cities, but it's generally easier to walk around the San Diego Gaslamp Quarter than it is to drive.

Gaslamp is a tourist area, you wouldn’t want to live there, there isn’t much around. It used to be really dodgy, no one sensible would go there, but they rehabilitated it to a significant extent. Unfortunately, it is mostly only frequented by 20-somethings getting drunk at the myriad bars and tourists.

I was there two weeks ago. It’s pretty much one street with a dozens of bars. Quite empty during the week.