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A comment on Life in the Spanish city that banned cars. Parent comment

Re:Life in the Spanish city that banned cars by ryanwaggoner on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @10:47AM (#18015774)
The healthcare argument isn't really that compelling, because most white-collar professionals in the USA have pretty good health insurance through their work. The extra time off is excellent, but you can put a dollar value on it and it doesn't come close to adding up to the paycut. You also pay higher taxes, and the cost for other goods and services (food for example) is often higher.

Disposable income for a senior developer in a major market in the US is likely to be much higher than their counterpart in the EU.

There may be other harder-to-measure cultural or quality-of-life reasons that make the tradeoff worth it, but I don't think "free healthcare" and a few weeks off comes close to making the case quantitatively.

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Re:Life in the Spanish city that banned cars by skh on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @11:15AM (#18015982)
It goes beyond these things. You get a quality of life enhancement by being in a more community centric environment. Less pressure overall. No one wonders if there is something wrong with you when you take 3 weeks off in a row. Being able to walk to the bakery, grocery store, and having better access to quality food. The fruit in the U.S. is quite bland compared to what you get in Europe. Having people out and about makes a place worth living in. The focus on the financial aspect is a very American trait. The overall quality of life is just better in Europe. Being able to take a train to a nice destination is great. Being able to walk from one village to the next is awesome. Going to a lake that isn’t fenced off due to private property obscuring access to the shore is wonderful.
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Re:Life in the Spanish city that banned cars by timc3 on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @11:42AM (#18016206)
Also when I go to the U.S. it’s kind of shocking to see how many people could do with good healthcare but are obviously not able to get it. I want everyone around me to be healthy not just my immediate friends and family.
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Re:Life in the Spanish city that banned cars by renlo on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @01:32PM (#18017340)
The US is huge. Just to add a slight counterpoint, where I live I too can get great produce and visit natural areas that aren’t fenced off (California). Walkability depends on the city as well. The other points you make are valid though.
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