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Why more cities need to be built for walking
The first time I heard the hit single, “Walking in LA,” by eighties staple Missing Persons, I was already living in Los Angeles. After weathering almost a decade of slammed doors in my face, my bothersome status as a thirty-something writer stuck in the thankless world of retail, inspired some serious soul-searching that led to the intense desire for radical change.
They say it’s harder to seamlessly adjust to another city after spending ample time in The Big Apple because of the specifications that allow for the immediate embrace of a well-situated landscape that features the currency of independence for visitors and residents based on the superiority of its transit system.
When the city of New York became my adopted home, it was hard not to venture out with the quest of personalizing neighborhoods and monuments that were easy to reach with the simple swipe of a MetroCard.
There’s nothing more empowering than the freedom to roam around new surroundings with the authority of a long-time inhabitant without the headache of rental cars or Uber drivers.
Living in the city wasn’t cheap, but it never occurred to me just how much money I was saving until I relocated to another part of the country where driving is mandatory.