Rent a van? I do that when I have a car too. Or use a moving company.
> And take your children and their equipment to activities
I currently live in a car centric location and it's true that you just need a car to do those things. But I've also lived in places that are not car centric and you don't need a car to do those things in those places. You can either get there by bike (which is usually faster than by car for short journeys when you can just get on and go and then get off and leave right outside the destination rather than having to find a space), or use public transport which is very reliable. Where I lived there was a bus every 15 minutes that took you to a train station where the trains ran from the suburb to the city every 5 minutes.
> risk of crime
I feel like those places that prioritise non car transport don't have this problem. I never felt unsafe cycling or taking my kids on the public transport.
> A personal car is freedom.
It can be. It can also be a weight around your neck. It's expensive. You have to park it when you go anywhere, and that also means you have to get back to it. You can't just change plans and end up in a different part of the city and be OK because you can just take a different route back to your house, you have to get back to your car and hope you paid for enough parking.
Some places just aren't densely populated enough to ever make public transport work well. Many places are though, even quite small cities, and then it's freedom to not have a car. The thing about not having a car is that you can always get a car if you need one for a particular thing, rent or use various services that provide them, or taxi/uber, or borrow one from a friend. But if you have a car and live where you need one all the time then you're stuck with that.
You can do that if you move between apartments (and can afford to pay the service), but not if you're getting a few things spontaneously.
> Some places just aren't densely populated enough to ever make public transport work well. Many places are though, even quite small cities, and then it's freedom to not have a car.
That's why it's never either-or but typically both. Most people need, and have, access to a car in one way or another. That doesn't mean they don't use the public transport, bicycle, or walk by foot when they can.
Rent a van? I do that when I have a car too. Or use a moving company.
> And take your children and their equipment to activities
I currently live in a car centric location and it's true that you just need a car to do those things. But I've also lived in places that are not car centric and you don't need a car to do those things in those places. You can either get there by bike (which is usually faster than by car for short journeys when you can just get on and go and then get off and leave right outside the destination rather than having to find a space), or use public transport which is very reliable. Where I lived there was a bus every 15 minutes that took you to a train station where the trains ran from the suburb to the city every 5 minutes.
> risk of crime
I feel like those places that prioritise non car transport don't have this problem. I never felt unsafe cycling or taking my kids on the public transport.
> A personal car is freedom.
It can be. It can also be a weight around your neck. It's expensive. You have to park it when you go anywhere, and that also means you have to get back to it. You can't just change plans and end up in a different part of the city and be OK because you can just take a different route back to your house, you have to get back to your car and hope you paid for enough parking.
Some places just aren't densely populated enough to ever make public transport work well. Many places are though, even quite small cities, and then it's freedom to not have a car. The thing about not having a car is that you can always get a car if you need one for a particular thing, rent or use various services that provide them, or taxi/uber, or borrow one from a friend. But if you have a car and live where you need one all the time then you're stuck with that.