traingang

i grew up in a shithole american suburb, one of those housing developments with no sidewalks, no streetlights, just an enclave of cheap houses 4 miles up a 55mph canyon road with no shoulders. it was literally impossible to walk to any type of shop for the first 22 years of my life. i hated it so much i put all of my life's energies into getting the fuck out and living somewhere urban. after getting priced out of one metro area, we were able to relocate somewhere cheaper and buy a home. now, i measure how good my weekend was by how little i needed to drive. i've got bars, shops, and restaurants within 1 mile in every direction. it really is a blessed existence. i work with suburboids who are too scared to go on walks. if it isn't a walk from the parking lot to the store, or up the driveway, to their house, they won't do it. i desperately want to visit one of those european cities that was developed before the existence of the automobile so i can experience life how it was meant to be lived - locally, on two feet.

america is a deeply sick place.