Consolidated reply to you and a few others: Speaking here as an older-than-average HNer caring for an elderly parent. Not all doctors are equal, if the local is a lemon, it is usually a distance to the next one. Then, there are specialists and worst-case, hospitals. Public transit is awful in the US and not nearly reliable or safe enough for medical transport, especially of the elderly. There are senior transport vans but they require scheduling, there are restrictions on which cities they go to, and there can be delays. I don't use rideshares but I'm betting that they're not geared towards riders that need extra time and maybe help getting all the way to the door and then into the house. All added stress for the senior citizen. Ambulances are ruinously expensive. I'm extremely happy that I can drive her where she needs to go.
Being around people and being on top of them are two entirely different situations. I lived in apartments until a late age when I could afford to put down roots. They were ill built, insulated, and ventilated then and getting worse. When remote neighbors made fish, I gagged all the same. Navigating cramped parking lots, dealing with stolen packages and mail, and having the musical choices of others thrust on me? I can do without that and a lot more.
We have family members that lived in a huge SoCal apartment complex for a few years. One is in a wheelchair and the development had some mandated ADA units. Every year they had to move to a new apartment within the complex to /minimize/ the rent increase. Minimize. They tried to negotiate with the faceless corporation that said no negotiations were possible. Pay to stay or pay a little less to move. They eventually left for NorCal where they could purchase a home.
These developments are put up by, whaddya whaddya, developers. They are cheaping out on quality so the units are smaller, the walls are thinner, and the ventilation just good enough to pass. Enshittification is everywhere. And, just like the new generation of malls, any public and semi-private spaces are governed by heavy restrictions on what can be done (not much) and what can't (quite a bit).
There's a YT channel, I forget the name, that had lots of vids on "It's better in Amsterdam" because the 30-something creator could bike to his grocer and cafe. Lots of repeated clips of the same bike going down the same flat path in good weather to a shop or restaurant. I'm for livable, walkable cities but I soon had enough and blocked the guy.
On the other hand, I live in Switzerland and I see the apartment buildings around (it's a village) with large balconies and terraces, only a couple of stories high and well insulated, with services for the elderly available around the clock, public transport close to home even at night, and they are built by, whaddya whaddya, developers. So please don't dismiss something just because it's not working in the States. It IS possible and it EXISTS already, whatever you block the messengers or not. And if you folks keep your eyes closed or keep saying "not possible here" you will never have it either. Never.
It's possible, like every molecule in the room suddenly collecting in one corner of it. Just highly unlikely. Public anything in the US is a four letter word thanks to decades of assaults. Value extraction from the many for a few is the sole goal.
Glad it worked in Switzerland. Our demographics, scale, and politics are just a tad different.
Being around people and being on top of them are two entirely different situations. I lived in apartments until a late age when I could afford to put down roots. They were ill built, insulated, and ventilated then and getting worse. When remote neighbors made fish, I gagged all the same. Navigating cramped parking lots, dealing with stolen packages and mail, and having the musical choices of others thrust on me? I can do without that and a lot more.
We have family members that lived in a huge SoCal apartment complex for a few years. One is in a wheelchair and the development had some mandated ADA units. Every year they had to move to a new apartment within the complex to /minimize/ the rent increase. Minimize. They tried to negotiate with the faceless corporation that said no negotiations were possible. Pay to stay or pay a little less to move. They eventually left for NorCal where they could purchase a home.
These developments are put up by, whaddya whaddya, developers. They are cheaping out on quality so the units are smaller, the walls are thinner, and the ventilation just good enough to pass. Enshittification is everywhere. And, just like the new generation of malls, any public and semi-private spaces are governed by heavy restrictions on what can be done (not much) and what can't (quite a bit).
There's a YT channel, I forget the name, that had lots of vids on "It's better in Amsterdam" because the 30-something creator could bike to his grocer and cafe. Lots of repeated clips of the same bike going down the same flat path in good weather to a shop or restaurant. I'm for livable, walkable cities but I soon had enough and blocked the guy.