I guess it really depends on each person but not having cars really makes up for many other disadvantages.
Which makes you think how bad cars in the city are in general.
You don't really appreciate this until they are gone.
I lived there and I lived in many other cities like Paris, London, Munich, Krakow, Bangkok and Bali.
Venice is one of the most authentic cities of them all.
The language is alive and evolving.
It's a bit like the fight club, real locals recognize each others, while the tourists think it's just a Disneyland.
Quite fascinating!
Charming restaurants, quirky bookshops, etc., that's not "authentic life." That's frivolity. Sharing frivolities with the locals doesn't give you any insight into their "authentic life." Tourism is always Disneyland. It's always fake. It's just different versions of Disneyland for people of different temperaments.
(It's funny you mention Bangkok. I was born in Bangkok. What exactly is less "authentic" about it than Venice? How can a city even be less "authentic" than another city?)
But then I saw a couple traces of authentic life. We ran into a local walking her dog, and my friend (who speaks fluent Italian) chatted her up. On one of the smaller canals I saw a road sign -- not seemingly aimed at tourists or even gondoliers, but at ordinary Venetians trying to get around.
All of a sudden, the whole city felt amazing.
Perhaps, if you're prioritizing access to hordes of tourists.
Some cultures seem more fit than others to deal with it.
Some are overwhelmed, others learn to manage.
Most of the locals live on the mainland, anyways. Venice itself is a living museum at best.
When I walk in Venice I constantly meet locals I know, going around their daily life.
It's hard to see this unless you are with some of them.
And even if you see it, it won't tell you anything unless you are part of it.
It's fascinating to see how two different "species" of animals coexist and barely interact on a meaningful level.
I'm not saying it's a good situation but it's not a living museum, people live, work, love and fight there.
We can't dismiss them because we don't see them.
You say there are other priorities that make Venice attractive -- like what? You still haven't made that clear. The nice parts of the city are completely given over to tourism, the hidden corners feel abandoned and listless.
- no cars. This alone raises the quality life by an amazing degree.
- 100% walkable.
- you meet people you know all the time. Feels like a village.
- international. Many interesting characters live there. A village but an international one.
- beautiful and decadent.
And of course there's also a long list of negatives such as expensive, uncomfortable, wet, touristy etc....