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Comment by txsoftwaredev | Hacker News Reader

I'm going to assume you haven't traveled around the US a whole lot. The US is big, very big. It takes over half a day just to drive across Texas.

And personally I don't want to be stuck in a bus, train etc. with a bunch of strangers. I prefer the freedom of my personal vehicle.

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> cars aren't the only way to travel!

> I prefer the freedom of my personal vehicle.

You're not at odds with each other, allowing multiple methods of transit doesn't encroach on your freedom to drive a car.

What about the US being large requires one to frequently traverse it? Europe is large. And people don't frequently drive from one end of Spain to the other. And when they do, they have 200+mph trains to do it relatively quickly and cheaply.

what happens when where you're going is 50 miles from a train station? Do you take a cab?

Maybe? It depends on the situation! There exist situations where cars are the best option. The point is: they don't need to be the only option because the US is big.

> Europe is large.

Oregon is larger than the United Kingdom.

Texas is larger than France.

Alaska is larger than all of Western Europe.

....What? Why is that relevant? Europe is bigger than the US. Norway is bigger than New Jersey! Croatia is bigger than Massachusetts! Germany is bigger than Florida! Are you suggesting that because some arbitrarily-chosen borders from one are larger than other arbitrary borders on another somehow negates my point? Why does the size of the land-mass you live inside dictate the distance you need to travel day-to-day?

People live in New York City. It's in the US. Those people tend to drive a lot less than those living in, say, Los Angeles—who also unambiguously live in the US. Why?

< Are you suggesting that because some arbitrarily-chosen borders from one are larger than other arbitrary borders on another somehow negates my point?

Yes. Except that I'm not "suggesting" it. I'm stating it as a fact.

Note that "Europe" is also defined by an "arbitrarily-chosen border".

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