I got my learner's permit literally on my 16th birthday. At the time, I was a high school student in a smallish town in New Brunswick, and my family's home had a Walkscore of 9 (or "Car Dependent"). The only amenity within biking distance was the nearest corner store, but literally everything else required driving. And there was zero public transportation to speak of. Being able to drive and having access to a private vehicle was 100% essential to get anywhere outside of my immediate low-density residential neighbourhood.
Fast forward a few years and I'm now a university graduate living and working in Calgary. I had a rental apartment in Kensington and then later bought a condo in the Beltline. I have since relocated to BC and own a condo in New Westminster that's about a three minute walk from the Skytrain station. All of the homes in which I've lived as an adult have a Walkscore of 90+ ("Walker's Paradise"), and I've never owned a car. It doesn't surprise me at all that many youth who live in high density cities with a multitude of nearby amenities and good public transportation are choosing to forego car ownership.
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