We can (and do) walk or bike to just about anything we need (except work unfortunately). Restaurants, grocery store, pubs, library, museum, salon, shops, school, bank, dentist, swimming pool, farmers market, beer store, etc. And I absolutely LOVE it.
Well, a quarter mile from the top of Hoosier Pass. My back yard backs up to the National Forest. It’s a bit steep, but I’ve walked to the pass many times.
I drive over it everyday going to work. 11,500 feet.
I’m within walking distance of several grocery/drug stores and there’s a light rail station just a couple of blocks away. Almost anything I need or want to do is within a 10-15 minute walk or light rail ride away. In good weather I much prefer to walk than drive for errands and such.
I could take light rail to work too, but it takes about 30 minutes longer than driving and I’m not interested in giving up that extra hour a day.
I live in the Netherlands. Not in Amsterdam, but a decently sized city (Dutch standards). I bike everywhere (work, shop, family, friends). I own a car, but don’t really need (to the point where I just take a drive without a purpose once in a while, because I’ve had a flat battery from lack of use too many times).
I live in San Francisco. I consider pretty much the entire city to be my neighborhood. I don’t drive or own a car, so everywhere I go I either walk or take public transportation (about 10 minutes to downtown). I walk to most of my errands (groceries, drugstore, dry cleaning, haircuts, banking, etc.) There is a walkable movie theater, but I mostly take public transportation to one of several downtown multiplexes. There’s almost nothing that I want to do that isn’t within a very easy walk or quick ride on public transportation.
And STILL he dissembles! Own up to it, MAN? are you an Easterner or a Westerner? 
Many neighborhoods in Portland are walkable and have a village feel to them. In our neighborhood, we walk to the following:
Two grocery stores and two quickie-mart type places
An Ace hardware
Our dentist
My doctor
Our optometrist
Several good restaurants and pubs
A few excellent food carts
A deli where they butcher/cure all their meats and more
A UPS and FedEx
The post office
Several antique stores
A Columbia Sportswear outlet store
A movie theater that shows first run films and only charges $5.
A weekly farmers’ market.
For recreational walks, there are three lovely parks. There is also a bike trail that totals 42 miles and will take you either downtown or out in the weeds.
Yeah, we like it here.
My neighborhood has a walk score in the high 90s (https://www.walkscore.com). There are very few errands or activities that I can’t do on foot. Cycling isn’t as easy because it isn’t flat and I’m hate riding on hills - but it is possible to ride, plenty of people do it. It’s just hard. Unfortunately, I work fairly far away and the bus takes 2-3 times as long as the car. So, on weekends, I live very locally. During the week, not quite so much.
Heh. Live in the East, work in the West.
My home is about a tad over two miles from the Town center which is more like a village than a city. I live on an island. I could bike there I guess but don’t.
That Walkscore thing is very interesting!
I get 57 - somewhat walkable
48 - some transit
52 - bikeable - flat but minimal bike lanes (in reality, not ALL that flat)
I walk everywhere. No bike or car. So my world is a 30 minute walk in all directions.
I have a two wheel cart when I need to buy heavy stuff like dod food.
If my phone is accurate, I walk 6-7 kilometers a day.
I love it. Great exercise and no gym membership.
We drove pretty close to you a couple of months ago, to ski out at Beaver Creek. The snow at that Vail rest stop was quite a trip!
Googling, I’m surprised at the number of folk who live around you. One part of me definitely sees the allure. But the greater (and lazier) parts of me sees a lot of effort…
I got a zero. Good to know it’s not just me being lazy.
Mine comes out at 64 - “somewhat walkable, some chores can be completed on foot.”
Folk, feel free to give a general idea of where you are at - suburb/town/country/city, state or metro area, etc.
We are the only full time people on our road. We’ve lost two sets of neighbors because of the snow (they left, didn’t kill 'em 
). I still have some snow in my yard in the trees. Saw a bear yesterday, and we get moose in our yard.
Winter is rough, and long. On the flip side, I don’t have to mow or water grass. And it never gets over 80 in the summer time. Got to watch that sun though.
The roads here are much too congested and dangerous to ride a bicycle. It’s even dangerous for motorcycles and scooters.
I bought a house in a neighborhood only 2 miles from work. I wanted a 6 min commute. I leave for work at 7:40 AM and am at my desk by 8:00. Drinking the first cup of coffee and booting my PC.
My last apartment was outside Little Rock, had a picturesque view and a horrible commute to work. Two years of driving hell convinced me to live in the city and close to my job.
I don’t ride a bike because of hills, heat, and poor balance. I can walk to grocery stores, delis, several pubs and restaurants, bookstore, dog washing parlor, beauty shop, barber, dry cleaning, drugstores, gym, yoga, and a record store. From about May to October, I don’t do this because it’s too hot. I used to ride the bus to work (7miles) until they moved the stop. When it gets moved back next year, I’ll bus MWF, but TTh is my water aerobics class and I will need my car.
I like shopping locally, but I’ll be dipped if I"m going to spend $100 on a haircut and style. Not happening. A lot of the local shops are very expensive.
I live in a mid-size city in Alabama, with no public transport to speak of (the few shuttle buses we have don’t even run on weekends and evenings). But I do have a very fast bicycle. I bike 3 miles to work each way, sometimes 7 miles (off-site location for meetings etc). When I need to go downtown (6 miles from home), I usually bike too.
As for buying locally, that’s pretty much impossible. The only decent local grocery store closed last year. I try to go to the farmer’s market every week, but that’s about it.
Vindicated!
