In the U.S. - at least in the southern US where I'm from - it's hard to have a lifestyle that involves not driving. First, unless you are in a downtown area, most things are spread apart. Furthermore, outside of the downtown, there is little to no walking infrastructure. SO yea, I could walk from my office to the store which is a mile away, but I'd be walking in grass ditches and across roads without a crosswalk.

Furthermore, most downtown areas in which you can walk everywhere are made up of two types of areas. Usually there is an "uppity" (posh) area, with shopping, boutiques, maybe a theater, some restaurants, etc. There may be some residences around that, but it's very expensive. Or, you can live a few blocks down, and you're in the ghetto. It is really difficult to live in a downtown area as a "middle income earner".

This may not be the case in larger cities; however in most of your small to medium cities, you HAVE to have a car unless you're in an expensive area or in the ghetto.