• ABCDE@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    It’s quite common here to have one for driving around neighbourhoods, as cheap ones can be $1,000+.

    • vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      4 months ago

      That still does not answer my “why” question tbh.

      But I suppose that in a country where “walkable neighborhoods” are construed to be some nefarious communist plot to rob people of their freedom, not walking its a status symbol.

            • nehal3m@sh.itjust.works
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              4 months ago

              Fair enough, although I’d argue getting around the neighborhood is easier on a narrow vehicle that can carry some cargo and doesn’t depend on batteries. A golf cart has all the downsides of a car in day to day use and it’s slower and exposed to the elements. It’s probably a Veblen good in this case.

              • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                My friends have one because they have a small baby and don’t want to use their scooters (small motorbikes) with her when going out. They don’t own a car. They can carry their shopping in it.

              • vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                4 months ago

                Sometimes things depend on other things.

                Your out of hand dismissal of complexity is, frankly, baffling and concerning.

                That said, I have lived in suburbia all my life and never have I gone “hmmmm, I really wish I had a golf cart in addition to my car and bicycle”.

          • azimir@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago

            The US hasn’t really discovered Bakfiet bicycles yet.

            Watching people take six kindergarten kids or a whole refrigerator on a bike through town in Berlin and Amsterdam was wonderful. They could do a pretty good Costco run on those things.

      • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah the why is laziness I guess? Why walk when you can drive a smaller electric buggy for small distances and a big car for big distances?

        Golf carts make sense in retirement communities - presumably the companies behind them are “growing the market” by targeting families as an alternative to push chairs and walking? Also I’m guessing these are American neighbourhoods which still are designed around cars than true walkability?

      • IMongoose@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        They are popular in more affluent areas so they can be driven to clubhouses or other neighborhood spots, and unsurprisingly very common in neighborhoods that have their own golf course.

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      Imagine spending $1,000+ when walking is free.

      I can imagine someone with a disability wanting a cart like this to get around, but this woman does not need a fucking golf cart.

      We’re all going to die because of this overconsumption bullshit.

      • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Does someone having one prevent someone from getting one?

        My friends have one because they have a baby and no car. Is their consumption too much for you?

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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          4 months ago

          Having one instead of a car isn’t overconsumption, but the woman in this article clearly has both. It’s a problem.

          • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Imagine spending $1,000+ when walking is free.

            This seems exclusive from that.

            • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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              4 months ago

              It’s quite common here to have one for driving around neighbourhoods, as cheap ones can be $1,000+.

              So, where I come from, there’s nothing to drive to in the neighborhood except other houses. Also, a neighborhood is at most a square mile. That’s all I envisioned.

              What, exactly, did you even mean by “neighborhoods”? It’s starting to sound like you’re talking about driving several miles.

              • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                It can be several miles since my friend’s one goes for 40km. Your neighbourhood is yours, we have lots of places to go to between neighbourhoods and districts, and lots in each.

                  • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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                    4 months ago

                    That is around the neighbourhood as they can be quite large; it can also be 40+ degrees here, which the baby cannot manage. It means they can go to a restaurant, a cafe, get the shopping, go to a place where it’s nice to walk, then home again, perhaps a 2-3km little trip within their neighbourhood.

      • VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        Why should everyone live exactly how you want them to?

        Can I do an audit of your life and switch everything over to how I think you should live?

        • otp@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          Lol

          Generally, people can live how they want. It doesn’t mean I can’t think doing something a certain way is ridiculous.

          I did ask a “why” question. I’m open to changing my mind.