In CA, my rent is close to $2k a month, but I can walk to basically everything I need to. In MI, my rent is $650 a month, but the closest coffee shop is miles away.
If your car gets 30 mpg, then you could drive 30 miles for less than $5 probably. It would be more frugal to drive and have the cheaper cost of living.
No, the roads were constructed so that people could travel from one place to another more easily. They existed before cars did, and people traveled on these old roads with horses and carriages. Many of the roads around where I live (in an area the government designates as rural) have historical markers that describe their history going back to the days of Colonial times.
Yeah if it's all about money then go that route. You are also forgetting the cost of a car itself needed there which is a ton more than just the $5 cost of gas.
Otherwise walking gets you exercise which is better for your health in the long run and in general; the cafe gives a sense of a "third space" and community and the lack of a car is a ton better for both the environment and traffic which also affects everyone's general health.
The minuscule amount of pollution that my fuel-efficient car produces is completely insignificant in the grand scale of planet Earth. So yes I do prefer having money to live on than worrying about that.
You can guilt trip me about my car after you succeed in getting millionaires to ground their private jets and when mega-corporations stop massively polluting everything around the world.
Live in MI. I walk a ton, but the closest dedicated coffee shop (Bigby) is 1.5 miles from me. There are, however, two restaurants that will also serve me coffee within .125 miles.