Unfortunately, that's the way we've chosen to design our cities. Suburbia is designed around automobiles, not around people. Hence, growing numbers of Americans are getting fat and sick as a result of lack of exercise. Merely walking to the grocery store just isn't an option for many. However, some, like myself, have chosen to live in an old style close-in urban neighborhood where my grocery store is a mere four blocks away, there are 6 restaurants within that radius as is a movie theatre, optometrist, dentist, pharmacy, dry cleaner, local elementary school, etc. My bike commute to work is 6 miles each way. The flip side is that my 1800 sq foot house sits on a 33'x80' lot. Many Americans would consider such a small lot sacrilege, and therefore, choose to live out in Suburbia. They've made that choice. The car, or some variant thereof, is here to stay for most.
Get the best camera and lens (or two) you can afford and don't look back.