Is the driving difficulty relevant to NYC though? It's totally reasonable to be a grown adult who doesn't drive with such structured public transit and taxi networks, I thought. My rural self had been driving the manual-shifting riding mower and half-tractors around at 10 and I didn't learn that folks pay for driving lessons rather than attempt with a relative til I was in my 20s. I realize now that not everybody has a near-unlimited supply of cousins and practice jalopies.