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That was an interesting read. Are you aware of any cities or towns which are built in a more European style with pedestrians in mind? I'm actually considering a few jobs in the states right now but I'm quite put off by how car reliant everything is.
Oh man, those are the hard questions. The short answer - no. You're not going to find anything in the US even remotely close. What you're going to want to look for is transit usage. How often and easily do people take transit? Here's a helpful map for you to see how people get to work.
There is one and only one city that I could consider "close" to European cities in terms of being able to be as pedestrian as Europe, and that's New York. There are others that are close and have decent transit. Chicago has the CTA and is relatively good if you live near the city center. Philly I hear has decent transit, again try to live near a stop rather than the suburbs. I'm in Seattle, and our transit system is growing rapidly - but most trips still require a car. We're looking at going from a 2 car household down to a 1 car - but the system has to expand. (Even then it's only 2 light rail lines and then bus).
Here's a good video for you on Houston from NotJustBikes on Houston, and what it's like to live there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54
Boston and New York are probably the closest to European cities with respect to transit that you will find in the States. Plenty of people live in those cities without cars. I lived in Boston for a long time (now in the Boston suburbs) and plenty of adults I know there haven't even bothered getting their driver's license.
The other Northeast Corridor cities are probably the next tier down. DC has decent transit if you make live and work near transit stops. Philadelphia can work, but SEPTA has been unreliable at best in my personal experience. I haven't really spent much time in Baltimore to be able to say.
Outside of the Northeast Corridor, the only other option really would be the San Francisco bay area with its BART system. It has decent coverage and I have family that lives in the area and enjoys it. However, I don't have much firsthand experience with it.