Yes, I grew up in Moscow, USSR: while growing up not only I (or my family) did not have a car but none of people I knew had one. At the age of 20 I had about dozen car rides in my lifetime. It sucked: even when I lived in my parents flat close to the city center and a subway station, going anywhere was at least an hour in one direction. I've spent 2 hours every day going to and from school. Could go to movies/clubs on weekends with friends though. I moved to my own flat that was a 15 min by car from the center but it was 45 min just to get to the subway via transit (either by train or bus) so my life was essentially 3 hour commute to work and shopping for food every couple of days in the nearby grocery store. Going anywhere else was too exhausting and you cannot stay late because the transit stopped at 1 am (subway, buses and trains even earlier), the only friends I could hang out were the ones with cars, others living in similar situation (far from subway) were just too far to visit.

I now vastly enjoy living in my own house where closets are bigger than my flat's living room and driving anywhere I want. Everyone I know in the city is less than an hour away. I shop for groceries every two weeks and sometimes on the way from work. My commute is 20 minutes a day. I visit more different places in a month than in a year of living in the "walkable paradise".

I've lived in decently spaced suburban neighborhoods, tiny towns, rural areas, and big cities like SF, SJ, and NY. Given the option, I'll take anything other than the big cities every time, even though I enjoyed the ability to utilize public transportation.

Don't assume that, because you prefer living in a city, that anyone who doesn't is ignorant. There are lots of people that know exactly what living in a city is like and far prefer to not do so (and vice versa).

The majority of people I've personally met who didn't like cities didn't like them because they didn't feel like they were safe. They're literally scared of people

Not a single person I've spoken to (that doesn't want to live in a city) has cited safety as a concern. That's probably because we've all worked in a city and know there are good areas and bad.

>Have they been exposed to anything else?

Most city suburbs are chock full of people who used to live further in.

They often leave bc they can't afford to be further in, or the schools aren't good, white flight, or the love of a green grass yard (also btw not long for this world) Not because they dont like the density.