I was speaking to the West in general — doesn’t FlyerInHI live in Vegas now? As far as SD, unless you live in certain places (North Park, coastal North County, PB, OB) it’s harder than you think to commute by foot, bike, and generally be car-independent if you don’t either want to be hit by a car, or spend all of your free time walking and biking.
I routinely walk 8+ miles a day, part of it being part of my “commute”.