It's a time thing too. I know this is MMM and all, but time is an issue for many. Some people live far from work and cannot move closer. As in, two people with two jobs in two different places. Or they are underwater on their house, or they can't afford a house in the new place or...
Don't put yourself in a box. All of things you listed can be changed. In the short term, they may be a fixed cost or situation, but in the long term anything can be adjusted. However, if you don't want to change, then that is your reason for not biking to work. It is not because you aren't privileged enough. It is your decision that you love living in x place more than the desire to bike to work. No big deal, but I think people often say they can't do something when it is because of their own choices not luck or some "blessing."
I don't know, I guess my world isn't black and white, it's shades of gray.
1. Moving closer to work. Cannot be done for many because they cannot afford it. I live in Coastal So Cal. Most people cannot afford to buy any kind of home here (including a condo or mobile home), and rents are through the roof right now. I've seen many friends struggle for months to find an affordable rental, only to finally give up and move 40 miles away with their kids.
2. Alternate to #1: get a job where you live. This is something that I've seen happen - I had a friend (married, no kids) who had a great long-term job at the university, give that up (and the pension) to get a job where he lived. At a great pay cut. Right now, the jobs market hasn't quite recovered like I keep hearing it is. That doesn't mean people don't try, but much of the time they aren't successful. The higher paying jobs are right here, the affordable housing is not right here.
3. Changes in jobs, etc. We bought our house in between our two jobs, for the very reason that we liked to bike to work. Then my spouse's company went belly up, and he got a new job. It is extremely rare these days (especially in engineering), to have the same job for decades, simply because the companies go out of business.
4. Kids. That's the time factor. I can't go back in time and not have my kids (nor would I), but simply put: I cannot manage to bike to work and pick up the kids by the time they have to be picked up AND work full time. It was do-able at part time, but I am no longer allowed to work part time. For awhile I was just using up PTO each time I did it (I would just take time off the one day a week I did it), but then I ran out of PTO. So, should I get a new job? (I've been looking.) Should I buy a new house closer to work? (It would cost $40,000 to sell our house, assuming we could sell the house and buy a different one for the same price near work. Which is a fair estimate.)
well, no.
That doesn't mean I'll never ride a bike to work again. It just means that right now, I won't. It's not black and white. It's life at a time when I have two small children in two separate locations, both of which have to be picked up at a certain time. There are seasons to everything (also: I didn't ride to work when I was breastfeeding and pumping, because I simply didn't feel like carrying my clothing, my food, a cooler, and a breastpump all on my bicycle). At least I was smart enough to laugh at my friends who bought their larger, cheaper homes 30 miles south (50-60 min one way drive) when they told me to buy there too, because I'm not crazy!
This is my one little problem with some people on MMM. I understand that engineers are often people who see things in black and white. It's why a lot of lawyers HATE to have them on juries. But in reality, a lot of changes simply aren't time-effective or cost-effective. Doesn't mean you don't try (hey, I've been job hunting), but times change.
When I was in DC I lived where I could take the metro or walk to work (eventually I moved to within a mile of work). It was great! Many people rented apartments or houses close to work. A few people with families bought homes, but the affordable ones were outside the beltway, or maybe just inside the beltway. So they all drove in or maybe took the metro if they were near a line. It probably wasn't too bad. But then they moved things around and moved the office to the Navy Yard, which is 5 miles further and in heavy traffic.
A few of the people eventually moved (when the housing market recovered to where they could afford it ) - generally the people with grown children or no children. Those who have children in school, however, opted to stay to not uproot their kids. Because sometimes it's about more than just biking to work.