Dear Margaret

Houston is a liberal city. And it has dirt cheap housing.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/65169-7-surprisingly-liberal-us-cities-in-places-you-wouldnt-expect

Having more cars is surely not the answer. Other than the environmental impact, more people die per capita in the US in traffic accidents. If you normalize with car ownership, then the death rates in Canada and the USA are same.

In other words, the USA has more cars and more car accidents. Canada uses more public transport, and less overall accidents (trains and buses rarely have drunken drivers, for example).

The above is a good reason that Canadian cities score on top in the quality of life lists.