Murica

You had me curious so I just went on Facebook marketplace and searched "bike"

The first screen of results was all bikes under £100

You realise you don't need to buy a carbon fiber Tour de France bike to get around a town, right?

Sure, but you should get something better than a big box bike so it doesn't suck to ride. Get what you can afford, but you'll be so much happier with something $500+ from a decent brand than Walmart crap.
$1000 is actually pretty inexpensive for a quality bike. Carbon fiber tends to start around $3-4k, and is totally not worth it IMO, just get a quality aluminum or steel bike and spend $500-1500 on it.
- My local bike coop is full of very dependable, freshly tuned bikes that average around $150, built with love and care by expiriend mechanics. If you have issues with your bike, those same mechanics will guide you through the process of fixing it and give you access to every tool you could possibly need to do so, all for free or suggested donation.
  
  Oh yeah, if you have a local coop, do that. Just avoid stores like Walmart and Target.
  
  Some are actually decent from Walmart now, specifically their Ozark trail lineup. Basically the current CEO is really into trail riding, so they sell mountain bikes that are actually good for $400.
  
  Huh, I haven't tried them for years, but every Huffy I've seen is utter crap. Maybe the Ozark line is acceptable to get started.
  That said, if you're into mountain biking, the entry price is ridiculous, with $1000 being considered "borderline crap" for a hard-tail (no shocks). I probably wouldn't trust a Walmart bike on downhill MTB (worried about tire slippage or the chain popping off), but it should be fine around town and on some gentle trails. Even so, I recommend a hybrid or "city" bike of you're mostly sticking to pavement, they don't have shocks to sap your power and they're super simple to maintain. $500 gets you a great hybrid from a good company, and usually free service for a year or two.
  
  I mean, I got used carbon full suspension mountain bike for $500 used a few months ago, there are plenty of decent hardtail bikes lightly used for $400-500 in my area.
  
  Nice!
  My area seems to be $1k+ for lightly used HT, and a decent full squish is like $2k. I'm in an area where MTB is super popular (Utah), so there are a lot of enthusiasts that know what bikes are worth. It's especially bad for me since I'm tall and need a less standard size.
  I have seen a few good deals here and there though. I got my kid a decent Trek with front suspension for $250-ish, and I'm going to shop around for some upgrades (kids keep growing). But $500 is what I expect to spend for a decent bike, anything less for a decent bike is a steal.
  
  Yeah, NC here, so the only place where prices are higher really is in the mountains. Plenty of newer hardtails used around $400-500, my new to me carbon is 10 years old, but I'm not planning to use it for anything strenuous so I feel fine about it (newer full suspension carbon frames are closer to $1k usually, but they are closer to top of the line).
- Meh, disagree. The bike I liked the most was the one I bought used for 15€ from a dude down the street, brought it to the old grandpa who fixes bikes for cheap for fun, paid him 35€ for some maintenance, check the gearbox, new brake saddles, oil everything up.
  50€ in total, awesome city bike, although a bit heavy and without all the fancy shit, but I just left it chained to a lamp in the street, nobody wants to steal a 50yo bike and even if, it was just 15€. When I moved to a different city I sold it to my neighbor for 15€ again. He still uses it from what I hear.
  
  You probably got a quality bike for a steal then. I mention a price range because you're much less likely to get something that'll fall apart in a few months.
  As long as you avoid big box brands (Huffy and whatnot), you'll be fine. You can get a decent used Surly or Giant or something for $200-300 if you know what to look for, but that's also the range for crappy big box bikes new, so I increase the number to $500.
- not really, for daily commutes any piece of junk that brakes and rolls will do. rode only ~50 bucks bikes for the last five-ish years, old city bikes are indestructible
  
  How far was your commute? If it's like 2-3 miles, yeah, you should be fine, because you could just walk when something breaks. If it's 5-10 miles, that's a lot less feasible.
  My commute went through some farmland for a few miles, far from the bus lines, so having something more reliable was more important. I spent about $500 and put thousands of miles on it over the first few years of ownership. The only issues I had were flat tires, so I put on denser tires and that went away (Schwalbe Marathon Plus). I would average 15-20mph, depending on wind, and I don't race or anything like that.
  A big box bike might work okay for a while, or maybe the person who put it together did it wrong. Even if it's put together right, they use crappy components so it'll be a giant pain to ride vs a better bike. They're heavy, have lots of friction in the drive train, the tires are crap, and shifting often breaks after a year or so.
  Even with a $500+ bike, you'll save money, and probably on your first year if it's replacing a car or bus. Do yourself a favor and get a lower end bike from a quality brand.
  
  ok fair i'm only considering short-ish commutes, never 5+ miles
- You can get pretty good deals under 500, at least here in Europe ($ to € relatively close).
  A local shop here for example has some fully serviced and functional, partially modernized, 90s mountain bikes between 200 to 400 eur. And that's with a trend tax, since those are getting somewhat popular nowadays for how great commuters they make
  
  Yeah, you absolutely can. I got my kid a great used bike for $200, because I knew what to look for.
  But your average person will just go to the store to buy something, and $500 keeps them away from most of the trash out there while being much cheaper than a car. If you have a bike loving friend, they can probably find you a great deal under $500.

Also can't get groceries

Americans unironically believe this. Pathetic

Its difficult to buy a week's worth of groceries on a bike, which is often the norm in the US partly because of the car-centric nature. It's a trip or ordeal to get groceries.
- I routinely buy a week's worth of groceries on my bike. Every week.
  
  For a family or just for yourself? I guess I was thinking through the lens of buying for a whole family, which I know I would struggle to do on my bike.
  
  I'm buying for two, but I'm also only loading one basket on my pannier rack. I could easily add another for double the capacity, along with maybe also a backpack. There's also the possibility of using a trailer.
There are a few grocery stores in a 30 minute range. But none we could continue to afford long term.
The two which we can afford are an hour away. Including gass costs they are much cheaper long term.
Why i chose to live here? It was the only place we could realistically afford.
I am neither considered poor nor do i own/drive a car. (My partner already did before they met me) for perspective. We also have full jobs and kids. So very little time for small trips.
I blame urban planning and townhall. There is a small discounter who has made repeated requests to expand near our area with repeated refusals because “we already have to many (wealthy class) grocery stores.“
- can't afford food
  thinks isn't poor
- bruh you live in a food desert
  
  Not if i had money. Theres a reasonably big store a 15 minute walk away and the few times i am there for an emergency and see the markup they demand for the same products my hate for capitalism grows.
  
  that is by definition a food desert

lol, do you think $1000 is expensive compared to a $30k car? I ride daily and have never had to “call uber” because my bike got stolen. I get groceries on my bike every week. Why would you want to take the highway on a bike? You know what’s most likely to kill? Heart disease from sitting on your fat lazy ass

I mean you could attach trailer on bike drive that way, it would be slower but works

Why would you go to highway when off-road is much better

Or baskets to carry a reasonable amount of groceries.

You can ride your bike on many highways in the USA at least. Generally you cannot on the freeway, but there are some exceptions --- in California there are requirements about bike accessibility which means that certain segments of a freeway may be bike accessible.

If you live far from a store then groceries are a problem unless you use a trailer, but if you live in a city it's totally reasonable to use a bike (or walk) for your weekly groceries.

And you can get a new Trek FX for under $600, and that's just from a quick search. Yes of you want Ultegra or better and a carbon frame, the sky is the limit.

The average American spends $10k YEARLY on car. You could buy a new bike every month and still end up paying less.

I used to get all of my groceries by bike I did this by adding 2 baskets to the sides of the rear rack and one to the front and wearing a backpack if I am getting a lot of stuff larger items can be attached to the rack with bungee cords

You might be surprised by how much you can Carry by bike and this wasn't even a cargo bike either

To add insult to injury on the topic of how misinformed Americans are:

More likely to be killed.

Cycle commuting is associated with a 47% decrease in all-cause mortality (source)

What's more likely to kill you is sitting at the wheel all day in a car.

Most bikes now cost about $100 brand new at the store unless you're buying some specialty shit. Less likely to kill is if both people are on bikes, should have been obvious.

$100 means you're buying Walmart crap. Don't do that, they are super poor quality, which means they're as likely to break as get you to your destination.
Buy from a quality brand and spend $500-1000 or so. You'll be much happier and it'll last longer.