I live in Ellensburg, WA. The OP probably knows where that is, but many of you probably don't. Look right in the middle of Washington state -- the university I attend sits at the geographic center of the state.
We don't have busses here. We have a paratransit service which offers transportation to the public in return for a small donation. It must be scheduled 24 hours in advance M-F, runs a limited route Saturday, and no service Sunday. The university currently has a drunk bus, but it only runs from the downtown bar district to one's home. Not something you'd want to ride otherwise.
It takes about 30 minutes to walk and 15-20 to bike from one end of the town proper to the other end. Since the city proper is smaller and somewhat compact, it's pretty easy to get by without a car. We also have quite a few cyclists, so people expect to see us more (although not many ride VC or semi-VC). We tend to get more of the "Get off the road!" comments because there's more time to yell with fewer people around (if that makes any sense), but I've never had anything intentionally thrown at me or had someone intentionally swerve to knock me off my bike.
As for practicality, I've found it may be easier in my city to live car-free than in a large city. When I lived in my apartment, I was a 10 minute or less walk to Albertsons for food and Fred Meyer for everything else. I'd ask them to double-bag it; they did so automatically after a week.
As for climate, everyplace is different, but we do have four seasons. It's blistering hot in the summer and icy in the winter. You just have to be ready for it, same as if you drove. Studded bike tires in the winter and good water bottles in the summer are essential. Sometimes Ellensburg's citizens call it "The Windy City 2" because spring and fall are always windy. We don't consider it a big deal to have 30-40mph winds. I'm just aware of what direction it's blowing so I get a nice tailwind one way of my trip.