Unfortunately, that's pretty much wishful thinking IMHO. Unless you're used to going barefoot it is incredibly difficult to get by without good footwear. In some regions the locals may not wear shoes and they do just fine, but that's because they've been doing it since a very early age. Not something our tender feet have ever been taught in the "civilized" world.

The importance of footwear is underestimated all the time. If you need to walk a lot (particularly if there are no other methods of transportation available) proper footwear is going to be very high on your priority list. Maybe more important than a knife or firestarting kit...

Unfortunately, most footwear these days is not particularly durable. I generally walk a lot, probably way above average, and in my experience even a good pair of boots rarely lasts more than 6 months to a year of regular use. Soles and uppers are rarely the problem but linings and paddings just fall apart after a while. So in any long-term situation I would definitely bring replacement footwear, and probably a fair bit more than just one extra pair if I were planning for a 2-3 year scenario.