Why did Lot want to flee to Zoar instead of the mountains as the angel instructed?

[TonyChanYT]

The angels were about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:

18 Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

Why did Lot want to flee to a little town instead of the mountains as the angel instructed?

Lot didn't want to exert so much effort to flee to the mountains. The town was nearby, so he begged the angels. This way, he minimized the time and effort to reach safety. He thought the town would provide better conveniences than the mountains after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

As it turned out, he moved again immediately out of fear:

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.

Even though the angels yielded to Lot's request, he eventually settled in the mountains anyway. Our immediate goals are sometimes nearsighted; God's goals are longer-term.