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Yeah, having a corner grocery might be good, but without mobility, the grocers are going to realize that you don't really have much choice about buying f

Yeah, having a corner grocery might be good, but without mobility, the grocers are going to realize that you don't really have much choice about buying from them, and maybe start charging higher prices, or not stocking as much variety, or higher fewer people and having less service. This is precisely what happens in cities. You'd think city centers would typically have a larger selection of things available at competitive prices but thats hardly the case and price gouging is frequent at these neighborhood stores whether youre shopping for some house fixtures or even a six pack.

cheez 7y ago
Just live within walking distance of Chinatown.
- rayiner 7y ago
  In many cities, like DC, there are no Chinese left in Chinatown. They've been replaced with white yuppies. If you want the good deals from the asian or latin market, you go out to the suburbs where the asian and latin populations live. Which is one of the deeply ironic things about urbanism as a movement. We have made our cities hostile and overly expensive to families. So people of color--who disproportionately are the folks still having kids--are decamping to the suburbs in large numbers: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2015/07/31/black-flight-to-the-suburbs-on-the-rise; https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2015/07/31/black-f... https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0504_census_ethnicity_frey.pdf https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0504_ce... (p. 10). From 1990-2010, the percentage of african americans living in the suburbs increased from under 40% to over 50%. For Hispanics it increased from around 45% to 60%. For whites, by contrast, the percentage living in the suburbs was relatively flat. My Bangladeshi immigrant family members moved to Queens in the 1990s, and as soon as they got their feet under them economically they moved to Long Island. That’s the story of big cities like NYC: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/upshot/how-much-slower-would-the-us-grow-without-immigration-in-many-places-a-lot.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/upshot/how-much-slower-wo.... Large urban counties would be shrinking if it wasn’t for a continuous stream of international migration. (But of course eventually the immigrants become part of the stream of domestic migrants leaving the city.)
  - jcranmer 7y ago
    > We have made our cities hostile and overly expensive to families. A large part of that is schooling, followed by crime wave paranoia. Most who have kids want to decamp to the best school district they can afford, even at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. Safety is an issue too, because a lot of Americans are irrationally paranoid about children being able to navigate by themselves. In Japan, a 7-year-old going to school by themselves by taking the train is normal; in the US, it's grounds for calling Child Protection Services.
howlin 7y ago
I wouldn't accuse these neighborhood stores of price gouging as much as I'd just say they are pricing high enough to cover the much more expensive cost of leasing or owning the commercial space.
ska 7y ago
This is precisely what happens in cities. Not in my experience, but I'm sure it varies with location and how "functional" the city is. But on the whole, for me big metros have had much better selection and decent prices on the whole. It's true that won't always be at the small place literally on your own corner. And some of those places bump prices a fair bit in exchange for being open at most hours. But a little searching and you will find many gems. You can't really get the costco/wallmart experience easily in city cores, but I don't really want it so no loss there (for me). If you want one-stop shopping you are going against the grain, really.
peterwwillis 7y ago
You're claiming that corner stores - independently owned entities in expensive real estate selling cheap commodities - should be able to sell products as cheap or cheaper than Wal-Mart? Things are more expensive in corner stores because it's more expensive to run a corner store. You don't have as many customers, but you have higher expenses. You can't stock a larger variety of goods because space is limited and you have to move the lightest, most profitable goods to stay afloat. You can't dedicate $20,000 worth of real estate (one corner of your shop) to 12 kinds of salsa.

cheez 7y ago

Just live within walking distance of Chinatown.

rayiner 7y ago
In many cities, like DC, there are no Chinese left in Chinatown. They've been replaced with white yuppies. If you want the good deals from the asian or latin market, you go out to the suburbs where the asian and latin populations live. Which is one of the deeply ironic things about urbanism as a movement. We have made our cities hostile and overly expensive to families. So people of color--who disproportionately are the folks still having kids--are decamping to the suburbs in large numbers: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2015/07/31/black-flight-to-the-suburbs-on-the-rise; https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2015/07/31/black-f... https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0504_census_ethnicity_frey.pdf https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0504_ce... (p. 10). From 1990-2010, the percentage of african americans living in the suburbs increased from under 40% to over 50%. For Hispanics it increased from around 45% to 60%. For whites, by contrast, the percentage living in the suburbs was relatively flat. My Bangladeshi immigrant family members moved to Queens in the 1990s, and as soon as they got their feet under them economically they moved to Long Island. That’s the story of big cities like NYC: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/upshot/how-much-slower-would-the-us-grow-without-immigration-in-many-places-a-lot.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/upshot/how-much-slower-wo.... Large urban counties would be shrinking if it wasn’t for a continuous stream of international migration. (But of course eventually the immigrants become part of the stream of domestic migrants leaving the city.)
- jcranmer 7y ago
  > We have made our cities hostile and overly expensive to families. A large part of that is schooling, followed by crime wave paranoia. Most who have kids want to decamp to the best school district they can afford, even at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. Safety is an issue too, because a lot of Americans are irrationally paranoid about children being able to navigate by themselves. In Japan, a 7-year-old going to school by themselves by taking the train is normal; in the US, it's grounds for calling Child Protection Services.

howlin 7y ago

I wouldn't accuse these neighborhood stores of price gouging as much as I'd just say they are pricing high enough to cover the much more expensive cost of leasing or owning the commercial space.

ska 7y ago

This is precisely what happens in cities. Not in my experience, but I'm sure it varies with location and how "functional" the city is. But on the whole, for me big metros have had much better selection and decent prices on the whole. It's true that won't always be at the small place literally on your own corner. And some of those places bump prices a fair bit in exchange for being open at most hours. But a little searching and you will find many gems. You can't really get the costco/wallmart experience easily in city cores, but I don't really want it so no loss there (for me). If you want one-stop shopping you are going against the grain, really.

peterwwillis 7y ago

You're claiming that corner stores - independently owned entities in expensive real estate selling cheap commodities - should be able to sell products as cheap or cheaper than Wal-Mart? Things are more expensive in corner stores because it's more expensive to run a corner store. You don't have as many customers, but you have higher expenses. You can't stock a larger variety of goods because space is limited and you have to move the lightest, most profitable goods to stay afloat. You can't dedicate $20,000 worth of real estate (one corner of your shop) to 12 kinds of salsa.