The OP's comment is still absolutely correct if you replace NYC with Berlin or another European city. HN is very biased when it comes to certain subjects and, i

The OP's comment is still absolutely correct if you replace NYC with Berlin or another European city. HN is very biased when it comes to certain subjects and, in all fairness, there is a large contingent of users here who are very willing to downvote comments simply because they disagree with their personal opinions. Let me add context to why I upvoted the OP's comment. There are large portions of the United States (and I'm currently visiting one) where big-box discount stores simply don't exist. These are the same places where Amazon two day shipping is either not available or unreliable - Amazon doesn't pack everything in their inventory in every warehouse. Smaller discount stores add some variety, and are a benefit to people who would otherwise have to spend more in fuel and lost time to get to the nearest Costco/Walmart/what ever than they would save from lower prices. This is an issue for a large minority of the United States, and may very well be an issue for a geographic majority (if not a large majority) of the country. I'm sure there are plenty of HN users who live in places like this, but it's also very, very likely that a majority of HN users, such as myself, live in urbanized regions - whether in the US, the EU, or in other developed areas. While it's certainly expected that these users will have different views and opinions based on their situations and life experiences, echoing the OP's comment, I've noticed that many of them have a concerning lack of empathy for people who come from different backgrounds.