5 ms·

I've lived extensively in most population densities available in the US. When you are in a very dense environment like Manhattan, people simply don't buy quan

by zzzeek 5y ago

I've lived extensively in most population densities available in the US. When you are in a very dense environment like Manhattan, people simply don't buy quantities that large from local stores, and the vast majority of apartments don't have the storage space to accommodate for the giant sized quantities that suburbanites buy at Costco every day. The end result is that living in Manhattan, Brooklyn, western Queens etc., you're basically walking every day down to local stores and lugging relatively small bags back. People in the city tend to be pretty trim and fit as a result. I currently live in a rural-density zoned part of the US, and the car is basically the only access one has to virtually anything. Businesses here can pretty confidently state that close to 100% of their customer base arrives by car.

cortesoft 5y ago
You save a lot of money buying those larger quantities.
- pm90 5y ago
  You save a lot of money by not owning cars.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    Only if you don't value your time. Either you're paying even more for taxis and rideshares than you would to own your car, or you're spending an hour on trips that would take 10 minutes by car.
    - rowanajmarshall 5y ago
      I think it's actually faster to get to central London from me on the tube than by car, not even counting looking for parking. And hell, on the tube I can read, listen to a podcast, code, or even call family. Can't do most of that in a car.
- lr4444lr 5y ago
  Yeah, but you can't easily store it in high density areas where square footage is expensive. Personally, I think this is a significant negative for city living, and a reason why I prefer the suburbs.
- com2kid 5y ago
  Depends. Meat, maybe. Toilet paper? Doubtful. You are paying mortgage + property tax on the pantry space used to store it. Not to mention gas to drive and get it. And vehicle insurance. And car maintenance. A bidet seat (heated water, $150 at Home Depot now days) has a better ROI.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    > $150 at Home Depot Good luck with that. Even with an off-brand, you're looking at much closer to twice that if you want any kind of heated water.
    - com2kid 5y ago
      Home Depot actually has their own feature reduced SKUs from popular brands. But checking prices, they are around $250.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    > You are paying mortgage + property tax on the pantry space used to store it. If you have the space anyway, you're not paying any extra to store stuff in it. And it's expensive enough to move that it's not economical to do so just to have the lower payments from 1 fewer square foot. > Not to mention gas to drive and get it. And vehicle insurance. And car maintenance. If you stop at the store on the way home from somewhere else that you were going anyway, the additional cost of those things is basically zero.
    - com2kid 5y ago
      The alternative is living in an area where you don't have to drive everywhere to get things. I drive maybe 200 miles a month now. I walk down the street to a supermarket to get toilet paper when I run out.
      - jjav 5y ago
        > I drive maybe 200 miles a month now. But still pay full insurance presumably? I've been fighting this with the insurance company ever since the pandemic started. We no longer drive anywhere daily, working from home. But the insurance company wants to maximize profit so they won't approve less than 6000 miles per year, a number they made up, and keep raising prices.
fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
I bought four gallons of milk at my last shopping trip, this will last my family a week or so. I also bought five dozen eggs which might last two weeks. Perhaps the reason people in high-density areas shop in smaller quantities is partly that high-density areas price out families like mine who would be shopping every day without the ability to efficiently buy in larger quantities.
- kitkat_new 5y ago
  doable with a cargo bike as well fwiw; I myself am doing fine with one or two backpacks a week (on the way home by bike). 2-3km distance to supermarket When I was living 200m away from a supermarket, I used to buy spontaneously when I wanted to cook something
- woah 5y ago
  In the city you could just buy food as you needed it. Your kids could get a gallon of milk at the store in the morning and chug it on the way to school. Same for the eggs. You would just pop over to the egg man who would quickly prepare you a 8 egg omelette and side order of quiche.
  - aks_tldr 5y ago
    and how much all that will cost vs buying in bulk.
  - rufus_foreman 5y ago
    >> You would just pop over to the egg man His name was Yauch.
  - fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
    When you have more than a couple people in a house, this would mean shopping continuously. And the quantities you'd need for a single day would be more than you could carry effectively without a trunk. (I moved to where I am from a dense city with transit too, it makes more sense for me to be in a smaller city where my kids have a yard to play in and space to plant a garden than to live in a dense urban environment)
jimmygrapes 5y ago
And then you end up in a potential lock down situation where you're easily corralled and starved out ala Shanghai

by zzzeek 5y ago

cortesoft 5y ago

You save a lot of money buying those larger quantities.

pm90 5y ago
You save a lot of money by not owning cars.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  Only if you don't value your time. Either you're paying even more for taxis and rideshares than you would to own your car, or you're spending an hour on trips that would take 10 minutes by car.
  - rowanajmarshall 5y ago
    I think it's actually faster to get to central London from me on the tube than by car, not even counting looking for parking. And hell, on the tube I can read, listen to a podcast, code, or even call family. Can't do most of that in a car.
lr4444lr 5y ago
Yeah, but you can't easily store it in high density areas where square footage is expensive. Personally, I think this is a significant negative for city living, and a reason why I prefer the suburbs.
com2kid 5y ago
Depends. Meat, maybe. Toilet paper? Doubtful. You are paying mortgage + property tax on the pantry space used to store it. Not to mention gas to drive and get it. And vehicle insurance. And car maintenance. A bidet seat (heated water, $150 at Home Depot now days) has a better ROI.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > $150 at Home Depot Good luck with that. Even with an off-brand, you're looking at much closer to twice that if you want any kind of heated water.
  - com2kid 5y ago
    Home Depot actually has their own feature reduced SKUs from popular brands. But checking prices, they are around $250.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  > You are paying mortgage + property tax on the pantry space used to store it. If you have the space anyway, you're not paying any extra to store stuff in it. And it's expensive enough to move that it's not economical to do so just to have the lower payments from 1 fewer square foot. > Not to mention gas to drive and get it. And vehicle insurance. And car maintenance. If you stop at the store on the way home from somewhere else that you were going anyway, the additional cost of those things is basically zero.
  - com2kid 5y ago
    The alternative is living in an area where you don't have to drive everywhere to get things. I drive maybe 200 miles a month now. I walk down the street to a supermarket to get toilet paper when I run out.
    - jjav 5y ago
      > I drive maybe 200 miles a month now. But still pay full insurance presumably? I've been fighting this with the insurance company ever since the pandemic started. We no longer drive anywhere daily, working from home. But the insurance company wants to maximize profit so they won't approve less than 6000 miles per year, a number they made up, and keep raising prices.

fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago

I bought four gallons of milk at my last shopping trip, this will last my family a week or so. I also bought five dozen eggs which might last two weeks. Perhaps the reason people in high-density areas shop in smaller quantities is partly that high-density areas price out families like mine who would be shopping every day without the ability to efficiently buy in larger quantities.

kitkat_new 5y ago
doable with a cargo bike as well fwiw; I myself am doing fine with one or two backpacks a week (on the way home by bike). 2-3km distance to supermarket When I was living 200m away from a supermarket, I used to buy spontaneously when I wanted to cook something
woah 5y ago
In the city you could just buy food as you needed it. Your kids could get a gallon of milk at the store in the morning and chug it on the way to school. Same for the eggs. You would just pop over to the egg man who would quickly prepare you a 8 egg omelette and side order of quiche.
- aks_tldr 5y ago
  and how much all that will cost vs buying in bulk.
- rufus_foreman 5y ago
  >> You would just pop over to the egg man His name was Yauch.
- fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
  When you have more than a couple people in a house, this would mean shopping continuously. And the quantities you'd need for a single day would be more than you could carry effectively without a trunk. (I moved to where I am from a dense city with transit too, it makes more sense for me to be in a smaller city where my kids have a yard to play in and space to plant a garden than to live in a dense urban environment)

jimmygrapes 5y ago

And then you end up in a potential lock down situation where you're easily corralled and starved out ala Shanghai