I think this is the first time I've lived walking distance from a grocery store and I'm out of my mind about it. I'll walk there several times a day. Oh did I forget to grab something? No big deal I'll simply Walk To The Store
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My Manhattan years, and some Brooklyn ones, were like this and I miss it. And nobody was weird at you for walking with groceries. Supermkt when I moved back to Michigan was within walking distance but I Got Looks, & sometimes mocking shouts from teens in cars, while pedestriating? Pedsing? On foot.
Additionally, when we moved to our current location, 12 years ago, we discovered that we could be walking distance not only to groceries, but also to doctor and dentist. Such a wonderful convenience!!
I grew up a block away from two grocery stores and it absolutely sucked.
Missing an ingredient? Make the kid go to the store and get it. Better yet, let's make the tyke pay with a check, too. Give the whelp a note that says it's OK. Off you go kid, bring the change back
This is like the ONE thing I lack, there is one about a 25 minute walk away but that is a much bigger commitment. But everything else I need is 15 minutes or less of walking time, even my doctor is just a few blocks. Glorious.
I've been a Walking To The Store guy for a decade and it's *amazing*. One of the reasons I'm not in a big hurry to move is because I want to continue to be a WTTS guy
I don't know how anyone could experience it as a self sufficient adult and choose to ever live any other way if they had the option. It's a non-negotiable for me.
I picked my apartment in Brooklyn because, among other reasons, it was <50 yards away from a great grocery store. Great owners, great people. That store got us through COVID. If society ever completely breaks down, I will defend that Foodtown with my life.
Twice i've had pizza dough all rolled out, sauce on, and realized that i had no usable mozzarella. So i Walked To The Store and bought some, and then made the pizzas.
I live above an aptly named convenience store. Been trying to figure out where’s best to make the hole in my floor so i can go all mission impossible next time i run out of biscuits.
About to move to a town where I'm just down from main street. There is a liquor store. I barely drink, but maybe I can be the woman who walks to the liquor store. Low-tolerance and cant drive? That's no problem for a woman who walks to the liquor store. I do have to pass a peach orchard.
I was just thinking how it would be rough to do a full-stocking trip where you get everything you need. But like...I guess if I had this convenience I would become the Guy Who Brings A Wagon To The Store.
It’s unintuitive but being able to walk to get groceries several times a week is so much more convenient than driving there once a week. I lived across the street from an Asian grocery store in undergrad and it was actually life-changing. Carcels will never understand
I thought my use of “carcels” would be enough to hint that my jab at drivers was in jest. You don’t need to denigrate drivers but you do need thicker skin
Where I lived in South Korea everything was mixed use. Anything I wanted was within walking distance or a short, cheap cab ride to Lotte Mart. So easy to just handle business.
I'm in Porto and like some of the others saying here have a Mercadona (Whole Foods type) market directly across street. Terrific daily selection of sub €10 fresh made meals along with the usual store goodies. I rarely eat frozen anything
My house is half a block from the store. I can see it from my sidewalk. Life changing stuff, if I ever move this will be a prerequisite for choosing a new home.
If you go somewhere else for a few days it can be a nightmare / been living this way for at least 25 years ; in 15 mins I can get nearly anything like 3 different butchers 7 grocery stores everything else too ; my only limit is backpack space or 5-6KG to haul
My family still lives in a part of the country where you have to get in your car to do literally anything, and that feels like such a burden compared to just stepping out the door & walking a few blocks.
A few friends and family have been “shocked” when they realised that you could have stores or not need to drive 10-20 minutes every time you need anything or haven’t planned ahead :/ good for the auto and oil industries though! Not great for fitness and stress /
Or driving 3H a day for work ;(
My grocery store is within walking distance and there's partially a sidewalk but the second you leave the bullshit apartment complex there's no sidewalk and it's down a hill that curves around a corner. Amazing stuff really
You do realize that you are in the maybe 1 percent of the population that can do this, right? I lived where I could walk to the grocery store, about 1/2 a mile, for a few years, and loved it as well. I now live about a mile away, but much of it lacks sidewalks, and it is an expensive store.
My partner and I are moving soon and we’re looking at moving to a walkable city and none of our friends understand the appeal, but I don’t understand the appeal of not being able to walk everywhere you want to go.
I'm in the process of moving right now and had a hard time finding a place because I went car free during the pandemic and am INCREDIBLY picky about where I live next. Like if it isn't within two blocks of a specific intersection I'm way less interested.
It's truly a dream. I can walk to 2 grocery stores and a dollar store if I need to and I am thankful for that on the reg, even though Ive lived in the area over a decade.
And I'm sure you have lots of little interactions that strengthen your connection to your community and give you lots of fun little experiences to talk about with your friends about your experiences talking a little Walk To The Store.
My parents live next to a beautiful park full of native plants and a path alongside a stream to the supermarket
Instead of walking the 10 minute path they drive their v8 Ute out the suburb block, onto a highway and sit in traffic for up to half an hour, traffic lights, and find parking
I've (deliberately, through careful planning) never lived more than a 15-minute walk from a grocery store and it is both amazing and dangerous. Also weird when the people nearby don't seem to realize they can just walk to the store, they don't have to drive every time
I wish the grocery store was a bit closer. It's about a 25 minute walk for me, which is like just borderline of comfortable walkable distance maybe once a week or every other week when I feel I can spare a hour.
I used to live across the street from a grocery store and it was fantastic. I would go 4 times a day sometimes and we kept way less in the pantry. If you want something just pop over and buy it.
I am raging and seething, if I want shit it’s a walk of 20 mins both ways for a small shop that sells overpriced stuff. Please take me out of this rural hellhole
The first time I was assigned to the US office for training they put me up in a condo about ten minutes walk from a lot with supermarket, dry cleaner, take out food places, the lot. Walked there the first day, was so scary. Apartment blocks with armed guards, no sidewalks, six lane highway /2
With no pedestrian phase on the crossings. Never walked it again, too damned scary, but it was suburban Dallas in the 90s not old city. Missed the walking to the shops vibe for the six months, so glad to get back to London after the training!
Was apartment hunting today. Almost picked a shitty tiny bachelor being advertised as full single bedroom because of how close it was to a good grocery store.
Never felt more wizened in my life. Think I'm gonna die
Oh yeah well imagine driving a big huge car into a polygonal cavern and rolling down your window and pressing a button and stretching to reach a ticket and paying $18 to grab something
I was this person when I lived in Durango, CO. People kept stopping to ask me if my car broke down. When I would see friends for events they would say “I saw you 10 times last month out walking.” I planned a novel on my walks.
I grew up in the suburbs in a town marketed as "private." There were almost no sidewalks and the shoulders were narrow, vehicles going speed limit +15. It actually was dangerous to bike and walk.
As an adult, I live in cities, or at least places with sidewalks and I appreciate this everyday.
When I moved from my old apartment to this one I drew a 10-minute walk radius around every Trader Joe’s in the city and dismissed many listings for being in the No-Joe Zone.
When I first moved to the city I was right next door to a 7-11 and was in there all the time to "see what was new." It was SO SO exciting for a young lady from a small town who didn't drive.
I went to Florida… once… about 35yrs ago… we wanted something… asked where the nearest place to get it was … 5 mins … hubby left … 2hrs later … they meant by car …
You use English words but you don’t mean the same thing…
Also on the same trip, I was looking for directions in an area I’d look out of place … so in my broadest Glaswegian accent I asked… the reply was ‘I just love your Scottish accent, which part of England are you from?’
… 30+yrs later I have the smart arse answer
Loved my time in Madrid. I don’t remember missing having a car at the ready even once because the grocery store was a block away, and the bus and subway covered everything else
Worst job I ever had, a place to stop for games, was significantly more enjoyable for the simple fact that I could walk there in eight minutes. Then I got promoted and was required to have a car for bank runs. Then I quit.
We should all live in communities like this. Walk to the grocery and hardware store, restaurants, movie theater, banks, public transit (commuter train)... I live in a little town like this. It's 35K person town in a top 20 metro area. Kinda the best of both worlds.
That’s what I got and it’s great. 15k person town with stores, restaurants, and schools tk-12 in walking distance but I can also drive less than 15 minutes and I’m in a major city with world class dining
I have to pay an extra $60 a year in Virginia for my hybrid because it doesn’t use enough gas to help pay for roadwork. But if you don’t drive the “average” you can have the privilege of ordering a tracking app from a 3rd party provider and only pay for what you drive.
States are doing this with hybrids & electric vehicles. I learned this last month after moving back to Virginia (derogatory) and having to pay an extra $60 on my registration.
I agree with this taxation. Gas taxes maintain the roads, and hybrids and electric vehicles pay less gas tax per mile, while they actually wear out the roads faster because they weigh more. It's a reasonable tax.
Also Virginia has an option to install a device in your car, whether gas, hybrid, or electric, that will calculate your tax payment based on actual miles traveled rather than the flat rate. It’s a little too Big Brother for my tastes, but not an unreasonable response to the decline in gas taxes.
Exactly mirroring my thoughts. Something so normal that it’s not even worth mentioning - and so special in the US that they even find a wording for it.
Remember- the US is actually huge. We are only 300 years as a western society, so the existing cities of Europe aren’t here. And the reasons for very concentrated city living in Europe (fiefdoms) really never existed here. We were trying to catch up, now just trying not to die in Trumpistan.
You know: we do have really small villages without any groceries nearby as well. But I still doubt we have a wording for the walking distance to a supermarket 😀
Yeah… Trumpistan. I hope you get through. As little harmed as possible. As a nation and as individuals. All the best to you!
I should have just said anywhere outside of the US has excellent daily markets in every neighborhood. We're in the only country insisting on having food deserts because corporations have more rights than human beings.
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6) near downtown & the river. ✅
7) walking distance to grocery store (2 mi). ❌ But we have instacart, so $30 in tips a week…
8) can afford to pay cash for the house ✅
9)small yard, as old & yard work in the south is brutal✅
10) Small enough for 1 person to maintain (me, the homecare provider) ✅
When we retired to Chattanooga where I spent most of my 0-23 years we had a short list.
1) 2.5 mi. trauma/stroke center. ✅
2) on a bus line ✅
3) walking distance to rest/pub (2 pubs, 4 breakfast/lunch, 5 evening eateries) ✅
4) has services (garbage/recycling)✅
5) Internet (1g $60/ 2.5g $95)✅
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Zoning is a big problem so you have your stores in one place and your housing in another, and many people want those nice big suburban lawns. Makes for pretty boring cities, too.
Please tell me you got a Wegmans. It’s my dream market but I don’t have one. I have to travel across the country to shop there! Even if it’s not, you are so lucky to be that close!
That is life changing. I am hoping to move specifically for that lifestyle sooner than later. I’m happy for you. I grew up in Brooklyn and walked a block to the grocery and carvel ice cream. EnjoyBrooke!
few things in my life have been as empowering as being an <5min walk from a grocery store. i left the Church because of easily accessible rotisserie chicken
We lived for 19 years in a suburb where the only place you could reasonably walk to was a 7-11 (which I did maybe 3 times), and we moved 3 miles to a town where we can walk to a grocery store and about 10 decent to good restaurants, and the improvement in quality of life is immeasurable
There are a few of these in large cities. Seattle, Portland, some California cities, and I am sure some back east, but they are still mostly a place you have to drive to or take mass transit in order to enjoy them. They are not in affordable housing areas.
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That’s insane. I’ve finally convinced my boomer folks to not buy a gallon of milk they never finish but to buy a liter even though it’s almost the same price. Here in Germany I’ve never even seen a gallon of milk I think. It’s all 1 liter cartons.
There are several buildings in Minneapolis where the apartments are built right above a grocery store. One grocery store had a huge parking lot, so they built a bunch of high-end condos there. I just turned 60. That's what I'll be looking for in about ten years.
I downsized to a house near the village center specifically to do this. It’s been glorious.
But I’ve found that most suburbanites don’t understand why you would walk to the store when you could drive. And not owning a car is stigmatized, even if it was a deliberate choice 🤷🏻♀️
I like walking into random cultural experiences. Oh, here's a 3-piece rock band performing original music in the square, let me pause my commute to enjoy a free outdoor concert. Oh, here's a dance school doing performances, let me stop to watch the 7-year-olds' hilarious break dancing
(true stories)
Yeah, I’ve been a Walk To The Store person since 2012 and I’m never going back. Plan meals last minute and it’s wonderful! Visiting relatives in the suburbs who drive to and plan grocery store trips seems insane now and I hate it when it’s force on me there.
It's a great feeling. The place I currently live in was a three minute walk from a grocery when I moved in.
Place closed not even six months later.
Next closest requires a bus ride.
I really miss just being able to walk to where I need.
I lived in Armenia for about 4 years. One of the things I LOVED was the walk ability of their towns and cities, especially proximity of small stores. Wish US would make walkability a requirement and priority. No more mega-stores but smaller or even mini-stores that can be reached by bike/foot
My last flat in Edinburgh had a small co-op 1 minute away (and a chippy), an aldi 5 minutes up the road and a huge tesco 10 minutes down the road. It was bliss. I wasn't even in the city centre.
As an American I never got the Chippy ‘situation’ until we stayed w/a coworker’s parents at their house in Pender (30 minute train to London)
My friend insisted we stay there & must go to the Chippy shop 200 meters away. We were in Pender 4 days - ate at the chippy daily.
And what wonderful people.
My mother passed away when I was in my late teens and so I pretty well got around the neighborhood by myself on bicycle, including visits to the local supermarket, which helped make it possible for me to get supplies for meals with my father and I. Eventually I did get a car driver license.
Piece of practical advice, two items make this even better. 1 is a nice cloth grocery bag, fits a lot more than you think and is nice to carry around. 2 is a pull cart for those instances where you want something heavy or bulky. Or the rare cases you want a single trip for a lot of stuff
Moved to the downtown core of my Midwestern nowheresville and it's like being on a different fucking planet from the apartment in the southend suburban sprawl I had before, just so much more in reach I never have to use either car for
My last apartment in NYC was a block and a half from a 10-block shopping area: around 8 grocery stores (general and Russian), 3 produce stores, two drug stores, etc. + a subway station. I walked to one store or another almost every day. Here in Detroit, you can't even get a qt of milk without a car!
It's great, I walk in one direction I have an Aldi and takeaway, in the other there's a cluster with a convenience store, post office, newsagent, butcher, liquor store, pharmacy, cafe, bakery and pizza shop. All the essentials stuffed into a tiny shopping centre
as a kid my family's house backed onto the car park of our local shopping village which due to odd townplanning was actually a v long walk away so my uncle installed a sneaky locked gate into the shared fence to allow us kids to get to the supermarket in 60 secs (we timed ourselves 😂)
so convenient!
The worst house I/we ever lived in was in the best location. Across the street from a local supermarket and drugstore, across the corner from Safeway or 7-11.
I'd go in looking for my next meal, and if I was hungry, I'd go through an entire store without finding anything.
I've been considering getting one of those little grocery wagons people put their dogs and kids in, but I have to get over the uncoolness factor. toxic masculinity tells me to carry it all in my arms
I think the idea is that you're close enough to not need to lay in that much supplies on one trip. However I remember doing that on a motorcycle some years ago.
I know this feeling! I lived with my parents for the longest time and they always live in the suburbs, at least 5min drive from anything. Living where the store is a few mins walk away or on the way home from work is so convenient!
Hey, have you ever noticed each generation prefers the opposite of the last one? Grandparents live in the city so parents move to the suburbs; now, having grown up in the burbs, I prefer living in a city. Does no one like where they grew up?
One of the things that I love the most about being able to live in Paris often. Walk everywhere. Turn right if I decide on the way home to see a movie. Turn left if I want to pick up some fave take out.
Best part is you can just buy what you wanna cook for dinner that day, instead of having to guess ahead what you're gonna feel like eating all week and having to throw it out or batch cook it because you wound up eating at a restaurant or grabbing takeout instead.
When my kids were 8 and 10, we moved across the street from a brand new fancy grocery in Vancouver. I bought a little trolley for them, and they would go without me and use the self checkout. It was adorable. ❤️
I live right by a gas station, grocery store, comic book, smoke shop, restaurant area. It’s like a twenty minute walk. I’m walking down there all the time. It’s awesome.
I’ve got one about a quarter-mile up the way, and it is indeed wonderful. Even if it’s at the edge of “walkable” in my present state, it’s maybe a minute by car.
one of my favorite things about moving to the netherlands is that this country has about 1.2 grocery stores per person. It’s just impossible to live far from a grocery store.
I recently got laid off and you better believe the grocery store near me gets to see my gorgeous face multiple times between 10 and 2 daily. What else am I supposed to do?
During college I just happened to move into an apartment across the street from a grocery store. Since then it has become a top priority that I always live within walking distance of a grocery store.
I moved from a little place called Beaverdam, Virginia (which is exactly how it sounds) to Richmond and let me tell you, the novelty of being Someone Who Walks Places has still not worn off. It’s been like 10 years
Am .75 of a mile from a big store but the mini Mart is near by. Up many hills to both so I gotta get in the right headspace before I head out. Cheers to stoner walkers out there
I lived in San Francisco during grad school and it was normal to run to the corner market (I had a choice of three) for a veggie or condiment while preparing a meal. Handy.
Yesterday I was Walking To The Store and I ran into two friends who were on a patio on the one block between the store and my home. this is the peak of what human civilization should aspire to (non-ironic)
It’s great isn’t it? I live within walking/biking distance from 3 Supermarkets, I think 3 local grocery chains, and at least a half dozen small specialty ethnic grocery stores.
I realize just how rare this is for most people. It should be the standard baseline from which we try to improve
Yup. We’re about a 15 min walk to our grocery store and I do that ALL the time. I guess it doesn’t hurt that our equivalent of “Cheers” is across the road. Though, I guess that’s kinda a chicken or egg situation.
I’m on vacation in a walkable city rn and I’m gonna be so sad to leave 🥺 also they have useable, pleasant public transportation??? I want my tax dollars to go towards this sort of thing wtf
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Missing an ingredient? Make the kid go to the store and get it. Better yet, let's make the tyke pay with a check, too. Give the whelp a note that says it's OK. Off you go kid, bring the change back
There was one semi-close to where i'm at now but it got bought up and shuttered and it just sits empty now
it was really convenient, if we wanted something the little store actually had
If you go somewhere else for a few days it can be a nightmare / been living this way for at least 25 years ; in 15 mins I can get nearly anything like 3 different butchers 7 grocery stores everything else too ; my only limit is backpack space or 5-6KG to haul
Or driving 3H a day for work ;(
The first time I forgot something was awesome. It used to be that going back was an hour and a half round trip. Now it's minutes.
Huge difference.
Still go of course but it's a disappointment!
Instead of walking the 10 minute path they drive their v8 Ute out the suburb block, onto a highway and sit in traffic for up to half an hour, traffic lights, and find parking
Boomers eh
I need a kick scooter..
Never felt more wizened in my life. Think I'm gonna die
walking alone? are you hurt? did your car break down? need a lift??
i noticed that same dynamic. my SIL/nephews saw me walking w/o my dog and they stopped! “Everything okay?”
nephews were baffled. car culture starts young.
As an adult, I live in cities, or at least places with sidewalks and I appreciate this everyday.
https://bsky.app/profile/plunkettprime.bsky.social/post/3lobk36f5ps2a
The birds still want to kill you, I guess.
Really miss that.
You use English words but you don’t mean the same thing…
… 30+yrs later I have the smart arse answer
this is literally the reason we make such a big deal out of walkable cities
Yeah… Trumpistan. I hope you get through. As little harmed as possible. As a nation and as individuals. All the best to you!
*As in -30c with a -45c windchill hurting your face and feelings
6) near downtown & the river. ✅
7) walking distance to grocery store (2 mi). ❌ But we have instacart, so $30 in tips a week…
8) can afford to pay cash for the house ✅
9)small yard, as old & yard work in the south is brutal✅
10) Small enough for 1 person to maintain (me, the homecare provider) ✅
1) 2.5 mi. trauma/stroke center. ✅
2) on a bus line ✅
3) walking distance to rest/pub (2 pubs, 4 breakfast/lunch, 5 evening eateries) ✅
4) has services (garbage/recycling)✅
5) Internet (1g $60/ 2.5g $95)✅
1/2
Yeah.
How do americans live like that?
The nearest grocery store to me is a 50 minute walk, which is doable, but annoying.
I actually lived in the only neighbourhood "without" a lot of groceries stores in Rio. I had to walk 20 min to go to one and hated it.
Ironic to see this post today I live in very walkable area - but I don’t even do it much bc I have a bad knee & walking hurts
But walking is actually good for arthritis, it hurts at first but gets better if consistent. I walked today to pot store & will keep it up I hope
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Beyond that the answer is yes.
Granted
i felt like a goddamned roman emperor
But I’ve found that most suburbanites don’t understand why you would walk to the store when you could drive. And not owning a car is stigmatized, even if it was a deliberate choice 🤷🏻♀️
(true stories)
Place closed not even six months later.
Next closest requires a bus ride.
I really miss just being able to walk to where I need.
It was gorgeous.
My friend insisted we stay there & must go to the Chippy shop 200 meters away. We were in Pender 4 days - ate at the chippy daily.
And what wonderful people.
Piece of practical advice, two items make this even better. 1 is a nice cloth grocery bag, fits a lot more than you think and is nice to carry around. 2 is a pull cart for those instances where you want something heavy or bulky. Or the rare cases you want a single trip for a lot of stuff
so convenient!
I'd go in looking for my next meal, and if I was hungry, I'd go through an entire store without finding anything.
I used to live within walking distance to a 7/11, Armenian bakery/grocery, and a pizza place. It was a glorious time in my life.
https://apnews.com/article/michigan-store-rooftop-sign-homeless-0185c0d7e4cd7a2f8581e8b8e0eb01b7
Enjoy.
I realize just how rare this is for most people. It should be the standard baseline from which we try to improve