tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post7639498907282044566..comments2024-03-27T23:28:20.274-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Being local vs. being rootedagnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-714026936501871572015-07-30T23:04:53.288-04:002015-07-30T23:04:53.288-04:00That was a 1972 hit by Danny O'Keefe. It might...That was a 1972 hit by Danny O'Keefe. It might have been written about Wenatchee WA where he grew up (and where I lived in 2013). Anyway, it's a good song. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373560420508884302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-59075866340798703342015-07-28T19:21:06.890-04:002015-07-28T19:21:06.890-04:00There is a popular song about growing up in a smal...There is a popular song about growing up in a small, close-knit area. It's called "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues." Perhaps you've heard it.FCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-26663294185704537972015-07-26T11:08:31.685-04:002015-07-26T11:08:31.685-04:00"Where I grew up there is one old supermarket..."Where I grew up there is one old supermarket that has been there forever. Part of a big chain but so old its unique in its outlay and look."<br /><br />I do most of my grocery shopping at a mom & pop place that is so old it doesn't even have conveyer belts at the check-out line. Just an island for the cash register, an open space next to it where a single shopping cart can be parked for unloading the items, and another larger island at the end where the items can be placed for bagging. There's also a small shelf on the bagging island that will hold a hand basket.<br /><br />The shelves ("gondolas") are about a foot shorter than what you'd see in a mega-market, and are not nearly as deep -- one to two feet, I'd say, compared to three or four. Each aisle feels like a (very well stocked) pantry in someone's home, not a warehouse where preppers for the zombie apocalypse are stocking up on essentials for the next 10 years in a single trip.<br /><br />It's been in business since the late '80s, but the owner more or less acquired an older small-scale grocery store that had been there since at least the '60s, maybe the '50s.<br /><br />And I remember going there as a child, so it feels even more familiar and comforting.<br /><br />Most of the customers, too, have clearly been going there for years or decades. I'd put the median age at 50 to 60, mostly longtime local residents.<br /><br />There are two upscale mega-markets for trendoids -- both national chains, neither of which has been there even 10 years -- where most everybody goes, sucking away what could be going to a rooted local business. It goes to show how fake much of the "buy local" attitude is among the upper-middle class, especially if they're transplants.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-9891050295287672272015-07-26T10:44:02.138-04:002015-07-26T10:44:02.138-04:00Baz, for some reason your comment went into the sp...Baz, for some reason your comment went into the spam folder.<br /><br />"Its a major problem in Australia with people trying to escape the city to find a little town only to have the developers follow and then turn it into an overdeveloped hell hole that city slickers left the city to get away from."<br /><br />You might try looking for a town where most of the homes were built before 1950s, preferably during the '20s. Everyone recognizes how sacred those styles are, and won't knock them down just to put up tract homes, apartment towers, etc.<br /><br />There could still be gentrification problems if all the wealthy hipsters are piling into these neighborhoods that scream VINTAGE. But there must be some places where the residents tend to stay put, allowing little turnover. It'll be harder to get in, but worth it.<br /><br />Most of the gentrifiers want a place that will put up minimal resistance and that has a huge selection to choose from at any given time (i.e., high turnover).agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-20094500221725092122015-07-26T02:07:12.539-04:002015-07-26T02:07:12.539-04:00"Micro-economics is a really interesting subj..."Micro-economics is a really interesting subject."<br /><br />It'll be hard to make that go mainstream, though, by taking an economic approach. Fact is, mom & pop stores are slightly more expensive, and for today's atomized consumerist Americans, having to pay 10 cents more per can of tomatoes is unthinkable.<br /><br />Rather than arguing that it makes better economic sense, appeal to their sense of tribalism and cultural autonomy. You can get that can of tomatoes for 10 cents cheaper at the mega-market, but then you'll have to endure charmless mega-markets your whole life, and possibly get pushed around by them (if they want to redevelop, buy off the city council, bring out the lawyers, etc., they have the deep pockets to do so).agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-84099621845033872602015-07-26T01:48:43.211-04:002015-07-26T01:48:43.211-04:00I wonder if Millennials aren't very attached t...I wonder if Millennials aren't very attached to specific places, if they have grown up during a period of such high turnover. The building where they went to school, maybe (unless it's seen a major remodel, which is more common in striving times). But I mean in general.<br /><br />They must have the same instinct to want to attach themselves to places, but wind up frustrated during their development by the always shifting landscape, and become cynical about it in young adulthood and after.<br /><br />Might as well not expect anything to be there in five years, so why try to preserve it when you can make it a customizable playground right now?<br /><br />And it's not the Millennials' fault, when they're minors anyways. It's mommy and daddy, and the childless grown-ups of the community whose lifestyle contests are causing all that commercial churn, rather than let it be and allow the neighborhood kids a stable landscape to anchor themselves to.<br /><br />It's not out of malice, of course, since striving is short-sighted and neglectful rather than spiteful. Still, don't they realize that it's bad for a kid to change schools every couple years, or homes, or social circles, or parents / guardians? Sure they do. So why the blind spot for all the stores they'll be visiting during their formative years?agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-62614075137236111352015-07-26T01:33:59.894-04:002015-07-26T01:33:59.894-04:00"in the small college town I went to, there w..."in the small college town I went to, there was main street, a few blocks long, where businesses were always turning over. only one or two eateries there were long-lasting."<br /><br />Any area with built-in high residential turnover will have greater transience of commercial places. College towns and military towns.<br /><br />Most high school seniors who prefer a college-town atmosphere think they're going to get a quaint small town atmosphere. But folks aren't constantly coming and going in a small town, vs. all the time in a college town.<br /><br />There's not a whole lot to anchor onto, other than the school buildings. You can't even share memories of many stores with alumni who were five years before or five years after you. The commercial landscape there is as generationally specific as bell-bottom jeans, or having listened to "Baby One More Time" during frat parties.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-10968391437080147512015-07-26T01:17:26.896-04:002015-07-26T01:17:26.896-04:00"lots of strivers starting their new small bu..."lots of strivers starting their new small businesses"<br /><br />Hubby makes enough money, but I don't want my business degree to go to waste -- I know, I'll start that shabby chic design store I've always been thinking of. It's so in, and I know women, so it'll be a hit!<br /><br />:shabby chic shop folds in two years, is replaced by another that will fail in another two years, led by another restless housewife who majored in business:<br /><br />It's way worse out West, of course. Not just all the start-ups in tech fields (which are designed to be sold off to some big rich gobbler-upper). Indie coffee shops are way more numerous and here today / gone tomorrow. Quirky clothing boutiques. Really anything you can think of.<br /><br />Striving out West is based on lifestyle rather than wealth and power (back East), so the point is not to form a start-up to get forever rich and powerful, but just-rich-enough from the buy-out in order to live a fashionable lifestyle. Or crafting a persona where starting up businesses is a lifestyle.<br /><br />It adds to the feeling of impermanence out West, despite having been settled for over 100 years now. Turnover is a matter of lifestyle.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-65636718033749204642015-07-25T21:06:35.822-04:002015-07-25T21:06:35.822-04:00Where I grew up there is one old supermarket that ...Where I grew up there is one old supermarket that has been there forever. Part of a big chain but so old its unique in its outlay and look.<br /><br />Where I live now is a very rooted place but too close to an overpriced city so the city slickers are began moving in a few years back and now the developers have followed them and want to knock down all the old buildings and put in high rises. Its a major problem in Australia with people trying to escape the city to find a little town only to have the developers follow and then turn it into an overdeveloped hell hole that city slickers left the city to get away from.Baznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-66835855712176552462015-07-25T20:23:42.704-04:002015-07-25T20:23:42.704-04:00Great post. I work at a small (one owner and 3 emp...Great post. I work at a small (one owner and 3 employees) shop in the Poconos (Pennsylvania). We've been in business since 1981. We have a tremendous following amongst the locals and whenever out-of-towners come in they are impressed by our service, selection, and prices. A lot of our local customers say that they prefer to support the local guy instead of feeding the behemoth corporate monster 30 miles away. A lot of people try to buy local when they can. And it works out, because the money they spend here goes into my pocket and I'll in turn spend it locally. Micro-economics is a really interesting subject. I'd write more but I'm too busy enjoying a beer brewed in PA I bought down the street from the town general store. Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-80693520152429950362015-07-25T16:19:40.233-04:002015-07-25T16:19:40.233-04:00in the small college town I went to, there was mai...in the small college town I went to, there was main street, a few blocks long, where businesses were always turning over. only one or two eateries there were long-lasting. Curtisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-69204277406457948292015-07-25T16:14:26.778-04:002015-07-25T16:14:26.778-04:00yeah, even small business turnover is as disruptiv...yeah, even small business turnover is as disruptive as a big market chain moving in. I see that tied to status-striving also - lots of strivers starting their new small businessesCurtisnoreply@blogger.com