In 2002, I moved to Juneau, Alaska, which is a place big on MFAs routinely making informed decisions about their 401(k) plans. And people there told me "get used to ordering stuff thru the mail!" By which, of course, they meant: thru the Web, arriving in the mail.
Even moving down to Ketchikan, where there is a Walmart, same deal. There are two exceptions: a "marine supply" store where you can buy, well, "foulweather gear", but that includes raincoats and rainboots that you don't need to be at sea to use; and an honest to god "general store" that's huge, occupies both sides of the street, and where you can get proper shoes and clothes not actually redolent of the polymer-and-slavery mills of Chinastan.
Otherwise, "the shops" in the downtown area have been rent-displaced stores that spend six months a year selling tourist tat (and TANZANITE?!) for the (increasing, ever increasing) cruise-ship crowds; and then simply board up for the other six months (i.e., moving to the Caribbean for the "winter" cruises there). "The shops" are squeezed by that at the same time they're squozen by the whole web-ordering thing. Like there's a nice, pretty, friendly independent bookstore in town; but adding over the past four years, I don't think I've spent there even one hundredth of what I've spent at Amazon and Powell's.
So, in this general respect, Alaska is, for once, actually anticipating a national trend. i.e., "get used to ordering stuff thru the mail!".
Also, don't call a Walmart ever about anything. They shouldn't even bother answering the phones there, for all the good that calling them does.
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Small towns in rural areas
Date: 2007-09-08 03:32 am (UTC)plans. And people there told me "get used to ordering
stuff thru the mail!" By which, of course, they
meant: thru the Web, arriving in the mail.
Even moving down to Ketchikan, where there is a Walmart,
same deal. There are two exceptions: a "marine supply" store where you can buy, well, "foulweather gear", but that includes raincoats and
rainboots that you don't need to be at sea to use; and an honest to god "general store" that's huge, occupies both sides of the street, and where you can get proper shoes and clothes not actually redolent of the
polymer-and-slavery mills of Chinastan.
Otherwise, "the shops" in the downtown area have been rent-displaced
stores that spend six months a year selling tourist tat (and TANZANITE?!) for the (increasing, ever
increasing) cruise-ship crowds; and then simply board up
for the other six months (i.e., moving to the Caribbean
for the "winter" cruises there). "The shops" are squeezed by that at the same time they're squozen by the whole web-ordering thing. Like there's a nice, pretty, friendly
independent bookstore in town; but adding over the past four years, I don't think I've spent there even one hundredth of what I've spent at Amazon and Powell's.
So, in this general respect, Alaska is, for once, actually anticipating a national trend. i.e.,
"get used to ordering stuff thru the mail!".
Also, don't call a Walmart ever about anything. They shouldn't even bother answering the phones there, for all the good that calling them does.