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A Major Neighbourhood Development of a Commercial Nature

(Post 67 of 233. Thanks again to those who participated in the Fundrazr!)

My house is located close to a lot of little independently owned shops. I don’t have to go too far for things like hardware supplies, beer (when there’s no restrictions), and common groceries of all types. But if I want fancier groceries (like European butter) or to take out cash from an ATM, I have to go about 2KM north, east, or south of my house. In another climate, 2KM is nothing to walk, but here, it might as well be 20, plus Mérida is not pedestrian-friendly. It’s like I’m both super centrally located and in the middle of nowhere at the same time.

Well, all of that has changed.

There is now a giant Walmart an 8-minute walk from my house! I needed some cash today and instead of taking my truck (it’s been raining on and off all day, so too risky to walk 48 minutes roundtrip to my bank) and going to the nearest HSBC ATM, I was able to walk between downpours to Walmart, pick up a few things I needed, and then get cash as a withdrawal on my debit card at checkout. I was home in under 30 minutes, and that included taking the time to go through the store to get an idea of the layout and what departments it has. I can’t even get to the bank and back that fast in my truck because of the traffic!

I will leave you with an untouched, true to nature, sunset picture. We got a moment of respite from two days of solid rain, with more days coming. This has been an interminable rainy season…

14 thoughts on “A Major Neighbourhood Development of a Commercial Nature”

  1. I hope you only go to the Walmart when you need cash. Otherwise those little shops you like will disappear.

    • I guess I wasn’t clear that I can’t get more than very basic groceries in my immediate neighbourhood, so I go out of it to get them. Now that I can get them in my neighbourhood, I’m going to need to leave it less. Ergo shopping at the new Walmart will mean I shop at my local shops more frequently.

  2. I knew that this post was going to generate a comment like Linda’s. This is why I’ve stopped blogging like I used to. Blogging used to be a great way to share what was going on in my life. Now, it’s just a minefield for getting sermonized. 166 more potential landmines to go. *sighs*

  3. I need to start commenting more because I love your blog and where and how you live.

    I love going to small local shops, but there are times when my only option is one of those dreaded trips to Wally World!! LOL

    Carry on girl; and keep on sharing!!

    • Thank you!

      I buy sausages from a neighbour who makes them. I buy most of my cheese from a neighbour who makes it. I buy a lot of my produce from a neighbour who goes to pick it up at the central market early in the morning so I don’t have to. I buy garden tools from the little hardware shop up the street. I buy beer from the little shop across the street. And then I get flack for being excited that there’s a Walmart within walking distance that has good butter and other higher end grocery products I used to have to travel 2KM to get. *sighs*

  5. When did it become acceptable to slag someone for their choices? I was brought up to mind my own business, keep my opinions to myself.
    Common courtesy ain’t so common anymore!😬
    ( now I’ll get slagged for using “ain’t “, but I didn’t use the “F” word!) 🤪😝

    • That’s what I’d like to know. It’s just so tiresome.

      You can use ain’t and the F word all you want. I’m only the word usage police in my professional life. 😉

  6. A lot of people have issues with walmart and they can steal the business from small ones but and this is a huge but – I live in a small town (less than 5000 people) and a walmart was built here a few years ago. Instead of stealing from smaller businesses, it forced the local grocery store to lower their prices to be more competitive and the smaller businesses are doing fine (at least up until the covid lockdown). Just last year an Aldi moved in right across the street from walmart. Both stores bring more traffic from other towns in the area and these people also shop at the smaller stores. We also have the option of buying from a local farm (which I do) and despite moving here from a big city, we try to do all of our business in our community but sometimes, you just need that walmart or in our case, amazon. That’s not going to change any time soon. If I could save the cost of gas and wear on my vehicle and get what I can’t get in my neighborhood, I wouldn’t hesitate to go to walmart. I’m glad you have that convenience and still have all of the affordable options of the smaller shops close to home. All of your experiences in your travels and now, with your life in Mexico, I have enjoyed and envied a wee bit. Don’t let the turkeys get you down – just delete them, it’s not worth it to even give them the time it takes to read them. Linda may have had good intentions but her delivery was a bit more critical sounding than needed. Ranee (MN) USA

    • Yup, all of that. You only hear the horror stories about Walmart, not the good ones. I know that before I left Saskatchewan, there was talk of a Walmart being built nearish to Haven. That would have meant so many jobs, so many fewer reasons to to travel a couple of hours to Moose Jaw or Regina, lower grocery prices at the single grocery store that had no reason to serve us well.

      Locals here know that Walmart is not the cheapest price on everything. There’s no way Walmart is going to displace the local stores. It’s just going to create badly needed jobs, and, being so centrally located to neighbourhoods where people walk, it’s going to boost foot traffic to surrounding businesses. I I know I’m going to start going a couple blocks further south to a favourite taco joint for lunch and pop into the office supply place next door to get my favourite gel pens before heading back to Walmart for butter, cream, and dog food, then stop at the little beer store and the tortilla place (whose tortillas are fully half the price of Walmart’s). And I’m still going to go to the place just up the street from me when I need a broom or bucket or something like that because their prices are way cheaper than Walmart.

      I spent I don’t know how many nights parked in a Walmart parking lot while I was travelling in my RV. In most cities, they were a safe harbout. They’re not my preferred place to shop at, but they have earned a place on the list of stores I shop at.

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