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Recently a poster listed "good shopping" as a criterion for a retirement location. Perhaps this is largely a female thing, but I (as a male) do not understand it at all, and I'm hoping someone (of either gender) will be able to explain it to me.
I have long been aware that many folks, mostly female ?, view shopping as a fun thing to do per se, and this is what I just cannot grasp. If I need an article of clothing, I go buy it. If the gas tank in the car is nearly empty, I fill it up. If I need something at the grocery store, I go buy that too. None of these things is remotely pleasureable--they are chores to get done and as such are necessary evils in life. If I had a magic wand to wave which would accomplish these chores for me, I would gladly wave it. So I suppose I have two different, if related, questions:
1. How can "good shopping" be defined? Lots of stores to choose from? Does this have to do mostly with clothing? Or is it the type of stores, i.e., high-end, pricey stores, that are required?
2. O.K., once it's defined, can someone describe how the activity of shopping is to be sought after? I think I could describe the pleasure of skiing, or boating, or motorcycling. So I am looking for a description of the alleged "pleasure" of shopping. Perhaps the gulf of incomprehensibility to too deep to bridge, but I can always hope, hence this thread.
I'm female and I don't get it either but to each his own. If people enjoy shopping in retirement, they probably always enjoyed shopping. I didn't like it as a kid, a teen or an adult.
I had a boss once (male) whose greatest thrill in life was getting something cheap or free. He was always bragging about upgrades, free desserts, and deals he got on purchases. It wasn't the item or service so much but the pleasure he took in scoring it. It was really embarrassing to be on a business trip with him because it was very overt. Otherwise, he was a great boss who would probably give you the shirt off his back. I can see him trying to figure wheeling and dealing for services and goods into his retirement plans somehow. Probably travel shopping (hotels, airlines, restaurants, clothes, souvenirs, entertainment, etc.).
In the book forum, I recently posted why I prefer Amazon over bookstores when shopping for books:
1. there is no top shelf I can't reach or bottom shelf I can't read or get up from.
2. I can go shopping or browse in my underwear.
3. it's open 24/7 - I can visit at 2:00A.
4. you can learn about and buy more oddball books. Bookstores can only stock the books for which they have room.
5. you can buy them in different formats (hardcover, audio, paperback, kindle, large print, etc.) and they are all in the same place unlike in a bookstore where you have to guess the other formats and then locate them.
6. if I buy 6 books at a time, with Amazon, I'm not lugging all of that weight of my books, around.
7. no one is coughing or sneezing on me on some checkout line.
8. I don't have to park in Outer Slobovia (especially at Christmas time) and lug 6 books to the car and/or through some mall.
9. I can pick up non-book items in the same place, at the same time instead of driving/walking from one store to another.
10. I can sit at my desk (starting at midnight) for hours and browse books on Amazon, read reviews from regular people, read summaries and then get good suggestions: "If you liked that, you'll probably like this" and "people who read that, also purchased this."
Until you've lived in an area with limited access, you won't have appreciation for good shopping. For instance, my son is currently working a job in a smaller community. Shopping is limited to one grocery store that has maybe 5 short aisles. It's better where we live, but there are many things you can't get without ordering, wither through a store or online. Ordering online is no treat either. There have been many times when I've made an order and cancel it when the shipping cost is greater than to cost of the items. Free shipping doesn't exist for us, except mainly for Amazon. If you find free shipping, it usually applies to 48 states. That's not to say we suffer, it just takes longer as you may place orders 2-3 times before finding decent shipping charges.
Now that I can easily understand. If you're in a town small enough that you have to drive more than 10 miles for most things that you need, you may not like the inconvenience. (Or for others, the rural character of their location may be well worth the inconvenience). My OP had more to do with the perception I have that many people actually like shopping as an activity.
I don't shop as a pastime. But I get frustrated when I want something that I can't find. I do order some things online, but as a rule, I'd rather buy locally.
Large high end department stores with designer brands but good sales. Dillards is my favorite. Premium outlet malls would be a plus. A Williams Sonoma is a must (cooking and kitchen supplies). Agree with PhxBarb about the thrill of the hunt. I still cherish my Dooney & Bourke purse that I got at half price. But since I plan to retire to a smallish mountain city, I will have to do most of my shopping when I visit my sister in the shopping mecca of Dallas.
Yes, i miss my Dillards. Also Chico's. Dillards often had a handbag for me when I was needing a new one. Almost always I bought them on sale.
No Dillards here. The Macy's is OK, the Nordstrom's has nothing for me. No Talbots. At least there is a Lands End in the local Sears. That is something, I guess.
My friend lives in a small town in Nebraska. She is an hour away from the nearest Walmart. The few stores in her town are grossly overpriced and understocked...because they count on the locals being too lazy/busy/whatever to drive the hour to a larger town for cheaper prices. She goes once a month or so to Sam's Club and buys $300 worth of groceries. She lost 80 pounds over the past year and managed to run up her credit cards buying clothes on QVC as she shrank out of her old ones.
On the other hand, I live in a town where Walmart just opened its seventh store and there is every store here one can imagine, from high end furniture/clothing to a myriad of thrift stores of every caliber. I can't imagine living where my friend lives and she can't wait to move to a town like mine when her minister husband finally retires and the ministry quits shipping him all over the countryside to little 2-bit churches in the middle of nowhere.
My friend lives in a small town in Nebraska. She is an hour away from the nearest Walmart. The few stores in her town are grossly overpriced and understocked...because they count on the locals being too lazy/busy/whatever to drive the hour to a larger town for cheaper prices. She goes once a month or so to Sam's Club and buys $300 worth of groceries. She lost 80 pounds over the past year and managed to run up her credit cards buying clothes on QVC as she shrank out of her old ones.
On the other hand, I live in a town where Walmart just opened its seventh store and there is every store here one can imagine, from high end furniture/clothing to a myriad of thrift stores of every caliber. I can't imagine living where my friend lives and she can't wait to move to a town like mine when her minister husband finally retires and the ministry quits shipping him all over the countryside to little 2-bit churches in the middle of nowhere.
I agree that you are describing considerable inconvenience. Even I would not want my shopping to be that inconvenient! However, if I were ranking my objections to living in a town that small (I couldn't stand it either), the lack of shopping would not rank first. First (for me) would be the lack of cultural venues such as foreign films, world class classical music, ethnic restaurants, and so forth.
Why isn't buying online considered shopping? You still have to look for what you want to buy at some point. Even online it's a good idea to compare prices and some cyber stores will give discounts with a certain amount of purchases whereas others won't. I cyber-shop and brick and mortar shop but often choose the latter because the S&H costs can get way too expensive to justify making online purchases.
Also there are some things I just want to see before I buy.
In 20 years, I have never lived more than 4 blocks from a liquor store.
I'm sure that will be true for the next 20 years also.
Everyone has different priorities.
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