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01-11-2011, 02:45 PM
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Location: Historic Downtown Jersey City
2,705 posts, read 7,993,363 times
Reputation: 1216
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The disdain against Home Depot, and other big box stores, has nothing to do with do-it-yourselfers, "dirtyness", or anything else.
It stems from the desire to avoid their town looking like every other town in the USA.
It's the same reason why towns are against having a Walmart.
In the town I grew up in, there was not one big box store. Quite frankly, I think that's awesome.
The homogenization of America is a very real thing - and I don't think it's a good thing.
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01-11-2011, 05:54 PM
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133 posts, read 488,339 times
Reputation: 123
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I personally like the convenience of the big box stores. You can find almost everything you need in them within minutes from home. The smaller boutique stores or the Mom and Pop stores, although very quaint and nostalgic, I never seem to find exactly what I need or am looking for. (just an observation).
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01-11-2011, 08:32 PM
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Location: NJ
31,771 posts, read 38,652,704 times
Reputation: 24560
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommyc_37
The disdain against Home Depot, and other big box stores, has nothing to do with do-it-yourselfers, "dirtyness", or anything else.
It stems from the desire to avoid their town looking like every other town in the USA.
It's the same reason why towns are against having a Walmart.
In the town I grew up in, there was not one big box store. Quite frankly, I think that's awesome.
The homogenization of America is a very real thing - and I don't think it's a good thing.
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while this may be true of you or some others, i do not believe this is the primary reason. i think they dont want it looking like a lower end working class sort of a town.
also, the walmart thing is not accurate either. walmart has been vilified by unions and they have hurt walmarts image and they have political power to fight walmart from getting in certain places where they are strong. |
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01-12-2011, 08:42 AM
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Location: North Brunswick
877 posts, read 2,733,299 times
Reputation: 197
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommyc_37
The disdain against Home Depot, and other big box stores, has nothing to do with do-it-yourselfers, "dirtyness", or anything else.
It stems from the desire to avoid their town looking like every other town in the USA.
It's the same reason why towns are against having a Walmart.
In the town I grew up in, there was not one big box store. Quite frankly, I think that's awesome.
The homogenization of America is a very real thing - and I don't think it's a good thing.
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Yes but I lived in Manalapan for 15 years and it is not a town that has any sort of "character", it is a strip-mally town. It's got its big box stores, a Best Buy, a Target, a Foodtown and a Wegmans. Big ugly soulless McMansions built on every square inch of town with a thin layer of woods in between to divide them all up. You are getting my point here? That area is very strip-mally with little to no relief.
They put the Wegmans where they originally were going to put a Home Depot. It's all strip-mall galore along Rt 9. Believe me, they aren't trying to make Manalapan into any unique town with character.
Digging through your old posts it seems like Manalapan would be one of the towns you would not want to live in since it is exclusively "bland soulless cookie-cutter sprawl on former farmland" territory. The town I live in now has more character than M'pan. |
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01-12-2011, 10:56 AM
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3,984 posts, read 6,815,583 times
Reputation: 2883
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whoelsebutcharles
Yes but I lived in Manalapan for 15 years and it is not a town that has any sort of "character", it is a strip-mally town. It's got its big box stores, a Best Buy, a Target, a Foodtown and a Wegmans. Big ugly soulless McMansions built on every square inch of town with a thin layer of woods in between to divide them all up. You are getting my point here? That area is very strip-mally with little to no relief.
They put the Wegmans where they originally were going to put a Home Depot. It's all strip-mall galore along Rt 9. Believe me, they aren't trying to make Manalapan into any unique town with character.
Digging through your old posts it seems like Manalapan would be one of the towns you would not want to live in since it is exclusively "bland soulless cookie-cutter sprawl on former farmland" territory. The town I live in now has more character than M'pan.
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Having lived up north with the Ridgewoods, Montclairs, Summits, etc., it's quite disappointing to drive through pretty large towns like Manalapan with hardly any character whatsoever. They basically paved over farmland from southern Middlesex through Monmouth down to Ocean and made subdivision after subdivision. The houses all look nice but they might as well be in Kansas as far as the "community" feel is concerned. Howell & Jackson give me the same impression. No there there |
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01-12-2011, 11:22 AM
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Location: NJ
31,771 posts, read 38,652,704 times
Reputation: 24560
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EBWick
The houses all look nice but they might as well be in Kansas
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what do they have in common with kansas? |
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01-12-2011, 06:19 PM
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Location: St Paul, MN - NJ's Gold Coast
5,256 posts, read 13,324,036 times
Reputation: 3162
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Well the picture they represented Holmdel with isn't giving the town any justice.
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01-13-2011, 09:05 PM
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3,984 posts, read 6,815,583 times
Reputation: 2883
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
what do they have in common with kansas?
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The countryside and no downtown to speak of. I thought everyone liked some kind of downtown but they apparently didn't get that message in parts of Central & South Jersey |
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01-14-2011, 09:36 AM
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Location: NJ
31,771 posts, read 38,652,704 times
Reputation: 24560
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EBWick
The countryside and no downtown to speak of. I thought everyone liked some kind of downtown but they apparently didn't get that message in parts of Central & South Jersey
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i think "downtowns" are a primitive construct and are of little importance today. i think you overestimate peoples desire to have one in their town.
do you actually know this about kansas? |
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01-14-2011, 11:22 AM
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Location: Ocean County, NJ
912 posts, read 2,363,777 times
Reputation: 461
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
i think "downtowns" are a primitive construct and are of little importance today. i think you overestimate peoples desire to have one in their town.
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I think you're right. They're nice aesthetically, but they don't serve many utilitarian uses. Most people I know who live in towns with quaint downtown areas get in their car and drive to a major highway to shop in the big box stores.
In my town, I can think of a bicycle shop, a barber and a deli on our version of Main Street that are successful, but everything else is pretty much artsy-crafty, niche type places. I honestly don't really know how they stay in business. |
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