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With Wal-Mart about to open two new stores in DC by the end of next year, it's obviously going to change the landscape of the city (at least in the neighborhoods where it will operate). I personally don't like Wal-Mart, but if I need to get a lot of different items and I'm near one, I'll go. These Wal-Marts are going to be the first urban ones in the area. Most Wal-Marts are in the outer suburbs (upper Montgomery County, western Fairfax, Woodbridge, Laurel, etc.) and aren't that accessible to people in the city or inner suburbs without car, so it will benefit them. But I know most of the shops around the Georgia Ave Wal-Mart will probably go out of business - the auto shops, hardware stores, corner stores, etc. It will also bring a lot of jobs, but how many of those will go to city residents and will the pay be enough to support the DC cost of living? So there are positives and there are negatives, but...
Overall, do you see the new Wal-Marts as good or bad for the city?
I know it's trendy to hate Wal-mart but honestly the neighborhoods that these Walmarts are being built in have poor retail. Walmarts pay really well for retail like $10-$12 an hour. That's pretty darn good. Is that a liveable wage in DC? Of course not but mom and pop ain't paying that much either.
I know it's trendy to hate Wal-mart but honestly the neighborhoods that these Walmarts are being built in have poor retail. Walmarts pay really well for retail like $10-$12 an hour. That's pretty darn good. Is that a liveable wage in DC? Of course not but mom and pop ain't paying that much either.
Although the area around Georgia Ave location (the old Curtis Chevrolet dealership) doesn't have big box retailers or suburban shopping malls, it does have stores where you could pick up any household items that you would normally get at Wal-Mart ( toilet paper, car towels, tools, school supplies, etc.). There's even a Safeway, next to a CVS and Payless, a half mile up the street from Georgia and Missouri Avenues. I'll admit, these are not the fanciest stores and we could use some more options in the area (Brightwood, Brightwood Park). Though I don't think they should have to leave or go out of business, I sometimes ask myself how many nail/hair shops, carry-outs, dollar stores do you need? I'm not opposed to change and would welcome a retail reawakening on Georgia Avenue - I'm just not convinced that Wal-Mart is the answer.
Honestly, I would love to see a grocery store at that site, mixed with local shops and venues like the Harris Teeter on P street or the Safeway next to the BusBoys in Mt. Vernon or the Giant off 14th St in Columbia Heights. All of those neighborhoods are thriving and are packed with people from Maryland and Virginia. I'm not against big box retailers completely and think Brightwood and Brightwood Park could really benefit from a DC USA (the shopping center on 14th in Columbia Heights).
And agreed, it is trendy to hate on Wal-Mart, but some of us have been well aware of and pointing out their exploitative business practices for years now
Walmart will do the same crap it does in DC it does everywhere else: destroy mom & pops & push cheap prices built on slave labor. They're very lucky Americans have little in the way of consciences.
Walmart will do the same crap it does in DC it does everywhere else: destroy mom & pops & push cheap prices built on slave labor. They're very lucky Americans have little in the way of consciences.
I know it's trendy to hate Wal-mart but honestly the neighborhoods that these Walmarts are being built in have poor retail. Walmarts pay really well for retail like $10-$12 an hour. That's pretty darn good. Is that a liveable wage in DC? Of course not but mom and pop ain't paying that much either.
$10-$12 an hour....really?
I worked there for $8 an hour 3 years ago
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