Walmart vs. Target

[angus]

Never been to a Walmart-- not that I have anything against it, oh no. I might shop there quite often. None has ever been built anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, I have only seen a Wal-mart once, when I was visiting my cousin in San Jose and we were trying to Monterrey to visit some of his other kin. I saw it over the left side of the interstate, and yes, it was huge. Otherwise, I have shopped at just about every store imaginable, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Hechts, Kmart, Sears, the Salvation army etc., massive shopping centers, you name it. But never seen a Wal-mart in the past 6 years.

I understand your frustration.  I lived in Arlington, TX for five years.  No Walmart.  Kmarts and Targets, but no Walmart.  Then I lived in Boston for five years.  No Walmarts there either, but if you're in the greater Boston area, the nearest one is in Lynn, near the Lynn/Revere town limits, just na'ath of Revere.  Not one of the more impressive ones, though.  Then I moved out to California for three years.  Woo hoo!  Walmarts everywhere.  Nice climate too.  Then I moved to Columbus, MS and have been here for two years.  In Columbus I discovered the Walmart Supercenter.

"Dude, this is the coolest thing I have ever seen."
         --Butthead

Indeed.  You can get a head of lettuce, a quart of motor oil, a fried chicken, insurance, a bouquet of flowers, and your hair and nails done all under one roof.  I probably mentioned that I've been to walmarts in four countries and in nearly every state in the union.  Been to quite a few supercenters too.  I once went to four Walmarts in one day.  Been to neighborhoods where walmart is considered very chic and somewhat expensive (e.g., Mexico City) and neighborhoods where they're dumps (e.g., Lynn/Revere).  I know that there are towns with no Walmarts, but you're never really that far from a Walmart.  If you truly desire it, you can generally find one within an hour or so from whereever you are, assuming you're not in the desert or in the middle of the sea.

www.walmart.com has a store locator for your convience.  Just a click away. 



(even that thing is Walmart)

[bullmoose88]

I miss walmart supercenters

[memphis]

Never been to a Walmart-- not that I have anything against it, oh no. I might shop there quite often. None has ever been built anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, I have only seen a Wal-mart once, when I was visiting my cousin in San Jose and we were trying to Monterrey to visit some of his other kin. I saw it over the left side of the interstate, and yes, it was huge. Otherwise, I have shopped at just about every store imaginable, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Hechts, Kmart, Sears, the Salvation army etc., massive shopping centers, you name it. But never seen a Wal-mart in the past 6 years.

I understand your frustration.  I lived in Arlington, TX for five years.  No Walmart.  Kmarts and Targets, but no Walmart.  Then I lived in Boston for five years.  No Walmarts there either, but if you're in the greater Boston area, the nearest one is in Lynn, near the Lynn/Revere town limits, just na'ath of Revere.  Not one of the more impressive ones, though.  Then I moved out to California for three years.  Woo hoo!  Walmarts everywhere.  Nice climate too.  Then I moved to Columbus, MS and have been here for two years.  In Columbus I discovered the Walmart Supercenter.

"Dude, this is the coolest thing I have ever seen."
         --Butthead

Indeed.  You can get a head of lettuce, a quart of motor oil, a fried chicken, insurance, a bouquet of flowers, and your hair and nails done all under one roof.  I probably mentioned that I've been to walmarts in four countries and in nearly every state in the union.  Been to quite a few supercenters too.  I once went to four Walmarts in one day.  Been to neighborhoods where walmart is considered very chic and somewhat expensive (e.g., Mexico City) and neighborhoods where they're dumps (e.g., Lynn/Revere).  I know that there are towns with no Walmarts, but you're never really that far from a Walmart.  If you truly desire it, you can generally find one within an hour or so from whereever you are, assuming you're not in the desert or in the middle of the sea.

www.walmart.com has a store locator for your convience.  Just a click away. 



(even that thing is Walmart)

I shop at Wal-Mart as much as the next guy, but you're a little overzealous.

[Beet]

Never been to a Walmart-- not that I have anything against it, oh no. I might shop there quite often. None has ever been built anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, I have only seen a Wal-mart once, when I was visiting my cousin in San Jose and we were trying to Monterrey to visit some of his other kin. I saw it over the left side of the interstate, and yes, it was huge. Otherwise, I have shopped at just about every store imaginable, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Hechts, Kmart, Sears, the Salvation army etc., massive shopping centers, you name it. But never seen a Wal-mart in the past 6 years.

I understand your frustration.  I lived in Arlington, TX for five years.  No Walmart.  Kmarts and Targets, but no Walmart.  Then I lived in Boston for five years.  No Walmarts there either, but if you're in the greater Boston area, the nearest one is in Lynn, near the Lynn/Revere town limits, just na'ath of Revere.  Not one of the more impressive ones, though.  Then I moved out to California for three years.  Woo hoo!  Walmarts everywhere.  Nice climate too.  Then I moved to Columbus, MS and have been here for two years.  In Columbus I discovered the Walmart Supercenter.

"Dude, this is the coolest thing I have ever seen."
         --Butthead

Indeed.  You can get a head of lettuce, a quart of motor oil, a fried chicken, insurance, a bouquet of flowers, and your hair and nails done all under one roof.  I probably mentioned that I've been to walmarts in four countries and in nearly every state in the union.  Been to quite a few supercenters too.  I once went to four Walmarts in one day.  Been to neighborhoods where walmart is considered very chic and somewhat expensive (e.g., Mexico City) and neighborhoods where they're dumps (e.g., Lynn/Revere).  I know that there are towns with no Walmarts, but you're never really that far from a Walmart.  If you truly desire it, you can generally find one within an hour or so from whereever you are, assuming you're not in the desert or in the middle of the sea.

www.walmart.com has a store locator for your convience.  Just a click away. 



(even that thing is Walmart)

Fantastic locator. I typed in 76001 and it seems they've built up a bunch more in Arlington now- there's one just 2 miles away. I bet Wal-mart's store locator + Alcon here + a few days of data entry could give us some interesting maps.

Alas, Lynn is still more than 10 miles away from where I live. There are at least 5 Home Depots closer to where I live than that. There's a Home Depot in Somerville, and another in Everett.

The nearest in Montgomery county is also more than 10 miles away- it's in Germantown, on the western half of the county. There are no Wal-marts in the eastern half of the county... which is apparently why I'm unfamiliar. There's a Home Depot in Gaithersburg (where I used to go) and one in Aspen Hill, but the nearest Wal-mart is in Germantown.

[JJones]

Target. It's cleaner. WalMart is dirty.

[??????????]

Walmart has unbeatable diaper prices. A very valuable asset if you have children.

[adam]

Wal-Mart is generally cheaper and has a far better selection of various items. With the exception of the fact that Target's are generally cleaner, I see no reason to shop there rather than at Wal-Mart.

[angus]

Walmart has unbeatable diaper prices. A very valuable asset if you have children.

word.  they beat target by about 12%.  And they beat Target by about 20% for Ben'n'Jerry's Wavy Gravy ice cream.  For French goat cheeses and guatemalan bananas, it's a draw.  I do prefer Target for cheap chinese-made bathmats and candleholders, but for most other sweatshop-produced trinkets, Walmart has the better deals.

Yeah, I will admit that target's cleaner.  Especially the men's room.  But then I was never so well-endowed that there was any chance of it bouncing out and rubbing against the porcelain anyway, so the cleanliness of the men's room isn't particularly an issue.

[bullmoose88]

Wal-Mart is generally cheaper and has a far better selection of various items. With the exception of the fact that Target's are generally cleaner, I see no reason to shop there rather than at Wal-Mart.

Indeed.

Angus, I sense you have several best selling novels in you...get to work on the first(?)...

[angus]

gotta say I came pretty close to making the Keystone State my next home, boss.  I had been around the country in search of situation in a more economically developed market.  Not that we don't like columbus, but the things that really attracted us to here when my wife was first rated PG are the same things that we don't really like about here now that the boy's sucked all the milk out and is ready for daycare and she's ready to get back to work.  (low cost of living is great when the old lady decides to take off for a couple of years, but unfortunately that usually also means few job opportunities for the spouse and bad schools, etc.)  So I circulated my vita and ended up with a couple of offers, one about an hour west of Philly.  But the boys at University of Northern Iowa made me a little sweeter deal, at least in terms of start-up lab funding, and offered the old lady a guaranteed one-year gig to boot.  No questions asked.  That was a major deciding factor.  It'll be her first "real job" in the US, which is good.  So although I thought I might be joining you in the Keystone state, it turns out I'll be joining John in the Cornfield state.  Or is it the Radar O'Reilly state?  Whatever.  The old lady has some reservations about the climate.  She's from the Eastern District of China, and actually likes the Columbus climate.  We'll see...

Oh, and the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area has two, count 'em, two, Walmart Supercenters.  That really sealed the deal.  But who knows....   I'm keeping notes, so be nice to me.  I move around quite a lot.  You never know, I may be your next-door neighbor some day.  (Assuming you don't have one of those silly Sex Offender registry laws.)

Wink

[bullmoose88]

So I circulated my vita and ended up with a couple of offers, one about an hour west of Philly. 

Hah!

Hmm...what schools are an hour west (I'll assume directly west of Philly)...

Franklin and Marshall...York...Gettysburg...

[angus]

never heard from F&M, actually, although I think Lancaster is more like an hour and a half.  Gettysburg?  I don't think so.  It strikes me as a whiter, but equally poor, version of Columbus but more culturally deprived, and without the SuperWalmart.  anyway, Albright and PSU-Berks are about an hour west of philly, and offered me interviews.  PSU Berks actually had a job offer for me as well, but it definitely wasn't a particularly attractive offer, though the prospect of being within commuting distance of several large pharmaceutical firms was somewhat attractive.  Doesn't matter now, since I took myself off the market as of about 3 o'clock central time today.  Sometime this summer, after my annual and customary diving/smoking/beachcombing adventure, I'll pack up and head to the Upper Midwest.  Actually, most of my relatives live within an hour or so of the MSP metropolitan area, and I often speak herein of my two uncles who served in the MN state legislature for many years, and now that I have a child, the prospect of living near relatives is attractive.  Funny thing, in my 20s, I couldn't wait to live as far away from my relatives as I could.  I've lived in, and enjoyed living in, Texas, California, and Massachusetts (and two of those places have nice warm climates), but now that I'm a boring old married guy the prospect of living in a very low-crime, suburban density city with excellent schools (Cedar Falls, not Waterloo), and being near relatives grows more attractive.  (How sad is that?)

[Beet]

it turns out I'll be joining John in the Cornfield state.

Congratulations, man.

I should have guessed you would reveal this just as your post count of 6969 signified major mojo.
Especially for someone who calls themselves "Angus".

Funny thing, in my 20s, I couldn't wait to live as far away from my relatives as I could.  I've lived in, and enjoyed living in, Texas, California, and Massachusetts (and two of those places have nice warm climates), but now that I'm a boring old married guy the prospect of living in a very low-crime, suburban density city with excellent schools (Cedar Falls, not Waterloo), and being near relatives grows more attractive.  (How sad is that?)

Your soul has died.

[bullmoose88]

Ah, there are so many schools in the west of Philadelphia belt...and I forgot how far it took my family and I to get to F&M and Gettysburg from home.

You probably made the right choice...I always thought Albright was a liberal arts oriented school (though I don't know what you're going to teach...you seem knowledgable on a ton of subjects...I assume by your comments a chemstry/science subject).

As for PSU-Insert Satillite campus name here...those are a mixed bag...you've got smart students who don't want to live at the main campus...which is in the middle of nowhere, and a bunch of more mediocre students who want to transfer to that very campus.

I remember this surprisingly awesome resturant during my college visit journies out that way...Hoss...you order right as you go into the resturant...then hit the salad/soup/baked potato(e) bar and the steak would come out at the perfect time...ie...precisely after I finished my soup and salad.


Good Luck man...try not to build any baseball diamonds out of cornfields.

[WalterMitty]

congratulations on the new job angus.

how old is your son now?   


mine is 10 months and into everything.  he requires a constant eye!   he is still growing like a weed.  he is in excess of 23 pounds now.  he is a monster of a boy!

[angus]

congratulations on the new job angus.

how old is your son now?   


mine is 10 months and into everything.  he requires a constant eye!   he is still growing like a weed.  he is in excess of 23 pounds now.  he is a monster of a boy!

fantastic.  and that's a big baby!  10 months is a great age.  My son started walking in earnest at 11 months, so yours will be soon if he isn't already.  mine will be 2 in one week, and refuses to go in the stroller anymore.  Now it takes thirty minutes to walk five blocks, because every little stone or ant is worthy of study and comment.  man, I miss the stroller days.  we're still trying hard to train him to use the toilet, but it's slow.  Glad we're renting.  This carpet has taken some serious abuse, and is beginning to aquire a permanent funk.  we're hoping to get him fully trained before we move.

[John Dibble]

I'll tell you my preference if I manage to find a Nintendo Wii at either before Christmas.

[AkSaber]

I'll tell you my preference if I manage to find a Nintendo Wii at either before Christmas.

You mean to tell me you didn't wait outside for 5 hours in the cold like my brother did?

[GOP = Terrorists]

Target. It's cleaner. WalMart is dirty.

Ding we have a winner.  The inside of all three target stores near me are IMPECCIBLE.  You could eat off the floor.  Every item is stocked and neatly stored.  Every Walmart I've been into seems to be falling apart with empty shelf space all over and garbage strewn about...

Not to mention how much better the service is at Target than at Walmart.

That said I'd rather not shop at either.

[John Dibble]

I'll tell you my preference if I manage to find a Nintendo Wii at either before Christmas.

You mean to tell me you didn't wait outside for 5 hours in the cold like my brother did?

No, no I didn't. I like to sleep. I might be doing that at a Toys'R'Us this Friday though - they're supposed to be getting some that day.

[John Dibble]

I'll tell you my preference if I manage to find a Nintendo Wii at either before Christmas.

You mean to tell me you didn't wait outside for 5 hours in the cold like my brother did?

No, no I didn't. I like to sleep. I might be doing that at a Toys'R'Us this Friday though - they're supposed to be getting some that day.

Write in - Circuit City. And I didn't get sleep even though I wanted it - certainly worth it though. The Wii rocks and I've only played Wii Sports thus far, and I generally hate sports games.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Live in a Walmart and Target free country. Though I can't imagine them being as bland and mediorce as Dunnes Stores.

Speaking of 'Heartless Moneygrabbing Multinational Corporations' (TM) Ireland is soon to lose it's IKEA virginity, which given what seems to happen every time IKEA opens (ie. A stampede. Why, you ask? I really don't know - I'm not at those people's level.) probably is not a good thing.

[Gabu]

Write in - Circuit City. And I didn't get sleep even though I wanted it - certainly worth it though. The Wii rocks and I've only played Wii Sports thus far, and I generally hate sports games.

If there's one game you should get for the Wii, it's Twilight Princess.  It's easily one of the best games I've ever played, and I've been playing them since I got a NES in 1990.

</hijack>

[Storebought]

The cleanliness of the store and the quality of the merchandise at our local Target is Mexican-flea-market poor. Still, somehow, it is in better repair than the local WalMart.

I do my grocery shopping at HEB, one of few good things I like about Texas. And I do all other bulk shopping online, like a civilized person.

[AkSaber]

Write in - Circuit City. And I didn't get sleep even though I wanted it - certainly worth it though. The Wii rocks and I've only played Wii Sports thus far, and I generally hate sports games.

Aha!! Congrats!! I haven't played Wii Sports yet, but the tennis is most fun to watch. And I'm like you too. I usually don't like sports games either. But the tennis on Wii Sports reminded me of Mario Tennis for the N64, which has to be the best sports game ever!!

If there's one game you should get for the Wii, it's Twilight Princess.  It's easily one of the best games I've ever played, and I've been playing them since I got a NES in 1990.

</hijack>

Yes, I have to agree. Even though I'm the one who bought it, I haven't played it yet. I usually get more fun watching my brother play video games than me actually playing a game.