Do you live in a community that had thriving businesses?

Our small rural township has a surprising number of businesses for its population of 4600 residents.

It has a small grocery store, a number of fast food places, a variety of restaurants (Mexican, bbq, American, Asian fusion, pizza etc,) an adorable gelato/ice cream place, a dentist, a couple of dollar stores, doctor’s office, trendy coffee shop, lawyer, boutique clothing store, vet, gas station, farmers market, daycare, and more I can’t remember…..an astounding variety for the size of its population!

12 minutes away is a thriving commercial area with everything you’d expect, from a Hobby Lobby to clothing and shoe stores to goodwill and everything in between!

This little township we moved to back in late 2024 is a rare find! We’re unhappily waiting for it to be discovered and exposed for the gem it is! Then it will change character and cease to be what drew us to it to begin with.
 
We still have quite a few small bars, coffee shops, restaurants, hair care, and auto repair shops.

We had some great old butcher shops, bakeries, hardware stores, etc… that just couldn’t subsist when their main customers all chise to patronize Wegman’s, Walmart, Home Depot, etc…

I’m just as guilty as all the rest, I went for selection, price, and convenience over loyalty and tradition.
 
Ronni said:
Our small rural township has a surprising number of businesses for its population of 4600 residents.

It has a small grocery store, a number of fast food places, a variety of restaurants (Mexican, bbq, American, Asian fusion, pizza etc,) an adorable gelato/ice cream place, a dentist, a couple of dollar stores, doctor’s office, trendy coffee shop, lawyer, boutique clothing store, vet, gas station, farmers market, daycare, and more I can’t remember…..an astounding variety for the size of its population!

12 minutes away is a thriving commercial area with everything you’d expect, from a Hobby Lobby to clothing and shoe stores to goodwill and everything in between!

This little township we moved to back in late 2024 is a rare find! We’re unhappily waiting for it to be discovered and exposed for the gem it is! Then it will change character and cease to be what drew us to it to begin with.
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My neighborhood just outside city limits, and is very much like this.
 
This has been a zero growth community for years, but there are housing additions going in. My best information sources indicate most of the residents will probably commute to other cities since there aren't many employment opportunities here.

Walmart is always busy. Not many other businesses, although we are getting some new restaurants, which surprises me in this time when news reports say people are cutting back on eating out.
 
yes...aside from the farms, and the Horse riding and Equestrian schools... we also have a a few little stores including a butcher , hair salon, and post office... In my immediate area...

In my local market town, there's a big variety of restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, Estate agents, small supermarkets... hairdressers galore... pubs... take away food shops... Independant designer clothing shops... hralth food shops... library etc.
 
Most of the big chain type businesses are in the bigger town near me, all about 10 miles in a triangular pattern.
The town closest to me only has a MCDs and a Harbor Freight, the rest are all family owned businesses.
So we can have whichever way we want. Small and personal or big and get it done and over. Everything we need
is within that triangle of driving.
 
Debodun, you live in luxury compared to my village. Not so long ago, the village had two shops, a garage, a school, church etc, but now all gone.
The village was founded in 1760 and in time, became well known for making shoes. There is still 'Souter's cottage in the village. (Souter is the Scottish name for shoemaker) With no local businesses, we have to travel to the nearest town for almost anything - doctor, dentist, food etc.
For some needs, word of mouth is often the best way to get things done. Somebody in the village will either have, or knows where you can get what you want.
 
The town I came from had 2 supermarkets but one went out of business. We were down to one small one. We had a Alco but it closed. There was a Dollar General. A few restaurants. One on main street that housed a place with homemade hot meals never could stay open. It changed hands IDK how many times and could never make it work. There isn't much there to choose from in the way of shopping or doing any kind of business downtown.
 
I heard somewhere that one of the best places to live (for me it sure would be) is what they used to call a "bedroom community." It's a smaller town that's no more than about a 30 min drive away from a large city. So you can kind of get that small-town living but are close enough to civilization for good medical care, interesting culture, restaurants good enough for special occasions like anniversaries, special birthdays, etc.

The article said unfortunately that there are very few places like that in the U.S. and Canada since we're so spread out; they mentioned one in New Jersey (don't remember which town) and it works because it's across the river from NYC. They said that the geography of being separated by a river like that is the main condition for these kind of places to exist. I don't remember which place it was in Canada. Sounds like heaven to me anyway; you could live in a place where you could have and actually afford to have a small yard if you wanted but be close to civilization.
 
officerripley said:
I heard somewhere that one of the best places to live (for me it sure would be) is what they used to call a "bedroom community." It's a smaller town that's no more than about a 30 min drive away from a large city. So you can kind of get that small-town living but are close enough to civilization for good medical care, interesting culture, restaurants good enough for special occasions like anniversaries, special birthdays, etc.

The article said unfortunately that there are very few places like that in the U.S. and Canada since we're so spread out; they mentioned one in New Jersey (don't remember which town) and it works because it's across the river from NYC. They said that the geography of being separated by a river like that is the main condition for these kind of places to exist. I don't remember which place it was in Canada. Sounds like heaven to me anyway; you could live in a place where you could have and actually afford to have a small yard if you wanted but be close to civilization.
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That's kind of where I live except that it is still very much rural. Small town within a half hour with very little to offer. Larger town 40 mins away with everything I could need.
 
We have 28,711 (2020 census) people and lots of businesses.
If I can't find "it" locally, Amazon has "it".

Maybe about the only businesses we don't have are motorcycle and bicycle dealerships.
All that's 25mi away in the next (larger) town over.

OH ... and not a single solitary business here sells lotto tickets. Lotto is illegal in Alabama.
All that's 25mi away just across the Florida state line.
 
Do I live in a community that had thriving businesses?

Yes.

Businesses like Walmart, Food-4-Less, and Dollar Tree have killed tens of thousands of formerly thriving businesses in multiple communities within Sacramento, causing some areas to become completely run-down, ignored, and taken over by gangs. When businesses that once thrived there were forced out, the tax revenue they generated stopped and the good people they attracted went elsewhere. Even the hanging flower baskets, maple trees, and pretty landscaping disappeared. Their formerly busy parking lots became homeless encampments and gang territory.

They are now the ugliest, most dangerous, high-crime areas in Sacramento. And every one of them has a Walmart, a Food-4-Less or Winco or something similar, and at least one Dollar Tree. And, of course, some brand of check-cashing & small loans business.
 
officerripley said:
I heard somewhere that one of the best places to live (for me it sure would be) is what they used to call a "bedroom community." It's a smaller town that's no more than about a 30 min drive away from a large city. So you can kind of get that small-town living but are close enough to civilization for good medical care, interesting culture, restaurants good enough for special occasions like anniversaries, special birthdays, etc.

The article said unfortunately that there are very few places like that in the U.S. and Canada since we're so spread out; they mentioned one in New Jersey (don't remember which town) and it works because it's across the river from NYC. They said that the geography of being separated by a river like that is the main condition for these kind of places to exist. I don't remember which place it was in Canada. Sounds like heaven to me anyway; you could live in a place where you could have and actually afford to have a small yard if you wanted but be close to civilization.
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that's what our ton is called... actually its known as a dormitory town. It never used to be,,....it's a medieval town... been here for 10,000 years... but they built bypass roads around the town in the late 60's, which meant people didn't stop for shopping as they had all these years before... and more and just drove aroud the town to get between one large town to the next county... so now our roads are chocka-block around town by traffic coming from 30 miles away to get to the next county 20 miles the other side... ... and all the useful shops closed and we ended up becoming a dormitory town full of High end coffee shops and restaurants,

.... Estate agents, florists... bars.. antique stores.. etc... instead of clothes shops and supermarkets .. useful shops ....so all of us who actually live here, have to drive to another larer town to do most of ur shopping...

The town is less than 30 minutes drive from North London... and just 1/2 hour on the train to central London....
 
My town has about everything a person could need. Back in the 1800's it was a thriving town, then things sort of went to pot for many years, with the downtown area becoming dead and, frankly, scary. Several years ago, downtown revitalized and is now pretty much the "entertainment district" for the whole area. There are festivals, parades, etc. all the time. There's a lovely miles-long walk along the river and a nice park with splash pad.

It still needs more shopping venues, but you couldn't ask for more restaurants and bars. All varieties are there.
 
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