How far will you travel for your groceries?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by Dora M • Jun 29, 2014.

  1. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

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    Recently I have moved to Europe, where I am renting an apartment in a big city. I find that, like in most cities, shopping for groceries and every day household needs is considerably more expensive here than buying things at the larger supermarkets outside the centre. So, twice a week I take my Handy shopping trolley on the metro and travel half an hour outside the city to a big supermarket that has everything I want and need in one place. I have calculated that I am saving almost 40 Euros per week that way. How about you? Would you go to the extra effort?
     
  2. whnuien

    whnuienActive Member

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    My husband and I do not do grocery shopping on weekdays as we usually wait until Sunday comes. There is a huge market going on in the city every Sunday and it usually starts very early in the morning. Most items we needed for the week are usually cheaper so doing that way saves us a little bit more money.

    It takes us about 15 minutes to go there by bus but we don't mind even though we have few supermarkets around where we live at. We could always drive by ourselves but that means we would have to spend more time because the town is always crowded on Sunday and it's very hard to find a place to park a car.
     
  3. Neperon

    NeperonActive Member

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    I normally travel about 4 to 5 Kms to get it which is normal and nothing in terms of much effort but yeah because finally there is something which appeals to the moment i mean i have Target with some distance from my home and i find it quite comfortable to manage with it because finally it works and when you get things according to your needs then surely that is pretty much.
     
  4. Ruth B.

    Ruth B.Active Member

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    I live in the country and here are my options. 6 miles a grocery store that is ok, but not ok for EVERYthing, just quick stops. 15 miles is a good grocery store plus Walmart. 20 miles some of the same stores but with different items. I am used to having to drive about 30 minutes on average for everything. It was like that in the city too, so 30 minutes is about average for most of my entire life.
     
  5. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Good thing is where I live, we got stores that stock the basics and their products aren't that expensive either. So for groceries, no traveling far is required. It's less than 2 miles from where I live to the nearest store. For other things however, I have to drive 60 or so miles to the nearest city to get my stuff because it will be cheaper than buying them in my hometown.
     
  6. jneanz

    jneanzActive Member

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    In in the States (L.A. to be exact) and though we have a nice variety of grocers, the most I will travel is 10 miles driving. If I'm on foot, 5 miles. One reason is that traffic gets crazy and I don't want for anything to spoil. The other reason I like to get the most out of travels. I may want to take advantage of other stores in the area or go visiting for a couple of hours.
     
  7. richc3

    richc3Active Member

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    Well, I travel 3 primary locations
    #1 A farm for fresh local produce -- maybe 10 min drive out.
    #2 A discount grocer which is more-so a clearance store for one of the big boys -- 2 minutes away.
    #3 Travel from Canada -> the US border and do some shopping down south -- maybe 40 minutes away.
     
  8. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I only shop for food once or twice per week so yeah, I travel a fair distance to find the best deals. Most supermarkets are not located near me, and so, when the weekend comes I grab my bags, find some public transportation and off I go. The few miles I travel weekly with the bus are totally worth it since I get to save a pretty penny on my groceries!
     
  9. Livvy

    LivvyActive Member

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    You have to count in how much money that you're spending to go out to the bigger shops every time you want a big shop. Does it still seem worth it if you're paying a large amount to just travel out there and back, if all you're doing is saving a tenner or two on your actual groceries?
     
  10. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWenchActive Member

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    I bike to where I shop so, honestly, the further the better for me. However, let's be realistic: Sometimes you do not want to travel 10 miles to pick up some smoked paprika. So, I try to keep it in the 5 mile range. Regardless of what it is I need. It feels good for me and good for the people awaiting my cooking.
     
  11. May102014

    May102014Active Member

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    Yes. I do this all the time where I live. I have to travel at least 25 minutes to a grocery store. They have far better food selections and the prices are cheap. The food quality is so much fresher and not almost outdated like the food near the grocery stores in the city. One time my car broke down and I took the metro bus. The time to get to my favorite grocery store was over an hour but I didn't mind at all. I always stock up with enough food to last me for a minute. I'm not a fan of grocery stores, so it's imperative for me to ensure I have more than enough to last me for a minute.
     
  12. lionzfire122

    lionzfire122Member

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    Absolutely! If it involves you having to travel to save money, I'm all for it.

    Even still, I would travel on my bicycle just to save money from using the car. I know that's a little off topic but keep reading.
    I would grab my backpack, ride to various stores I knew I could save on, then load my bag. Some days I would take just for shop saving. That's what I called it.

    You would be surprised at how much money you could save if you just had the street smarts to shopping!
     
  13. Verity Darkwaters

    Verity DarkwatersActive Member

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    My spouse and I buy groceries twice a month. We shop for two weeks at a time. But we go to two different stores. We shop separately for our meat and our produce/personal items. That being said the stores we go to are in two different towns. They are somewhat near one another, but it is still a good drive.

    We buy our meat at a meat market. This particular store is about 20 minutes away from our house. It isn't terribly far, but still a decent drive. But I feel it is worth it. The meat is cheaper and of way better quality than what I can get at the supermarket. Plus we can get enough meat to feed four people for an entire month for half of what we used to pay at the supermarket. The supermarket is actually just down the road. I do not think it is even a 5 minute drive, unless you hit every red light there.