YouLookFab Forum » Topic: How far do you go......?

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: How far do you go......? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:10:21 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Staysfit on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1688086 Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:50:53 +0000 Staysfit 1688086@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Gaylene, it sounds like you live in a great location! I would love to live someplace with those types of resources. Gaylene on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1688016 Fri, 01 Jul 2016 06:39:03 +0000 Gaylene 1688016@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hmm, my shopping patterns seem to be different. Mr. G and I live in a smallish island city which is surrounded by small farms and artisan markets. Organic, locally grown produce is very easy to obtain as is locally caught fish and hormone-free meat and chicken. It's a perfect place for foodies like us, so we buy almost all our food from our local producers. We are also fortunate to live in a city with many small shops run by locals. Items might cost a bit more, but the quality and service standards are high, so we feel we get our money's worth by supporting these independent businesses. I rarely shop at chain stores, discount outlets, or online these days. While there are some good local consignment and thrift stores, I usually don't shop them because I lack the patience to sort through racks to find the gems. We can get to most of the places we shop by foot or bike, so we only use the car if we are buying large or heavy items. The built-in exercise offsets the extra minutes it takes to get to and from the shops or farm stands. rachylou on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687979 Fri, 01 Jul 2016 03:02:26 +0000 rachylou 1687979@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Derms are a dime a dozen. No, it's that I'm a complicated medical case so I go into the city to the university hospital. And going into the city is a nightmare. It is ALWAYS rush hour, but this would only matter if I drove. But I don't - there's no parking. Then, I don't want to be late. Even tho I won't actually get to see the doctor at the scheduled time, you can't be late. So since it's a bus, a train, and a trolley, I go early. And now that school is out, there are fewer buses etc. running. On the way back, my bus never came actually. I ended up taking a different one and walking several blocks. Right now I haven't any projects that are taking me on site days and my baker's job is a nighttime one (bread baking is a night thing). So I don't have to take time off. But still...what happens is, yes, my blood pressure reading is always very bad. I basically get no sleep the night before and go in jittery on coffee. When I've been on site, I've had extremely high anxiety about it and frankly did not do all the appointments I was supposed to. But no work, no pay; no pay, no doctor anyways. ETA: But freak out. You've just reminded me I may have a problem with my next appt and transportation times... Vildy on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687961 Fri, 01 Jul 2016 02:00:32 +0000 Vildy 1687961@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ When I used to live in the city, a supermarket was hard to get to but otherwise I was out walking every day and would often browse favorite stores. When I lived across the street from a commuter train, I used to impulsively take the short ride to the city quite often, at least weekly. I don't drive and when I once remarked to my son that it would be kinda cool living on an island and letting the world come to me by mailboat, he observed that we more or less already have that. We're in a dangerous small city with lousy public transportation and if you would want to attend any evening event, you have to figure in a cab and they can be highly unreliable. I was listening to the radio the other day and the host had a crush on Lisa Loeb and interviewed her. She was appearing for free in a nearby small outdoor amphitheater. Well, two buses and a good hike into the park. I could have had my husband drop me off there but he works at night and I would be left struggling to get a cab back at night. Both my husband and I hate grocery shopping. Son loves it, though. We live in what they like to term a food desert. The only full size supermarket in the entire city was in walking distance but they closed. Before we had a car, I or we used to walk up with a wheeled shopping cart. Then we got tired of that and used to take the gypsy cabs home. That was the best part of the trip because I used to love the old guys and their stories about life. After a couple of years they installed a cut price grocery in that location and we go once in a while. We don't like their merchandising. They have very little variety but seemingly hundreds of the same few things. There is an okay fruit and vegetable stand not far away, about a mile. Husband hates it and it's risking getting your car dented to try to park there. We go very rarely. Some people recommended a long established similar stand in a nearby community and we tried it once and it was overly crowded and wasn't alluring to us. Husband would be overjoyed to order groceries online but as yet we haven't resorted to this. We tend to have a little circuit we do about once a week. We may start at the far end, a few miles down the road, and hit the bakery for rolls and then on the return trip may stop at the liquor store. We probably do this no more than once a month because, remember, we hate shopping. We do go to a supermarket nearest home but we really hate it. Buy as little as possible there.  I love Aldi's. The main reason is that I like the chocolate available plus they're on the smaller side and it feels like it's a quick affair. We used to go to one just on the outskirt of our city, that was a bit closer, but husband got fed up with the aggressive panhandlers.  Now we go to one a bit further out and it's worth the extra few minutes to get there. However, each of them seems to have trouble keeping stocked and this is annoying to me. What market runs out of sugar? Why are there *no* oranges that day? I was recently talking to my son about the idea that some people have that how you behave with food/eating is like what you do about clothing. He disagreed. He loves to watch cooking shows and eat out and experiment with new foods. But he points downward to himself and says I can see he only wants to wear essentially the same thing. I used to be a hobby cook but have long ago lost interest. Hubby is now the only one who both loves to cook and does. Most of my friends and acquaintances are foodies of one degree or another. They never tire of reciting to me the ingredients of every course they have. As I've aged, I've become like my parents. Even though they had a restaurant for some years when I was growing up, they liked fairly plain food and not much variety. I no longer want my food sauced or made "interesting" in any way. I have no interest in variety. I am too impatient and active to like to sit in restaurants and tend to be highly critical of what is found there. I have no interest in holidays focused around big meals. Clothes, though, it's the exact opposite. There I like variety and new ideas and combinations. Colors and textures and experimentation. But I hate malls. There is one not so far away by car - about ten miles - and about 45 minutes by bus. I end up in a mall maybe once every year or two. I don't like the sameness of the ideas I find there. I also quickly tire of the music and the darkened or overly bright lighting. There is a semi-outlet mall a few minutes away by car - we tend to go there for Home Depot hardware stuff or something from Joane's Fabrics, which is a lousy sewing store but may have a replacement separating zipper if my husband breaks one in his work jacket. They're on the same bus route as the mall but a little closer in, shorter ride. They tend to have stores like Talbots, whose merchandise I like when I thrift it. They're in a former racetrack and set up like a small outdoor city of shopping. The traffic is nightmarish within its "streets." They have a Wegman's there for those who are interested. I have *never* been inside any of the many clothing stores there. My reasoning is like some kind of inversion of Angie's rule about leaving no stone unturned. I always feel that no matter what store I enter, even a hardware store or a supermarket, I could potentially spot something to wear. :D  I purposely keep to a very low clothing budget and shopping retail would soon blow my budget. I used to shop end of season clearance but no longer do. How do I know what I'll want to wear the next year? So I try to shop in season. Though I have a weakness for coats and have been known to pick up another one in June at the thrift store. I purposely limit my thrifting, too. I won't do town wide yard sales and not yard sales, in general. I don't like how fierce people are about the stuff they're getting rid of and will end up at the curb for trash pickup after it's all over. I have one Goodwill I like that is small and is in the same town as the farther Aldi's. I can get there by bus easily. I don't go more than a time or two a year, though. I like the Goodwill by the pound outlet but there's no public transportation to it and I haven't been for over a year. I wouldn't want to spend more than an hour or so in any case. Oh, I can easily go to Philadelphia to shop but I never want to. When my husband had regular physical therapy after having his hamstring reattached, I used to go in with him and would shop during his appointment. I had the same experience as with the mall. Just nothing interesting me. I stopped bothering to look. Anyway, I also limit my regular thrift shopping. There are 3 main stores I go to with my friend. All are church thrift stores and exceedingly inexpensive. One we go about every week for an hour or so. Another is open only 2 mornings a month and not at all over the summer. Same with a third down the street from the second. That one's open one morning a week and not at all during the summer. I don't go to the 2d and 3d every time they are available. My friend and I tend to go to one of these for about 15 minutes and either one of our husbands will drive us up the street or we will walk. We spend about an hour in that one. My friend tends to shop for her and her husband's entire extended family and friends and is a very fast shopper and done in five or ten minutes. I need more time because I try on. I like that each of these stores is pretty small and the stock doesn't change all that much. I find it easier to focus. Also, people tend to shop in a certain palette or style or brand. So they donate that way and it's almost like shopping a boutique. Plus I've been shopping these same stores for so many years that the volunteers will often say, "We were hoping you  would come in because we had this gorgeous coat you would have liked." or "We knew you'd get that!"  And one of the stores is really like a social outing because the regular customers and the volunteers have been sharing their lives for so long and my friend and I will help style things for others or pull things from the rack and hand it to someone whose taste and size it is. It also seems important to me that I can get to each of these same stores easily enough by bus if it turns out that way. ETA: I have several Rainbow shops nearby and I only go sporadically but I often will find a favorite item there. And I do shop at Walmart because it's so close and we pick up household items there. I just got a chambray skirt in a beautiful almost iridescent shade there. I don't shop online except for ebay occasionally. Ebay throws my budget off but I get about one item a month or so from there. Staysfit on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687879 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 22:35:12 +0000 Staysfit 1687879@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachy, 6 hours for a 20 minute derm. appointment! Wow! My blood pressure went up hearing that! That sounds like a terrible inconvenience. An entire work day wasted for a 20 minute doctors appointment?! Or maybe you took a sick day or vacation day, which is just as bad! I would feel too tired from my aggravation to feel like shopping with what little time I might have available afterwards. Are dermatologists scarce where you live? There aren't many around here but it doesn't take 6 hours round trip! crazyone on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687878 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 22:34:17 +0000 crazyone 1687878@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My answer is essentially the same as Diana's, which is unsurprising since we live right near each other, except I don't have a husband with a car so I *never* go out to the malls in the suburbs. I do sometimes pool together with friends and go to nicer or more specialty grocery stores further out. Never done this for clothes, since I have the Internet Amy on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687864 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 22:06:43 +0000 Amy 1687864@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm too impatient (and have little to no free time) with how long it takes to get to the store, find parking, search through racks of clothing, try things on and then stand in line to pay. I just buy everything online. I sometimes buy multiples of things (different sizes of the same shoes, for example), keep the ones that fit and drop the rest off at UPS on my way to buy groceries or something. I suppose I would like going out to stores more if time weren't in such short supply for me. rachylou on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687724 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 16:57:33 +0000 rachylou 1687724@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ If I have any energy or tolerance left, maybe I'll look in one store. Because I'm not coming back to shop, that's for sure. Lolol. rachylou on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687722 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 16:55:12 +0000 rachylou 1687722@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Just for fun: I am here at the dermatologist in the city, downtown. It's basically the 10 mile trip. My appt is 'scheduled' for 10 am. I left home at 8. I figure I will have been gone from home 6 hours for a 20 min visit. Right. And there aren't even any magazines in this waiting room! cjh on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687699 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 15:34:38 +0000 cjh 1687699@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting hearing about all the different life settings and shopping strategies. I travel about 5-15 miles to shop for most things. I have shopped online for a lot more clothing, housewares and gifts in the past two years due to lack of choice in B&M, and lack of time due to work load. If I also had children at home, I would certainly forgo even more shopping trips. I live in a small town 5 miles on rural roads outside a medium size city area (130,000). My grocery store and department stores are all within 20-25 minutes drive, depending on traffic. I do not have access from home to public transportation, so all errands are done by car. I do grocery shopping about every two weeks, with an extra stop for miscellaneous items in between sometimes. I find clothing shopping more difficult and time consuming than in the past as the local department stores carry less merchandise and less quality than ever, and size selection is poor even for standard items like black dress slacks and skirts (a rack of one style will have one of each size EXCEPT mine, for instance.) We have a general selection of brand stores such as JJill, Talbots, Chico's, Dress Barn, Loft, Christopher Banks, and department stores like Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney, etc, and TJMaxx. Once a season I take time to plan and make an effort to buy several pieces to fill in and/or replace worn or outdated items. But I like to browse, so when work schedules aren't too demanding, I peruse the stores every 4-6 weeks at least, usually but not always picking up a thing or two. If I had time, I would also go to basically the same stores in two different cities within an hour's drive, as those seem to carry bigger variety and size selections. There is an outlet mall about 1.25 hr. away that I love, but can't get there often anymore. Truly BIG city shopping is over 2.5 hours away - I only get there if I have to attend a conference, as it is no longer the home of my daughter. Joyce B on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687673 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:27:03 +0000 Joyce B 1687673@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm with Diana, I like efficient shopping if such a thing exists. I don't like to spend all day in a store. I shop for clothing mostly online and sometimes in stores, mostly close to me but I don't mind driving to the mall which is a little away. As far as groceries I used to go weekly but now that my job situation changed on top of the other things I have been through, I go a bit more often to buy what will be consumed in the next few days, so that the produce is extra fresh, the price is the best and there is less waste. Some specialty items I get at Whole Foods which is a little further than my usual stores. Wegman's is a really nice store. They have it in Western NY by where DD studies, I wish they had it here too. Diana on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687658 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:06:16 +0000 Diana 1687658@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ To answer Rachy's question I don't really like to shop for more than an hour or two at a time. I get easily overwhelmed and overstimulated, especially if it's crowded (ha, classic introvert behavior). That's one reason I don't like to travel far to shop and why I don't really like malls. What I like best is popping into a store or two on my way home from work (or on lunch break if only I worked near some shopping). Little bite sized bits of shopping. ;) The only time I do all day shopping is at YLF meetups! But then it's more like socializing anyway and I don't buy or even necessarily try on a lot. Lisa on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687648 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:00:46 +0000 Lisa 1687648@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am fortunately to have a mall less than 15 minutes from me, so I go there.  And an outlet mall is 30 minutes from me, which is another go to place.  I will venture up to an hour, but that is a rare occasion and usually for when I am spending time with friends or need something really specific and the closer places are not working out. Staysfit on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687614 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:18:56 +0000 Staysfit 1687614@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachy, that's a great question! I hate wasting the day shopping and running errands. Like you, I have a couple of circuits. Some smaller than others. The Staysfit family has a low tolerance for shopping. However, the Staysfit children have had to learn to tolerate shopping, so shopping trips have necessarily been very short and structured. Short circuits occur weekly: For our typical short circuit shopping we can generally go to no more than three stores in any given outing, spending no more than 20-30 minutes in any one place, so we have to have a very specifically designed purpose for being there. If we are grocery shopping, it is amazing that we can create a menu for the week and run through the store which is huge, and fill the cart and check out in 30 minutes. A typical shopping circuit might include groceries, the hardware store and Old Navy. Or maybe Best Buy, Office Max and Barnes and Noble. Another errand run may be going to the bank, post office and cell phone store. Typically, we are never out for more than 2-2.5 hours. I think 3 hours would be a maximum. The furthest distance would be 6-10 miles which takes at most 20 minutes to drive from our house. A long circuit is something that occurs rarely. Maybe less than once a month. That would be me only, often going alone, with a friend, or possibly with my DH. My DH does some of the long circuit shopping himself without me as well. I am grateful that we can divide this task! For a long circuit I might go to the mall, which is 17 miles/30 minutes from home for 3-4 hours without any clear plan, or I might go to the outlet malls which are just over an hour drive, and around 60 miles from home. I never spend more than 2-3 hours at the outlet mall. I just checked on some rarely visited stores for kicks and found that the Costco is 34 minutes from my house/ 23 miles; SAMs club is 25 minutes/12 miles, and Walmart & BJ's are also 25 minutes/11 miles. I definitely go by time. Anything over 20 minutes away is a long circuit and is rarely visited. Time is a valuable commodity for us! Astrid on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687550 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 08:54:10 +0000 Astrid 1687550@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ In Berlin I usually do my shopping on the way somewhere, I just plan my public transportation routes accordingly. Back when I was living in a more rural area there were train trips with friends to the nearest city, usually 30 minutes each leg of the journey. Shopping with my parents and siblings meant setting aside half of the Saturday and a car trip of 45 Minutes all together. That didn't happen very often so we always shopped until we had everything that was needed. We never just "had a look". I do that more often now since the stores are just there, but not as often as I used to because I dislike a lot of the merchandise. Same with grocery shopping - my family used to buy once on the weekend, sometimes during the week. All at once and with the car. I don't have a car in Berlin so I have to lug around everything I buy. That means I usually go to the supermarket that is farther away but more student budget friendly once a week, and buy additional things as needed on my way home in between in the more expensive supermarket around the corner. rachylou on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go/page/2#post-1687548 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 08:32:09 +0000 rachylou 1687548@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Staysfit and everybody...I'm now wondering how long you're willing to stay out shopping, as well as how long you're willing to drive... I sorta resent my once a week 4-hrs out. Kills my day. But then I'm kinda cheap. I could reduce my time out by sticking to my neighborhood grocery...but I'd triple my grocery bill... Runs With Scissors on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687484 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 02:54:15 +0000 Runs With Scissors 1687484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I live on the furthest outskirts of a very large, sprawling city.  I used to live in the center of the city, and wow did my shopping habits change when I moved the 35 miles to the 'burbs!   I used to shop at the mall  (upscale, and about 6 miles away) a lot more, and online a lot less.  We ate at restaurants a lot too, because there were so many good ones nearby.  Now, online is my first choice.  I subscribe to toilet paper on Amazon -- 'nuff said.   I have a 60 mile round trip daily commute, which my husband and I do together.  The upside is that we get time to talk on the drive, but we don't want to spend time shopping on the weekdays -- our dogs are waiting for us at home, and we typically have more work to do from home too.  The grocery stores near the office are better for us the suburban ones -- we don't like cooking, and the urban stores have more heat-and-eat stuff.  So we do our grocery shopping on the way home from work once a week, typically Friday afternoon.  I am only 3 miles from a huge outlet mall, and should probably go more often than I do, but come the weekend I am loathe to get in the car if I can avoid it! Kimberly on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687482 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 02:47:29 +0000 Kimberly 1687482@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I drive about twenty-thirty minutes to one of two malls. I'm out there every weekend because they're near Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Costco, which is where I do my grocery shopping. There's a Target about ten minutes from me and a smaller mall with a JCP, Kohls, Dillards, and Marshalls right up the street. Sometimes, when my kids are climbing up the walls, I'll pile them into the car and drive an hour to the outlet mall. That's two hours of peace! Sal on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687475 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 02:28:36 +0000 Sal 1687475@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do my food shopping within about a 10 minute drive of where I live at a mix of supermarket, produce store, butcher and specialty store.  There are some shops I go to when in the area for something else (ie a cheese shop) For clothes/homewares I shop mostly in the city where I live (population about 120,000 but with lots of small towns surrounding it).  I shop at a traditional city centre, or a mall, or in suburban streets.  I do shop online for some things - but I prefer not to. I occasionally with head to a large city for shopping for a day, maybe once a year or every two years. I tend to go with a purpose or two but then add in a browse at the end.  I mostly shop alone because I am impatient and decisive - occasionally I will seek a second opinion but in the most part I prefer not to have people talking me into things I don't like.   Occasionally I shop on a holiday for a couple of hours but I rarely buy more than one or two items.   Staysfit on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687470 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 02:17:06 +0000 Staysfit 1687470@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ A majority of us regularly travel for no longer than 15 -20 minutes for shopping. That must be the magic time frame most people have arbitrarily decided they can spend idly driving or walking somewhere, (and of course back home again) for tasks like shopping. It doesn't seem much different if we live in a city or rural area, although some people living in some cities have an shorter time frame. Laura (rhubarbgirl) on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687463 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:44:50 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1687463@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I like to shop when I'm traveling - not at all destinations of course, but I find it's a good way to see a place and interact with people. I like stopping at outlet malls when I'm on a road trip or in a place for a few days, or trying to get to stores that I don't have easy access to at home. Closer to home, there's probably one of everything within 50 miles of me but the traffic is the limiting factor. For in person clothes shopping I usually go to the two malls closest to me - one's just ten minutes away but doesn't have a Nordstrom or higher end stores, and one is twenty or so and much bigger (and crowded). Plus I usually end up driving the forty five minutes to an hour to my old town at least once a week for other reasons, so I can visit the stores there if I want. I occasionally make the big trek to San Francisco or the outlet mall in San Leandro but that's a once or twice a year event and an all day process. Groceries and other typical errands tend to happen in an unorganized fashion, but I do try to do multiple things so in one area when I can. I've gotten spoiled by working at home and being able to go out in the middle of a weekday when places aren't so busy. We get veggies and eggs delivered to our house by a CSA every other week and several grocery chains nearby - Trader Joes and Whole Foods are the busiest and most crowded so I usually only go there once a month for items only they carry, and go to a local chain for everything else. I've been tempted by online grocery delivery, not because I dislike going to the store but because I always seem to get tempted into buying stuff I don't need. Style Fan on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687461 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:42:54 +0000 Style Fan 1687461@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ For the past 5 years we have lived in a small town with very limited shopping.  The grocery shopping is very good and the liquor shopping is excellent.  We are located in a tourist area so good food and wine are staples for cottagers.  We also have an excellent Joe Fresh (a clothing line in a grocery store) that I have lucked out on this summer.  There are also some boutiques on the main street that have some clothing that I sometimes like. For clothes I usually wait until I am travelling to the big cities.  Once a year we go to Montreal for a month, we go to Florida for a month and we periodically go to Toronto for weekends.  Occasionally I go to some of the smaller cities in southwestern Ontario.  When I am visiting these places I buy my clothes.  Sometimes I shop online.  This is not an ideal way to shop for clothing but it is what I have been doing.  Before I retired 5 years ago I lived in a decent size city with reasonable shopping.  I shopped whenever I wanted.  DonnaF on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687425 Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:15:27 +0000 DonnaF 1687425@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ As rachylou says, a lot depends of traffic.  For clothing, pretty much every national chain can be reached within 20 minutes without traffic.  But not every store has the best selection for that chain.  I have maybe four Trader Joes within a reasonable distance but go to the one that's a ten minute (w/o traffic) drive.  I also have a large independent grocer five minutes away and a Safeway three minutes away. The only time I might hit the clothing stores is with DD22, and she's rarely around.  If/when she gets married, I plan to leave no stone unturned to search for a MOB dress.  Otherwise, 90% of my shopping is nordstrom.com. Windchime on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687410 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:39:42 +0000 Windchime 1687410@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm fortunate to have several malls, an outlet mall, and many other stores including a Nordstrom Rack, within a few miles of my home. I like to peruse the Rack monthly; I go to one of the malls less often. Once or twice a year, I plan a trip to Long Tall Sally, which specializes in tall sizes. There are two of them within a three hour drive from here. I always plan several other things to do on the LTS trip--visit a friend, go to a botanical garden or museum--and make it an overnight trip. Since being a YLFer, I've added online shopping to my habits. I basically never used to shop online; now I buy from Nordstrom and also order tall lengths online from Banana Republic and a couple other retailers. Anonymous on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687405 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:27:01 +0000 Anonymous 1687405@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have a really tight, efficient errand route.  Within a total of six miles round trip, I can hit the grocery store, the dry cleaner, the bank, the gym, a Walmart, post office, take out restaurants.  I do an errand circuit once a week.  The goal is efficiency.  I am not a browser.  I am in and out.   If I am interested in shopping at a mall, I have two very good malls literally half way between work and home.  If interested in something, I can stop on my way home after work.  Of course, I might be tired so shopping is once again purposeful, not recreational.  Tight, efficient.   The system seems to work for me.  Of course, I have friends that are recreational shoppers.  They like to go to the mall for no purpose other than "to look."  They have driven 75 miles or more to get to outlet malls.  It is a hobby for them and I accompany them on occasion.  I don't do well at outlet malls.  For some reason, I can't seem to buy without an explicit purpose or list.  I get confused and my confusion leads to the inability to make a decision.   Diana on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687182 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 17:04:29 +0000 Diana 1687182@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I live in the city so I have access to most things within a quick walk or drive.  There is a commercial area with shops like Gap, Anthro, Ann Taylor, etc, plus bookstores, coffee, restaurants, etc about a 10 minute walk from my house and it's directly on my way home from work.  The closest grocery is about a 5-10 min drive or 20 minute walk, but we sometimes go to ones a little farther afield - we do a big grocery shop once a week but we both enjoy it so will sometimes go to further stores for fun.  The farm stand we like is about a 20 minute drive and in a nice area so we'll go there with some regularity.  Downtown shopping and malls are about a 30 minute subway ride (or a short detour on my commute home).  I don't go that often though.  Maybe twice a month, sometimes just to browse for an hour or so.  I'll occasionally stop by one of the suburban malls (maybe 20-30 min drive) if we have other things to do in the area but will rarely make the trip out there solely for that purpose.  Before I got married to someone who drives (I don't) I did all my shopping and errands by foot or public transit.  It's very possible living where I do and there's always online shopping for the rest of it.  I am very much a city dweller.  The concept of having to drive an hour to go to the mall is very foreign and rather scary to me. Ledonna N. on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687170 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 16:38:56 +0000 Ledonna N. 1687170@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm in the Chi we have thrifts everywhere. I have cut down drastically on my thrifting and shopping. I have what I want excluding wadrobe holes. Tank tops and sandals. I would travel anywhere for something I love. Anonymous on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687139 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:56:12 +0000 Anonymous 1687139@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I mostly shop online, even for groceries.  Driving is something that's low on my list of enjoyable activities.  I keep those delivery people real busy! AviaMariah on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687130 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:36:38 +0000 AviaMariah 1687130@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I live in a very small town 60 miles outside of a large city.  DH and I both work full time and we have a 3.5 and 1.5 year old kids.  We have a small grocery store in town where I get basics and we go to a big grocery store and/or Costco once, sometimes twice, a month.  So I really stock up on frozen and canned goods and rely on the local grocery for dairy etc.  Luckily we have a lady that brings in all the local fresh fruit and veggies once a week during the summer.  This is a lifesaver as I can't live without fresh goodies but would otherwise have to travel to get the good stuff.  As far as clothes shopping, I do 95% of that online.  Shopping and small children aren't the best combo and I try to spend as much of my free time as possible with them.  When I do shop in a BM store it's almost always Nordstroms since that is the most consistent for me.  There is also a BR, WHBM, GAP and Athleta close to Nordstroms that I will pop into if I have time.  But that only happens every three  months or so. Anonymous on "How far do you go......?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-far-do-you-go#post-1687107 Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:08:36 +0000 Anonymous 1687107@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I live in a fairly big city - well, for Canada anyways - and everything I actually need on a regular basis is right at hand.  The one good big mall is a 6 minute drive .  There is nothing to drive to within any kind of reasonable distance that is any bigger so I don't shop anywhere outside of my  area unless I'm travelling on business.  For a large-ish city though, the clothing shopping is not great :  all mall chain stores, and the boutiques tend to cater to a younger consumer,  a very high end consumer, or one with look I don't relate to at all.    Sorry - I'm venting as I feel like I am bored with my clothes and can't find anything to buy for summer to perk things up.  I don't shop on-line for various reasons, but realize I could have a far more interesting wardrobe if I did.