Orlando Becoming East Coast Headquarters for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products

[Lilofan]

This is also why North Carolina is growing significantly.

Too bad Raleigh literally shuts down when just a few inches of snow hits the pavement. When I lived in Winston Salem the city shut down during a light snowfall years ago when I was there.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Well, you should pay more attention. It's the most money people spend week to week typically in a household.. and you can find prices can vary 30+% quite easily on the same goods.

The very attitude you describe is exactly why grocers will put stores even in the same brand almost on top of each other and carpet bomb an area. They pray on the convenience angle, strangle out competitors and pump up the prices.

Then when people are talking better brands... the experience is not just your dry groceries, but commonly things like Hot Food, fresh prep'd meals, specialty foods, bakeries, seafood, etc.

If you are the type that is used to eating fresh meals most days, getting simplified prepped meals, eating nice affordable lunches, getting the specialty brands you like, etc... That is very much a 'regular' part of your routine that when you lose it, it's a big hit to your lifestyle. And thus, a factor (not THE factor, but one..) in the kind of area you want to live in.

Some people will buy 2-3 weeks of groceries at once and eat out... others will buy groceries for just 1-3 days at a time and eat a lot more fresh meals. It's as much a lifestyle choice as people choosing to live in a urban style of living vs suburban, etc.

I buy groceries twice a week on average, I can’t justify driving an extra 20 minutes each way and using an extra gallon of gas to save $10 on groceries. The convenience of Smiths being a mile from my house is worth any extra cost.

The only grocery store in Vegas I’ve ever been impressed by is WinCo, but they’re 20 miles away from my house, I’d spend more on gas than I’d save.

 

[Lilofan]

I adore Aldi. It's cheap and cheerful, and they're opening lots of locations in not-sketchy areas.

But I mainly go for some of their euro snacks, wine, and my annual beer advent calendar purchase.

The Aldi where I went a few times do have some helpful guys at your beck and call. When I push our full shopping cart to our car in the crowded parking lot , the nearby homeless provide instant service. They happily ask if they can return our shopping cart. They return the cart so they can retrieve the 25 cents themselves that I deposited to use the cart.

 

[Lilofan]

Doesn’t hurt that much of the south is stunningly beautiful with fairly nice weather.

My old neighbor moved to southeast Tennessee and some of the pictures he’s sent me are truly amazing.

I love Vegas but I’m so tired of brown, every city on my list of potential places to move are green and near water. Natural beauty is #1 on my list, cost of living and jobs being a distant #2.

Love visiting Sin City, even better when I come out ahead. The ethic food options in Henderson are amazing and cheaper than eating on the Strip. Diverse ethnic food in eastern TN is slim to none. I’m a foodie.

 

[Ayla]

Stop putting down Aldi!

It's lower priced and serves a need in many cities.
Not everyone can afford whatever a Wegman's is.

I agree with you. The only reason I don't shop there is because they don't carry everything and I'd need to stop at a different store, anyway. So, I'll just buy everything I need at one place, instead of wasting time with two. TBF, grocery shopping is my very least favorite chore and I will pay for the convenience of only having to go to one place. lol

 

[Ayla]

I probably missed it somewhere in the thread earlier, but the Lake Nona campus build has been stopped?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I probably missed it somewhere in the thread earlier, but the Lake Nona campus build has been stopped?

Postponed until 2026.

 

[Ayla]

Postponed until 2026.

Thanks.

 

[J4546]

Food Lion > other grocery stores

 

[Tha Realest]

This grocery / education debate came up because someone suggested the gulf in quality made Florida vs. NY a non-issue for retirees. Putting aside other factors - weather, economic growth, taxes - it was a silly argument.

 

[mkt]

The Aldi where I went a few times do have some helpful guys at your beck and call. When I push our full shopping cart to our car in the crowded parking lot , the nearby homeless provide instant service. They happily ask if they can return our shopping cart. They return the cart so they can retrieve the 25 cents themselves that I deposited to use the cart.

Our nearest Aldi is in a solid middle class area bordering upper middle, haven't seem any homeless people there.

Usually when I go in, it's for a few items that I want, so I skip the cart.

 

[mkt]

Postponed until 2026.

Guessing waiting to see what happens with the economy and how friendly the political atmosphere is in the state of Florida.

 

[bpiper]

I think when they first started opening Aldi's, they seemed to put them into lower income areas, but now they seem to have started putting them into lower middle and mid middle class areas.

 

[Big_Shakalaka]

According to the New York Post the move is still on just not to be completed until 2026. "Disney now says that construction of its facilities in Lake Nona will be completed by 2026 — hence the delay." Sooooo it does not sound "killed" to me.

I dont want to get political, but 2026 is also the year Ron DeSantis reaches his term limit as governor. I dont think it's hard to imagine this change was a direct response to him trying to desolve their district.

 

[mkt]

I think when they first started opening Aldi's, they seemed to put them into lower income areas, but now they seem to have started putting them into lower middle and mid middle class areas.

That's exactly it. Their new locations have been in a socioeconomic upward creep.

I think when Lidl expands further in the US it'll be the same way.

 

[mkt]

I dont want to get political, but 2026 is also the year Ron DeSantis reaches his term limit as governor. I dont think it's hard to imagine this change was a direct response to him trying to desolve their district.

Only if he wins re-election.

Not political, just factual.

 

[Lilofan]

Food Lion > other grocery stores

Food Lion is on par with Piggly Wiggly, Winn Dixie is they still exist is of same quality.

 

[mkt]

Winn Dixie is they still exist is of same quality.

They're definitely here. They even have another brand in certain FL markets called "Fresco Y Mas"... which are former Winn Dixie locations that have a better hispanic product selection.

 

[UNCgolf]

And Virginia as well.

We're looking at both NC and VA to move to.

Which area of NC? I'm from there and go back regularly.

 

[UNCgolf]

Too bad Raleigh literally shuts down when just a few inches of snow hits the pavement. When I lived in Winston Salem the city shut down during a light snowfall years ago when I was there.

Because it doesn't snow enough to have the infrastructure they have in the northeast, which is something people often don't realize/consider. I live in Atlanta and we have the same problem here -- there's just no reason to spend the money on all of the necessary equipment when it's so rarely used. No one can really drive safely on ice, but it's generally not an issue in the northeast because they can easily salt everything, plus it's usually consistently cold enough to remain as snow instead of melting and refreezing as ice.