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There is something within 5 minutes! A walk yesterday found a corner store in 3 minutes. Currently kind of a gourmet convenience store waiting for its coffeehouse license, but it would be a way of getting milk or bread in 1/4 the time of going to Metro (Canadian supermarket chain, not subway.) I had a nice talk with the proprietor, too. He, and a guest from Paris whom I met in Montreal, agree that Canadian groceries are expensive.

Later on my walk I found a combined florist and coffeeshop. In Montreal I'd seen a combined convenience store and plant shop.

I also found a school in what I call "brick castle" style, though with a wing in a newer style.

Today I found a meat store, with "smoked pork chops", and a game store; I haven't been in one of those in a few years. They had Hanabi and Bang, though not Chrononauts. Sadly I don't socialize enough to justify carrying any of them.

Staffpeople in the meat store weren't very masked, though to be fair they had the door propped open.

A few days ago I found a big park, and a mall; I may well use the mall, for underwear and eye exams. There was also an informational placard about proposed redevelopment of the north parking lot, with some interesting info: Toronto wants transit areas, within 500 meters of a subway station, to have a minimum density of 200 "persons and jobs" per hectare, or 20,000 per km2. The area is currently at 14,000, and unlikely to reach the target even with new development. I got excited, since 14,000 people/km2 is a pretty respectable density IMO, but then noticed the "and jobs", which is a qualifier outside of my experience.

I'm in Dufferin Grove, from other sources apparently a bit under 11,000 people/km2, as a mostly residential area.

Odd bit about Toronto: I have yet to see toilet paper sold as single rolls, even in convenience stores. I'm pretty sure I was able to in Montreal. Does Scott, the usual brand, not distribute in Ontario or something???

Date: 2021-11-19 17:53 (UTC)From: [personal profile] mtbc
mtbc: photograph of me (Default)
I think very recently I heard some reference to Canadians being able to shop more cheaply in the US again with easier COVID-test restrictions (maybe NPR news this morning?) but that may not be grocery-related.

Date: 2021-11-19 22:08 (UTC)From: [personal profile] brin_bellway
brin_bellway: forget-me-not flowers (Default)
We used to buy a lot of our groceries in the States, but as the years have gone by there's been less and less need for it. Pasta dropped in price here until it was cheaper than American pasta; canned tuna now frequently goes on sale for the same as Wegmans' regular price (and it generally *doesn't* go on sale at Wegmans); butter costs about 25% more here but it's worth it (much better flavour); Cheez-Its are now available, at a higher *base* price but with sales better than American sales (and of course it's also much easier to pounce on a good sale when it's nearby: we mostly don't pay full price for non-perishables); beef bacon is now available (at Farm Boy), for about the same price. Chicken still costs about twice as much; cream and eggs are cheaper in America but you can't stock up on those very much.

At some point, maybe when we get boosters, we'll have to reassess whether New York trips are still worth it. I suspect the analysis will come out against it.

Date: 2021-11-19 22:06 (UTC)From: [personal profile] brin_bellway
brin_bellway: forget-me-not flowers (Default)
If your options are a "gourmet convenience store" and Metro, then yes, groceries will be expensive.

Hmm...*cross references what you said about your location with Google Maps*...oh, excellent, says here the mall has a No Frills in it: I recommend trying them instead.

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>>Odd bit about Toronto: I have yet to see toilet paper sold as single rolls, even in convenience stores. I'm pretty sure I was able to in Montreal. Does Scott, the usual brand, not distribute in Ontario or something???

I live in Ontario and I don't recall ever seeing toilet paper sold by the roll, but on the other hand I wasn't looking for it. (I buy my toilet paper at Costco, at the other end of the (residential) sizing scale.)

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