Impact on SMall Towns

I've only gotten to know Wal-mart in the last 15 years or so. Before it was always department stores, grocery stores, K-mart and Target (and Venture). I haven't had to watch the small town adapt to a Walmart but I have seen a small town grow in a similar way. Our old town used to be small and quiet - it was that way when my husband lived there as a kid too. Then a couple years before we moved out, they started to grow in anticipation of a train station to be built there. Jewel-Osco moved in and basically put the small-town grocer and the pharmacy out of business. More and more "fast" businesses are moving in and the town continues to grow. However, I dont' think it has too much of a "low-life" problem as of yet, since it's still mostly a yuppy town. All the Walmarts I'm familiar with are in towns that have grown to include many other stores and facilities as well. So I have not seen the specific impact that Walmart itself has. Rather, I see it as a fixture of diversity and expansion within growing towns. ~Tink

I think this has happened almost everywhere a new walmart has went up. As far as low lifes go no increase here. We only have car enthusiasts at the top of the parking lot every night(sometimes I go). But, Walmart is very bad for small town buisness and culture