Questions about suburbia

[Vishenka69]

As this is my first time stint in deep suburbia (I don't think Westchester, LI and North Jersey really qualify), even 7 months into this, I'm still puzzled about some things. Hoping that you girls can shed some light on them.

1. Why are mani/pedi cost twice as much but quality is twice as poor? Is it because so few women get them, so the people doing them are out of practice?

2. On the other hand, hair styling is half the price but pretty decent quality. Based on what I've seen around same amount of women get their hair done as nails.

3. There are no shoe repair places anywhere. I've seen women wear shoes/boots that would need fixing but have no idea where and if they take them somewhere. I currently take all my stuff at the end of the season to North Jersey and have to leave there for a week or two with my parents.

4. While dry-cleaning costs are the same, alterations are exactly twice as much and for now I take everything to my parents. Extremely inconvinient but saves lots of money.

5. Nobody except for Dominos and Pizza-Hut delivers. Not even Chinese food. Why? Do people really enjoy driving to get their food in pouring rain? We don't really live in middle of nowhere and there are at least 10 places within 2-3 miles that have take-out menus but don't do deliveries.

Please enlighten a city girl.

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: Questions about suburbia

My suburbia is a bit different... everyone delivers! Takeout galore!

Hair styling... is shoot or miss. Mostly miss. To get a decent hairstyle you need to go to a certain salon, and it will cost 2x what the "strip mall" salons cost.

I don't know anything about nails, but I would hit the mall for that sort of thing, if I felt the desire... And I'd go to the upscale mall to get those kind of services.

I have never seen a store for shoe repairs. :huh:

And dry cleaning is just shocking to me, like 5x more than it was back in Washington state. :huh:

I think it must just depend...

Re: Questions about suburbia

The nail thing -- they charge what they can get for it. In NYC and LA it's crazy-cheap. There is a nail salon on every block ... or two or three, so they have to keep it cheap. In suburbia it costs more b/c they can get more.

As far as delivery -- look for a service that delivers from a bunch of restaurants. If you google 'delivery Allentown' - you *might* find something. There was a good one in Cleveland, but the one here really stinks. Only 6 restaurants or so. They don't all deliver b/c there aren't as many and people's homes are much more far flung.

I had shoe repair places both in Cleveland and KC. Can't help you there. Alterations have always been pricey.

As for hair - that is one thing that is still pricey in LA (never had it done in NYC) - and can vary widely in the suburbs. You can get the $11 Best Cuts gig, or you can go to a high-end salon and pay through the nose. If I get my hair cut, colored and highlites from my current stylist - that's $210 -- before tip. So I don't know about it always being cheaper than the city. :huh:

[DCJenn]

Re: Questions about suburbia

Shoe repairs are done at the dry cleaners. You have to find the old man dry cleaners- usually from an Eastern European country, the kind of man who yells at you for not taking proper care of your clothes.

Haircuts- it's easier and less money to go into the city.

Mani/Pedi- don't go to the strip mall, you have to find the "day spa".

and yes, the 'burbs are designed for the car mentality.

Jenn

[HouseofWool]

Re: Questions about suburbia

The mani/pedi thing kills me. I remember being charged $15.00 for a mani/pedi while in the Bronx just south of Westchester. Here, it is double that for just the mani.

Shoe repair, I have always been able to find the phone book...

Delivery? Who knows, suburbia is just weird.

[Vishenka69]

Re: Questions about suburbia

I can't seem to find an Eastern European cleaner or shoe repair. There's a Polish deli at the farmers market but that's about it. All the cleaners are Asian, as the nail places. I've tried 3 day spas and they were even worse, $50-60 for mani/pedi and not even a nail dryer. I guess I'll keep looking. I get my hair cut and colored in Jersey but went to a local place for a blow out and it was only $10 and the girl did a pretty good job and fast. The cheapest place in NY/NJ charges $25 at least.

Re: Questions about suburbia

1. Why are mani/pedi cost twice as much but quality is twice as poor? Is it because so few women get them, so the people doing them are out of practice?

I don't have the money but there are some good spa chains that have decent prices and coupons. One in the midwest is http://www.beautyfirst.com I loved them because I always got a good haircut for $35 or so (depending on the stylist) which is more than Sams or Gliks but always done well, and they have spas. Also nicer beauty supply places often have decent stylists inside. There was one I tried called Ultimate Beauty Supply in MO that I liked. So maybe you should check places like that for hair and nails.



3. There are no shoe repair places anywhere. I've seen women wear shoes/boots that would need fixing but have no idea where and if they take them somewhere. I currently take all my stuff at the end of the season to North Jersey and have to leave there for a week or two with my parents.

Funny enough sometimes the more ethnic places are sometimes inside malls. I know of a couple malls that had shoe repair shops.

4. While dry-cleaning costs are the same, alterations are exactly twice as much and for now I take everything to my parents. Extremely inconvinient but saves lots of money.

Well... alterations are a HUGE rip off in my experiance. But heres a HUGE HUGE HUGE tip. Go to your local sewing shop, or even a chain like Hancocks, and often inside there are buliten boards for local people to post their business cards for their alteration services. They are almost always done in the home, and I found an AWESOME lady this way, and my cost was half and sometimes a third of the going store price - and MUCH better help. I hear ya on the alterations big time!

5. Nobody except for Dominos and Pizza-Hut delivers. Not even Chinese food. Why? Do people really enjoy driving to get their food in pouring rain? We don't really live in middle of nowhere and there are at least 10 places within 2-3 miles that have take-out menus but don't do deliveries.

People in the suburbs like to go out to the restaurants, cause, IMO, they don't go anywhere else. Seriously, this is a huge outting for people, as usually in the serious burbs you don't even see that many people on bicycles...


That's my 2 cents

[alison]

Re: Questions about suburbia

Kudos to you, Vishenka. This has got to be a huge culture shock for you! I wouldn't take it as easily as you have. You're a good sport!

When dh is on vacation, and we stay in town, the car stays in the garage the entire time. Everything can be done on foot or with public transportation. Living in the suburbs would be a huge change for me.

As opposed to my dh, who ultimately wants to live in a burb somewhere, I would prefer to raise children in the city.

PS. And yes, even moving back to Seattle would be huge. It's a burb in comparison to Chicago. There's hardly any traffic there, yet people are always in their cars.

[poky]

Re: Questions about suburbia

And yes, even moving back to Seattle would be huge. It's a burb in comparison to Chicago. There's hardly any traffic there, yet people are always in their cars.

Yup. That's because there are very few parts of Seattle where it's easy to live and walk to everything you need. I had a friend who lived a few blocks from the seattle center on Queen Anne and did OK, and another friend lives in downtown Ballard, and I'm sure you could do it on Capitol Hill...it's not as easy as it is in denser cities, though. Even Portland's a little better, since the density's higher in the downtown areas.

[rainbabies]

Re: Questions about suburbia

what is this mani/pedi, dry clean/alterations you speak of?

i grew up in the sticks....take out didnt exist...so we drove 20miles to pick it up.

i know, im so helpful.

good luck! i hope you find the places you're looking for, with the quality and cost you're used to!

[alison]

Re: Questions about suburbia

i grew up in the sticks....take out didnt exist...so we drove 20miles to pick it up.

I love the sticks.
Suburbs fall into a different category for me. :huh:

[DCJenn]

Re: Questions about suburbia

I converted my husband to a city dweller. School may be an issue at some point, especially if we have to leave SA. Schools in DC would require going right over the DC line or private schools.

Jenn

[alison]

Re: Questions about suburbia

I just can't be far away from the hustle and bustle. :huh: I need to live on at least 5 bus lines, and within walking distance of a Starbucks, bank, grocery store, and dry cleaner.

Garage parking close to our building costs a pretty penny - we shell out $250/month.

[Cumberland]

Re: Questions about suburbia

I dont know- in NYC a pedi was under $20 and that is what it is here, at least at the Vietnamese nail places I go to. I dont get salon pedi's cause of the $$. Dry cleaning is about the same as NYC. We NEVER get take out, mostly bc there isnt any except pizza. There is a place called 2gobox that will go pick up food for you and deliver to your house for a surcharge. We used them once and they came 2.5 hours later with cold food so we never did it again.

[Vishenka69]

Re: Questions about suburbia

I just can't be far away from the hustle and bustle. :huh: I need to live on at least 5 bus lines, and within walking distance of a Starbucks, bank, grocery store, and dry cleaner.

Garage parking close to our building costs a pretty penny - we shell out $250/month.

Alison, I was the same way until last year when I realized that we're becoming extremely burned out shells of ourselves and don't have the time or the energy to take advantage of what the city has to offer. Currently, Starbucks, bank, grocery store, dry cleaner, B&N and even the wine store are less than 10 minutes away, which works just fine for me. It was worse in the Bronx.

I don't know any sewing stores around, but I guess I can look for them. I haven't seen any but could have been not paying attention. The nearest shoe repair I found via Google is over 30 minutes away and not near anything else. I've been to all the local malls and there aren't any in there. I've decided to just do my nails at home ($6 each for Sephora nail strengthener/smoother with a little color and top coat). When/if we have an event in NY, I'll just do them there.