get out of the big cities, in the small places small businesses are everywhere, they have to be

in eastern europe i spent a lot of time and shopkeeping was still a common employment, both owners and staff, and not only chains but many little places

it's a sign you are in a bad place when it seems like you are in a socialist gulag - where only authorised operators do business, it means GET OUT

really, i'm not foolin here... this is why i patronise my little local places in preference to the big chain down the hill if at all possible... i even mainly go down there to pull cash so i can come back up here to pay for stuff