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The South Side of Chicago has areas known as "food deserts" where the nearest grocery store is 5 miles away. The only nearby places to buy food are liquor stores that provide neither selection, nor competitive prices nor easy access to fruits and vegetables.
But I doubt that's what you're talking about.
Cyn was just in the nearest grocery store to my house (the Philipino grocery just south of Ridge and Clark for you locals), but there are 2 major stores within 1 mile of the house. That said, we typically drive about 10 minutes to a different location of one of those chains because it is larger and always seems less crowded. When you are shopping with a toddler, that makes the trip worthwhile.
We do most of our non-grocery shopping in the neighborhood. I've gotten to know the folks at the hardware store, the paint store and various little eateries just by patronizing them and being friendly with the staff. We just got invited to a private wine tasting at the little wine shop down the street. We don't buy much there, but the owners have a dog that's friendly, and it's a great place to stop on long walk.
Here's the tradeoff you're going to have, Shauk - shopping at local places will cost you more. There's no way around it. You'll balance that with gas saved and less wear and tear on your car. Personally, I always ask myself if it's worth my time to go somewhere that's a long drive if I can pay a little more down the street, but that's a question I can only answer for myself.
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