Local First

Tucson is a big city with a small town feel. I have had this conversation quite a few time since moving here, but it's true. With 500,000 people in the city of Tucson and ~1 million in the metro area, it truly is a big place. However, the vast majority of the buildings are only one story tall, leading to a very spread out city.

One of the great things about living in a bigger city is the sheer number of local businesses. In Battle Creek, I don't often go out to eat, and when I do, it is usually at chain restaurant. I have eaten at very few chain restaurants since arriving here in Tucson (and some of the chains are "local" ish chains that we don't have in Michigan, like Eegee's and In N Out) The number of quality restaurants is through the roof, so much so that there are few places I have visited more than once. This also means a wide variety of ethnic foods are represented!

But it goes beyond the restaurants. Whenever we have something at our house worked on, Fran always has someone from a locally owned business come. This includes cleaning services, landscaping teams, and maintenance work like turning on our swamp coolers or fixing the leak in our roof. Fran also takes the two dogs to a locally owned dog-daycare a couple times a week. The place is close by and very cute. I thought it looked like a great time for dogs who get along well with other dogs, and it's a nice way to make sure your dogs are getting exercise during the day (particularly as it is getting hot out now, and the daycare is indoors.) Iskashitaa also sells fruit to some of the local coffee shops and businesses.

The great thing about this is the relationship building. The ladies who clean our house left us a rose for Valentine's day. The man who worked on our roof put lights on my bike when he noticed they weren't out of the box yet. The owners and waiters at the local restaurants always recognize our director and her husband when we go out to their favorite lunch places. We bring them fruit from Iskashitaa and get to experience deeper conversation. I enjoy this a lot because it seems like a picture of what community should truly be like-- with everyone supporting and appreciating the work of their neighbors.

What local businesses do you support?