# How close are you to a video store? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156 "2016-04-14T01:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/41 "2016-04-15T00:40:56Z")
The nearest I could find is a 40 minute drive away. It appears to be an ice cream and snack shop that also happens to rent videos. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/42 "2016-04-15T00:52:40Z")
If you don’t count Red Box I would say about 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/43 "2016-04-15T01:41:57Z")
There’s a Family Video 2 to 2.5 miles from my house with two Redbox sites kitty corner at the major intersection just a little south of it. It’s a smallish but not tiny town in central Indiana near Indianapolis. We’ve got broadband competition - Comcast cable and a fiber provider. Not too far away are areas where the fiber provider doesn’t provide service and some Comcast doesn’t either. Streaming doesn’t fit well when satellite internet, sometimes with download limits, is the “fast” option. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/44 "2016-04-15T04:23:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I have a Family Video near me and I stop there on a frequent basis. And one thing I’ve noticed is they always have new employees. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen the same employee there twice. They’re also constantly advertising that they’re hiring. > > So I figure they must either be firing employees or having employees quit on an ongoing basis. Can anyone confirm this? I’m guessing it’s not the greatest place to work, and the people they hire usually don’t last very long. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/45 "2016-04-15T05:37:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m guessing it’s not the greatest place to work, and the people they hire usually don’t last very long. I’m not comparing working at Family Video to working in the White House or the Playboy Mansion. But how is Family Video that much worse than working in Burger King or Dollar General? Yet somehow these businesses apparently manage to hang on to employees better than Family Video. Looking at it from the outside, working at Family Video seems like it should be a relatively good gig for a minimum wage job. Let’s face it, you’re not dealing with big crowds of customers. You’re not dealing with anything too gross like the grease pit or a public restroom. You’re not hauling around heavy objects. And you get the perk of being able to watch movies all day. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/46 "2016-04-15T05:55:10Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I think I’ve got two within twenty miles, only one of which I know the exact location of. It’s also a tanning place. That is cute! A ‘tanning place’! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/47 "2016-04-15T06:18:02Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Slightly amused to realize that there’s a soft core porn store that rents videos 3 minutes away. I have never heard of anyone renting soft core porn, ever. At least not as something that needed a dedicated space. First such store I’ve heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/48 "2016-04-15T06:53:13Z")
I have never heard of Family Video, but there used to be three Blockbusters and one Hollywood Video within a 20 mile radius of my house… all long gone. My wife and I used to buy videos from Suncoast Video about 5 years ago before they went out of business. We cancelled our cable a number of years ago and now get all of our media online. In the years since we dropped cable and stopped buying or renting videos, our media options have actually increased, and without the ridiculous $190 per month Comcast bill. Now we watch anything we want any time we want. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/49 "2016-04-15T11:01:42Z")
I walk past one several times a week between home and work. It’s maybe 1/4 mile from home. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/50 "2016-04-15T12:58:22Z")
> [@BrassyPhrase](#): > > That is cute! A ‘tanning place’! 🆒 I know, right? I wonder which half the owner sees as the ‘fallback’ business. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/51 "2016-04-15T13:17:33Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I think there’s only one left in Santa Barbara, but it happens to be less than a mile from our house. I can’t imagine it will be around much longer, but I never would have expected it to make it this long, either. The place on Mission? I can’t believe it’s still there. I’ve never been in the place. What’s it like? I’m probably five miles from there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/52 "2016-04-15T13:18:55Z")
There are plenty of Redbox rental kiosks less than a mile from my house, and there are Adult stores renting XXX videos not far away, but I don’t think you mean either of those. Most of the video stores died in the Great Video Store Purge, but there are a few left, especially non-English videos for the immigrant communities. I find that there is still a human-staffed video store (which appears to be this type) about a mile away. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/53 "2016-04-15T13:23:29Z")
There’s a Family Video about 20 minutes away. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/54 "2016-04-15T14:16:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Looking at it from the outside, working at Family Video seems like it should be a relatively good gig for a minimum wage job. Let’s face it, you’re not dealing with big crowds of customers. You’re not dealing with anything too gross like the grease pit or a public restroom. You’re not hauling around heavy objects. And you get the perk of being able to watch movies all day. Yeah, I’m not speaking from experience but working at a video rental store for $8/hr seems like a better gig than flipping burgers or stocking Walmart shelves for $8/hr. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/55 "2016-04-15T15:36:59Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I have never heard of anyone renting soft core porn, ever. At least not as something that needed a dedicated space. First such store I’ve heard of. Actually probably just listed because it sells videos. Google search isn’t very smart. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/56 "2016-04-15T15:40:56Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I dated one in college. [sarcasm]Thanks for the flashback from a scene in the movie Videodrome.[/sarcasm] ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/57 "2016-04-15T15:42:46Z")
I actually opened this so I could see how old of a zombie thread it was. I live in a rural area and I think we embraced the internet for things like mail order and video streaming very quickly. It just makes life easier when your only other option is to drive somewhere. Video stores have been dead around here for a very, very long time. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/58 "2016-04-15T17:55:36Z")
Does a Red Box count? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/59 "2016-04-15T20:02:42Z")
In Plattsburgh, NY there’s a video store that advertises itself as “the last video store on Earth”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156/60 "2016-04-15T20:45:12Z")
> [@OffByOne](#): > > Does a Red Box count? I dated one in college. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-a-video-store/752156.md?page=4)