I very rarely shop (as in almost never) large malls so walking distance is usually quite short even from the further reaches so I look for shade as it gets really hot here in the summer.
Neither one is a big deal for me; I’d probably go with “least hassle” (i.e. I hate circling around waiting for a space to open up).
My wife would definitely vote for “shade”, though.
Why didn’t you think of people like me, who park as far away as they can?
Shade trumps walking distance almost every time. On the rare occasion that it is raining, all bets are off.
I live in hot hot hot Central Florida, but I generally go for distance over shade. There aren’t many shady parking lots around here, plus walking a long distance to and from my car in the blistering hot sun cancels out getting into a hot or not-as-hot car.
I’m with the Philster. I park far away from people that might dent my car. I don’t mind walking at all; heck, even the furthest spots take under a minute to get to the door, and I’m used to walking more than an hour at a time for exercise.
If there’s shade, though, I’ll go for it.
I prefer shade, but I have seen exactly ONE handicapped parking space with anything remotely resembling shade [that wasn’t in a parking garage that is]
Go to southeast Michigan when you get a chance. You know, where (until fairly recently) everyone drove a full-sized pickup or SUV, and the parking lots are actually painted with them in mind.
On the other hand, I can empathize with you on small spaces. My company provides me with an extra-full-size SUV for use in an overpopulated region that’s seemingly designed for exclusive use by subcompacts. (The same company provided us (at another location) black cars with black interiors for use in the Sonora desert with normal daytime temperatures of 100 F and plenty of direct sun.)
Living in the hot Central Valley (CA), I look for shade most months of the year. If it’s pouring down rain, I do look for the closest open spot, but I’m not going to wait for someone to pull out, just to get close.
My 70-year-old mom still says, “Gotta leave that one for the old people!”
I park generally in the first space I come to in the right general vicinity.
Grocery shopping: first parking spot I see, but I look for one nearest to a cart corral, whether that’s close to the store or at the back.
Every where else: first parking spot I see.
Even in the summer in Phoenix, I don’t waste time trying to find shady spots, or spots close to the air conditioning. I just park my car as quickly as it’s possible to find a spot, any spot will do.
Yeah, pretty much the first spot I see that’s reasonably near other cars. For example, if rows 1-10 are pretty much filled with cars, and 11-20 are maybe 50% filled, and 21 and up are empty, I’ll take the first space in rows 11-20.
I park where it is easy to get out of. Usually means parking pretty far away but I could use the walk.
Distance away from potential door dings is my priority. If I have to park next to someone I pick expensive or very clean vehicles.
Not to snow on anyone’s sunshiny parade, but no one has yet mentioned optimizing parking in winter. There’s a lot of factors: existing snowpiles and icy patches, whether it will snow while you’re parked, whether it will freeze or thaw while you’re parked, and where the plows need to go.
My father taught me to always park facing head out if you’re against a wall (if you’ve ever had to try to jumpstart a head-in, snowed-in car you know how difficult it can be to get access or to push it out into position). Likewise I will pull through in a bigger lot as it’s easier to get out through a little snow in forward than in reverse, like when the slush has frozen in deep chunks and encased your tires. I try to be in the middle somewhere I’m unlikely to get plowed in. And I’m always looking for streams and puddles of meltwater that will become a skating rink when I want to leave. Distance isn’t usually a consideration unless the ice and snow have made the traverse of the lot itself dangerous.
In hot weather I try for shade over distance.
This is my priority number one as well, not shade or closeness. People are idiots in parking lots, I’d prefer to see them easily as I exit a parking space, whenever possible.
Shade is so unimportant. I’m happy for the three months of summer I get and don’t mind a hot car. I will park in the first available, convenient spot. I won’t go searching, but if I see one close, sure as hell I will park there. If there are none, though, I get one runthrough and then go park far away.
To avoid people denting and scratching my car, I park as far away from anyone else as possible… And no where near a cart return.
My 2010 Prius has a solar panel on the roof which powers the air conditioner on hot days to keep the car (reasonably) cool. I, therefore, try to park in the sun on hot days to monitor the effectiveness and just be marveled at the technology.
I park wherever there’s a space … which, in my part of L.A., there often isn’t.
You can’t be choosy around here. If you forgo an open spot to look for a better one you’ll probably spend the next ten minutes circling the block in frustration.