A different Wal-Mart Overnight?

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Isaac-1

Isaac-1

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Joined
Dec 3, 2016
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8,278
Location
SW Louisiana
I had one of those moral questions earlier this evening, where I considered doing something, but then opted not to, and I am not sure if I did the right thing or not.

My wife and I were driving home from a nearby mid-sized city at around sunset, this city has 3 Wal-Mart Stores, that I will categorize into, 2 are in relatively high crime rate areas, 1 is in a fairly good area.  Of the 2 higher crime rate locations, the one in question here is probably the slightly better of the two (fewer murders happen in the parking lot).  As we drive by this store I see someone is parked with their class A motorhome with a TOAD on the side of the lot, and I strongly considered pulling in, knocking on their door and letting them know that this was not necessarily a good place to spend the night, but I didn't.

What do you think, should I have knocked and warned them, if it had been a few minutes earlier I probably would have, but as it was the sun was already down and twilight had began.
 
In this day and age...You may have scared them more just knocking on their door.
 
I would tell them. I met a couple in South Carolina a few years ago. Upon learning I was from Connecticut, they told me about a recent trip where they stayed at a WalMart in a Hartford neighborhood that I won't venture into during daylight hours.

They had absolutely no idea how much danger they were in.
 
My personal observation is that in any town big enough to have more than 1 Wal-Mart, that the majority of them will be placed in less good parts of town, but that in towns with only one 1 Wal-Mart they tend to be located in the most prime real estate part of town.  I therefore try not to stop a Wal-Marts in cities big enough to have more than one.
 
I have spent hundreds of nights in Wal Mart parking lots and never once felt unsafe. They all have lots of security cameras and security people.
 
Heli_av8tor said:
Which begs the question, How do you know which side of town is the better choice when planning a stop?
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Not always, but Google Maps, Satellite View, can reveal a lot about a particular area.  I have used it and made desions by it a few times.
 
When I stayed overnight in Goldsboro NC, I called ahead to check on overnighting at one. There are multiple Walmarts in that area. The one I called didn't allow overnight because of a small parking lot. I was told of a couple of others that allowed overnighting, but she said she wouldn't recommend one of them due to the neighborhood. If everyone would be courteous and call ahead, or at least talk to the manager, it could keep you out of a bad situation.
 
Isaac-1 said:
My personal observation is that in any town big enough to have more than 1 Wal-Mart, that the majority of them will be placed in less good parts of town, but that in towns with only one 1 Wal-Mart they tend to be located in the most prime real estate part of town.  I therefore try not to stop a Wal-Marts in cities big enough to have more than one.
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In reading your post I have to say that my experience has been somewhat different.  My area currently has at least 7 Walmarts within a 20 mile radius. The two oldest are in what one would say are not the best area but they are mainly commercial areas that are right next to the interstate.  All of the others are built in the newest parts of town.  It seems they decide which part of town is likely to develop the fastest and then built there. This also has applied to the last 3 cities I lived in.  But that is for the big Walmart stores.  The Walmart neighborhood stores can be just about anywhere and most likely in older neighborhoods.  SAMS stores seem to be in newer areas and close to a Walmart.  JMHO.

Bill
 
Isaac-1 said:
I had one of those moral questions earlier this evening, where I considered doing something, but then opted not to, and I am not sure if I did the right thing or not.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't lose sleep over it.  Anyone who is willing to park in a Walmart, surely walks inside the store and checks out the clientele, if not, they should.  I always remind myself, nothing is free  :eek: 
 
This particular Wal-Mart is on the edge of town on the "bad side" of town, so it draws in a lot of rural customers during the day time as the next Wal-Mart is 45  miles away in that direction, but after dark things go down hill rapidly.  So going in and checking things out before sunset may not be that helpful in this particular case.
 
I am not sure at this location, but at the worse location, there have been 5 or 6 over the last 15 or so years.  A google search of this location does show a possible attempted murder in the parking lot dated last year, and a woman being assaulted in the parking lot by a strange man in body armor in the parking lot 2 years ago, and a Wal-Mart employee stabbed there in 2017.

 
Personally, I'm not a fan of staying at Walmart, but the same logic applies to urban campgrounds.  I base my decision on the types of businesses in the surrounding area.  Check cashing, buy here pay here car lots,  carry outs with bars on the windows, not for me.  Chilis, Fridays, banks, car dealerships, probably okay.
 
Since I never stop for the night before 11 pm I look for places that have several RV?s already in place. I will not stop at a Walmart or any other establishment where we are the only ones spending the night. Circle the wags so to speak.
 
Judy came up with a good idea. She uses Zillow to identify "nice" neighborhoods based on home prices then finds a Walmart or other shopping in those areas. I don't want to come across as snobish, just trying to avoid getting ourselves in a bad situation.
 
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