Becoming a "Localista"

As longtime readers of this blog know, IndyStyle has been conflicted from day one on what "Indy Style" should really mean. Does it mean that I will confine my shopping only to Indianapolis locales? It hasn't, but more and more I'm thinking it should.

So, inspired by the local food movement, I'm embarking on a little experiment. For the remainder of 2008 (essentially the whole year), I'm only going to spend my money at Indiana stores. I'm broadening it beyond just Indianapolis, because I think a Bloomington excursion would be just fine. The local food folks call themselves "Localvores;" I'm adopting "Localista" as my handle for shopping only locally.

This means no online shopping - for anything, including music. I'm going old school there - not taking the easy way out and downloading from iTunes, but going to record stores (even though they hardly exist anymore) to buy CDs. That alone will be interesting. It will certainly make it more difficult to get my hands on things like DJ Rekha's new disc, which I highly recommend (and thankfully downloaded yesterday, before this whole idea took hold). Ditto for books. I know, it's easier and quicker to just order what you want from Amazon, but where's the fun in that?

I'm also going to try - and this is just going to be an attempt - to frequent locally owned stores as much as possible. So avoid the chains. Now, I can't be completely strict about this, as a year without darkening the doors of Target or Sak's is just too much to bear, but I will try to support my own local economy as much as possible. French Pharmacie, thankfully, continues to be a safe haven.

This also means no vacation shopping. However, if someone (say, my mom) buys me a gift while I'm shopping with her on a vacation or something, that is acceptable. It's not my money, after all. She's supporting her own local economy...

I think this will be interesting. At the very least, it will allow me to better serve my readers, as I'll be forced to uncover more hidden gems.

Trendwatch globally, spend locally...