My partner and I moved to JH from Seattle about seven weeks ago, and I can attest to the fact that the biggest change for us, overall, has been resourcing foodstuffs in the neighborhood. Very different from the West Coast, I can tell you.... and that's a good thing.
West Coast grocery stores are huge - and slick - and really 'done up' in terms of display and accommodations. Of course, those costs are paid for by the customer. That being said, I cannot believe how much cheaper groceries are here in JH!!
The benchmark I use most is lemons. Seattle, lemons are $1.00-1.10 EACH. At Met, large lemons are 3 for $2.00. My newest and most staggering discovery is Growing Farm, directly across from Met. Gadzooks, the produce in there is impeccable! And lemons, while not all squeaky-clean-and-perfect, are 3 for $1.00. In my book, that rocks. Growing Farm constantly stocks really good, very fresh herbs at $1.00 for a decent package, too.
Yeah, Trade Fair is pretty claustrophobic. I like Met better overall. For Christmas Dinner I bought a 7.3-pound chicken for $9.43. In Seattle, first of all, you would never, ever find a chicken of that size. 3.5-4 pounds, max. A 4-pound chicken would cost probably $7.00-8.00, anyway.
I spent a year at Seattle Culinary Academy, so food is a passion of mine. I have been really, really happy to locate good produce at Growing Farm, great seafood at Pacific Supermarket, good red meat at both Trade Fair and Met, good poultry at Met, and pretty good dairy at Met.
