one is 1/4 mile from work that I pass every day ( and drop in about every 2-3 days, even if it's just to play with their Realflight sim. One a mile from my house that is primarily a car place, some airplane stuff. I go by 1-2 a year. A good shop about 15 minutes from my job that carrys a lot of "big bird stuff" maybe once a month, or if I need something that the closest doesn't have, and New Creations-RC ( one of the premier Electric stores in the country) is about 35-40 minutes away. The owner (Kirk) is agreat guy, and even though I don't mess with electrics much, the store is jammed floor to ceiling w/ cool stuff. I probably buy from Tower and Don's Hobby ( great service... very knowlegable about giant scale) if I am buying online. Tower can't really answer questions or give much advice, but Don is a "fountain of knowledge".
Big cities suck in some regards, but plenty of hobby shops and r/c fields here in Houston.
Mike