I go to my local Wal-Mart far too many times. It really is a depressing place. The workers look like they’d rather be dead, and many of the cashiers actually move like it. I was once checked out by a woman who had Howard Hughes fingernails. I have no idea how she punched the register keys.

And then there are the shoppers. I’m always amazed when I see guys walking around in public in sweatpants and flip-flops. Those guys, though, look like they’re headed for the opera when compared to some of the people I’ve seen at my local Wal-Mart. If you’ve never visited the site People of WalMart, you owe it to yourself to surf over.

But here’s the thing about Wal-Mart. It’s darn cheap. I get my oil changed in my car there. I buy lots of 89-cent diet pop. And when we run out of everything from dish soap to cooking oil, that’s where I go.

And here’s another amazing fact about Wal-Mart: Turns out, the stores might actually raise the value of your home.

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story focusing on a study done by two professors, which found that the value of homes located within half-a-mile of a Wal-Mart rises 2 percent to 3 percent. The study also found that the value of homes located half-a-mile to 1 mile away from a Wal-Mart rises 1 percent to 2 percent.

So if a Wal-Mart is headed for your community, rejoice. Your home value just might rise, at least a bit.

And if you feel a bit smug after visiting People of Walmart, just wait until someone invents People of Nordstrom. That’ll put you in your place.

– Dan Rafter