Delphinus, you are right, I am in the North
However, I'm in the far North, so like you, I would also consider Wai's and Ocean's to be pretty central, just like Riverfront and Golds. The only store I can visit somewhat easily is Red Coral (although it is still out of the way), but luckily that is also one of my favourites to visit.
Elite and Golds are actually too far for me so I don't visit them often. The new Big Al's is also out of the way, but I work close by, so I can visit it at lunch and after work pretty easily. Hopefully it will be good so that I can check things out often. I wasn't in the hobby when the old Big Al's was around.
I think those that live far North have it just as bad as those that live in the deep south. Most of the stores are pretty central when you think about it, other than Elite and Red Coral, and those are still somewhat central.
For people in the SW, if you have easy access to Crowchild, it is actually pretty quick to get to Red Coral if you aren't driving during rush hour. Red Coral is like a minute off of Crowchild Trail.