The only way you'd have to walk for ages to get to a shop is if you live in the middle of the countryside. I live in a village that has several shops and a few post offices, and about 20 minutes walk away there's another village which has a supermarket and a number of other shops in the same vicinity. Every suburb has shops in it, and most places are no more than a 20 minute bus ride to the city centre.
It's only in the very rural places in East Anglia where the largest settlement consists of about five houses that you can't find any shops within a short walking distance.
Now, Australia is a completely different story. My uncle lives quite near Melbourne and it's literally MILES from his house to get to any shops that they'd consider "local".