Ask a Local

[roadman65]

Questions about something local to be answered by a local or someone knowing about an area.

My question is what happened to JRs Outlet in Selma, NC at I-95 and US 70. I see by GSV it's closed. Considering it was a place to shop for many, I'm assuming that someone on top mismanaged it and it went red.

[Mapmikey]

Checking GMSV, it has been slowly shrinking for 10+ years down to just the tobacco shop.

Then according to their CEO, they closed for the pandemic.  Google reviews suggest the tobacco shop is still open.

[roadman65]

Checking GMSV, it has been slowly shrinking for 10+ years down to just the tobacco shop.

Then according to their CEO, they closed for the pandemic.  Google reviews suggest the tobacco shop is still open.

. I can only get 2019 images as it doesn't offer the previous years like everyplace else.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've generally found local opinions on stuff like road conditions to be wildly inaccurate.  If I feel compelled to ask around regarding a road or something like a trail about 90% the best answer comes from me taking the initiative to go see.  I find this interesting given a lot of old highway maps used to display "inquire about conditions locally."

That said, I did get some reliable intel about an eight mile slide on Piilani Highway when I got to Maui earlier this year.  I asked someone at the rental car agency and he surprisingly had a detailed answer. 

[Flint1979]

I tend to find asking a local at times isn't the best thing to do because half the time they don't seem to know what they are talking about or don't know the answer to something that you'd think a local should know the answer to. Like how do you get to I-75 from here? Of course with GPS systems now you really don't need to ask any local since you can get your answer from the GPS system.

[Mapmikey]

Checking GMSV, it has been slowly shrinking for 10+ years down to just the tobacco shop.

Then according to their CEO, they closed for the pandemic.  Google reviews suggest the tobacco shop is still open.

. I can only get 2019 images as it doesn't offer the previous years like everyplace else.

Here is March 2022 - https://goo.gl/maps/gvthqv5aKhr91F1Y9

[roadman65]

Looks like a Food Hall is replacing the outlet part. 


Not that I shopped there often , but I did like the fact they carried my sizes in jeans.  However traveling 653.2 miles is not my idea of going shopping. I only frequented there the few times I drove I-95.

[Rothman]

I tend to find asking a local at times isn't the best thing to do because half the time they don't seem to know what they are talking about or don't know the answer to something that you'd think a local should know the answer to. Like how do you get to I-75 from here? Of course with GPS systems now you really don't need to ask any local since you can get your answer from the GPS system.

At worst, I've had the experience where the local tries to exploit you for cash by illegally gatekeeping your destination.

[dfilpus]

Both the JR's in Smithfield and Burlington NC closed their outlet business years ago, becoming just a tobacco shop. The building in Burlington is mostly unused. It began life as a small enclosed mall, which failed and became a large JR's back in the 1990's.

[cjk374]

The morning of my Natchez meet last year, I went to an old truss bridge I had on my itinerary. I knew nothing about the bridge's history, as it had been closed for what looked like decades. There were some folks fishing in that creek when I was there and I decided to ask if they knew anything about it. They told me the bridge was built by the farmer that owned, at the time, all of the surrounding land. He used it to shuttle his equipment from one side of the creek to the other.