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32 responses to “A Trip To Western New Jersey And The State Of The American Retail Mall AKA Let Me Blab Your Ear Off On A Friday Morning”
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Thanks for bringing us along Mike!
Love your vlogs, your voice was made for it!
Yeah the mall situation kinda makes me sad. Like i get why itās happening, the convenience of online shopping, but yeah, idk itās sad.
I agree about the parking meters. We donāt have any at all here but i have this problem when i go to Winnipeg. Like at least if you do coins if you wanted, have both options. Itās such a pain in the ass to download an app and blah blah blah just to pay $5 to park somewhere. Dumb.
Have a great weekend Mike āŗļø-
right?? when i saw that i had to do the web-based app for the parking meter i was so close to just leaving the truck but i was parked right next to the police station haha. i really wonder why they can’t be bothered with the hybrid coin option. like you could see the town wasn’t exactly struggling. i’m sure they could pay someone to walk up and down to inspect the meter. people just want an excuse to get paid to build stuff that makes so much friction in our lives. it really is a cash grab.
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So annoying š
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Mike you and I need to do a podcast together about a plethora of topics. We could start with this death of the retail mall. The whole fabric of America has changed. I grew up at the mall. It was the center of a teenās universe!
Thanks for taking us along on your trip. I say once a month we all do one vlog!
Happy Friday my friend!
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š Happy Friday to you too! I’d love to do even a question and answer post with you!
as for our good ol American malls, I guess it was a sign of the times right? I remember how crowded those places used to be. a lot of important social milestones for kids were achieved there. but things were changed and with it the fabric of the country for coming-of-age teens.
Hope the Friday was just as sunny and bright for you!
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It was a beautiful day!
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You guys really should!
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š¤£
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Thank you for this! Loved coming along with you!
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š you’re always welcome Jennifer! you get the stereo next time š
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Perfect! 80’s here we come!
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I saw the exit sign for Camden in your video. Glad you didn’t take it! We may never hear from you again š hope you have a good weekend Mike š
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HAHAHA!!!! š¤£š¤£ššÆšÆ
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your voice is very soothing and it was a fun ride!! you’re so nice to drive so far too
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thanks Rojie!
as for the drive, the contractor took the job knowing i was an hour and a half out. i knew he also needed the business so i wanted to make it a point to get him paid as soon as possible and with the reporting benefits of cash too. hopefully, this makes him a good emergency guy if my locals aren’t free to help.
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What an enjoyable read! I really liked how you combined personal travel experiences with thoughtful observations about modern retail culture. Your storytelling is engaging, humorous, and relatable. Thanks for sharing this fascinating journey!
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thank you Safia! i am glad you enjoyed the ride along!
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That video was a nice change of pace. That top picture looked so inviting! It really seemed like those guys were taking it easy and sticking to the back roads. Now that is my kind of ride!š
Iām glad I could join you via video and not as an actual passenger. I absolutely despise highways and go way out of my way to avoid them, but I bravely stayed the distance with you on your journey! šØš
I used to hang out at the Security Square Mall in Baltimore before most of the stores vanished into thin air. Nowadays, I usually venture out to the mall in Columbia, but I have passed by so many abandoned malls that look like literal ghost towns.
Times have definitely changed, and online shopping is the mega-mall of today! Thanks for letting us tag along on your journey. I’m glad you traveled to and fro in one piece!
Happy Saturday, Mike! Enjoy!
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thank you Betty! I am surprised all of that took 15 minutes in a video – i would never upload vids like that moving forward. but i’m glad that you took the highway route with me š
i believe i’ve been to security square mall! and yes, the malls that dotted the i-95 corridor were the very first to undergo the transformation. by 2013, i knew that the trend was irreversible. now, they try to make it so that minors have to be accompanied by adults in an attempt to drum up a calm atmosphere, but I think it’s too late. they needed to have done this decades ago.
we have this huge mall near where i grew up called The American Dream. it’s got a mini ski slope and a water park. but even then, alot of the retail space is shockingly empty!
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This was fun, Mike! Count me as another of a certain age that grew up with malls being THE thing. The fact they’ve largely become a thing of the past may be the one of the most noticeable changes that’s happened in my lifetime, as silly as that sounds.
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yeah! it’s kind of strange seeing the change play out in real time – but what’s even crazier is how they are using it as a residential area. i can’t even imagine living in a mall but there’s a part of me that thinks of it as such a compelling novelty! glad you enjoyed the tour as much as I enjoyed visiting that little town center!
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It’s a treat just to hear you speak in that charming drawl.
-Signed, Obviously Canadian Girl-
haha we are all country hearts stuck in the cosmopolitan present times š
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Very cool – that left hand turn in front of the truck just after the 11 minute mark felt a bit scary! You guys sure like your American flags! (as for the demise of bricks and mortar shops, it’s happening here too in Australia) Thanks for the trip, Linda š
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yes, i hope it oscillates back someday even if its just a fad it would be nice š
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My daughter was watching a video about malls closing over there. There are quite a few of them closing down. In comparison, I’m not sure if we need more malls here but we definitely need larger food courts. Considering the population density, the food court seats 300 or 400. The weekend is a marketplace š¤£.
I like these drives you take Mike, for once I actually saw a busy road. You have such great views to drive through. I’m envious š. I hope your weekend was a good one.
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i’m glad you enjoyed it Iba. i love giving you a tour of life here just like you do there.
food courts are definitely the future for everyone. i would even go as far as to say they will be the true anchor for future retail spaces!
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I agree Mike. Over here, people head to the food court, everywhere else is empty.
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Interesting road trip. I hope you found a Chase Bank during your travels. We occasionally go to a bike trail in Peninsula OH, that is very popular, so popular that their overflow parking gets full. We used to have the option of parking on the street, but guess what they did? They changed the meters so you have to use an app! Well, most of these remain vacant. We won’t use them for the same reason you cited.
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you know Nancy, I’ve thought about it and the thing is I don’t think my core position would differ. I think an app based meter adds complexity to something that shouldn’t be complex. And with the information it sends out, that’s just another issue of privacy. It’s a strange new world we live in that’s for sure!
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I’m not liking this new intrusive world either. š
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