15 Reasons Appalachia Might Not Exist One Day

Every single Congressman, Senator and our President need to ride with you Nick to see what our country has become. I guarantee none of them have any idea that many parts of our country are worse than the third world. What a damned disgrace! Thank you Nick.

The coal mining and drug companies have squeezed every last drop of money out Appalachia.

I’m glad you do these videos because it shows the world how our countries are so so fallen apart absolutely falling apart to nothing left is so sad some of us wouldn’t know unless videos like this are out there

"We give all this money to other countries, and our own nation looks like this. " I would like to add that the state governments and the local governments also have a responsibility about the situation in certain areas, if not even more than the federal government, who is responsible for the "big" topics like health care, defense and foreign policy. While i'm not living in the US (Germany), due to my personal engagement in local politics and my experience with federal states like Germany and the US, i can say that a lot of these problems can only be solved on a local level or by the state government. These people have to be hold accountable. It's a shame how local and state politicans have abandoned these places and towns and i feel sorry for everyone who trusted these incompetent people.

There was a problem, the young man could not speak his mind, he may have worried about retribution. That is a problem today. We need to be able to have civil discourse to solve problems.

Thanks Nick. Appalachia is a region that stretches from Northern Alabama to the Southern Tier of New York State. There are most definitely variations within this region. Where I am located in Central PA is far more prosperous than most of West Virginia or Eastern Kentucky. Yes, we have closed mines but there is a thriving agricultural sector as well as Natural Gas, lumber, and a plethora of small industries. There are actually plenty of jobs available. A local paper mill starts at $17/hr. and cannot get people. My income is about $72k/yr. In Appalachia, you can live like a minor aristocrat with such an income. If you like the outdoors (Boating, hunting and fishing, or just hiking) the vast stretches of public land cannot be beat. There is so much state forest land in PA it is actually greater than Yellowstone NP in number of acres. It's not for everyone but.............. I would NEVER trade my current life for ANY amount of money to live in a major metro area. I know that there are those who sneer and laugh at the people of Appalachia........ that's ok, whatever makes them happy.

Nick, from an extremely loyal subscriber in Livingston Parish Louisiana(county of about 100,000 folks)I have never seen such poverty in my life. However, if you are retired, want to buy 2 acres and a fully renovated house in the marshlands for $120,000 and retire like me, this is your destination. If you want to get out of New Orleans and Memphis (my crime ridden home town) this is for you. These are some of the greatest most compassionate people I have ever lived around. I realize money is not everything. Safety at night when you lie down for bed, never locking your doors and don't worry about your vehicle getting stolen is everything. Love you man to death, Greg Adams, Springfield, Louisiana. PS you must be heavily insured like I am due to the fact I live in a flood zone.

Being born & raised in Southern Appalachia (SW Virginia), all I wanted was to get away from here! Now at 53 years old I just can’t imagine living anywhere else! You’d have to be born & raised Appalachian to understand that. Thanks for a great video brother.

Loved what the coal miner had to say during your interview with him! I'm all for keeping as many jobs as we can in the US : )

I'm an East Tennessean eho is proud of my heritage. My family helped build America, from the early 1770s, coming from Alsace on the Robert and Alice to Philadelphia. They were poor German immigrants who have contributed as well as benefited from the liberty of our great country. Some think holding on to the values of faith in God and self reliance are backward. The drug addiction and poverty problems you see across America aren't a repudiation of traditional values. It's what happens when you abandon them.

The mountains of West Virginia are just gorgeous! Such a beautiful State!

I grew up middle class in WV, and there are plenty of nicer neighborhoods to. I had a wonderful childhood with a large park and endless forests to play around in. I don't think I could have asked for a better place to grow up, and schools I went to were pretty good. They didn't have the best facilities, but the teachers cared, and there was some sense of community. Poverty is a bigger problem in WV than most states, and that's really just the result of the world turning away from coal power and automation of those industries really. Coal was the one big thing that made WV, and as that declines, the state goes with it. WV doesn't have a lot of flat land, so it can't be agricultural powerhouse. Building on hills and mountains is more expensive in general, so there's a larger infrastructure cost to bare. Given the lack of opportunities, many young people leave for other states, leaving it with an older population, and a lack of people to even need to maintain what's already there. It's in a slow death spiral, which really wears on the morale of the population there in general. When you've got little to do and not much hope, I guess drugs would become a huge problem. I never saw much of the drug problem personally though. I don't know what could be done to bring WV back. You have some chemical industry along the river, where it's convenient for water access for transportation and use, as well as the rail that tends to follow the river. There's probably about as much of that as you can get though, and that with what's left of the coal mining is what keeps the state going. Coal power probably isn't going to see a resurgence. You could probably move in some more manufacturing, except we're mostly exporting that overseas these days. If you could keep the smarter youth around, you could move in some information industry, but that's a chicken and egg problem. It's a tough problem and a lot of the US is in the same boat. We're probably doomed until we decay enough to be cheap enough to bring back manufacturing or AI drives us to a post scarcity economy.

This driving through America videos are so chill even if cities are poor and seem hopeless. I enjoy this content very much.

I've been working on my husband's genealogy dating back to the 1700s. His ancestors landed in Boston, MA when they could not make a living in Ireland. Then they moved to Kentucky when his people saw better opportunities out there. Right about the time of the Civil War, many of his ancestors made their way out of Kentucky and out to Missouri. When they weren't cutting it in Missouri, they moved to California in the 1920s. Most of his ancestors stayed in the South & Mid-west no more than a generation or two, but not more. It's the great American migration story. Most Americans have had to stay on the move for survival. Some have been able to stay put by connecting to bigger communities or cities. Rural living is brutal, unless you have a means to support yourself independently. Sadly, many of those living in the Appalachian area are still waiting for coal mining to return, but the reality is that it won't ever come back. They need to accept & move on just like their ancestors.

Nick you are probably the one Yankee who gets it. You grow up like this and you never get over it. It's like you are from another world when you go down the mountain.

What touches me the most is, if you noticed, the American flags everywhere! Someone should care for these people! Don't you think? Anastasia from Greece🇬🇷 God bless America and Greece.

God bless Josh and all the Coal Miners Thanks for keeping the lights on.

greetings from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷

Love the Appalachia videos, Nick! This guy never fails to put a smile on our face ❤

Here's my Entire Appalachia Trip Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq-_cmf3H6yrVA4HLAJ9hgy… And if you need help finding a place to move, I do consulting. I can help you pick where to move and get you a real estate agent, too. Email me! NickJohnsonNC18@gmail.com/