I Went To The Poorest Place In Kentucky: Appalachia Road Trip Day 1
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- Опубликовано: 28 фев 2023
- This is definitely one of the most tragic places in the country.
Your idea of poverty is probably different from mine. But out here is on another level. I’m not sure if they know or even care how poor they are, and the poverty of the place isn’t going to be the only focus. But it’s a big part of what we’ll see here.
It would be three weeks of criss crossing the tiny mountain roads in some of our most isolated communities. There are people back here who have never even left this region before. Some never will.
We’ll be some big cities too. Well, big for here.
As we’ll see, it’s a far different way of life in these twists and turns. The values, the culture and especially the way they view success. You could say it’s the most unique place in the country. And we’re gonna see it all during the dead of winter.
I guess this is gonna to be Appalachia without its make up on.
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This channel is about America!
The best video on this topic!
Here's the entire Appalachia Playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLq-_cmf3H6yrVA4HLAJ9hgylkyIiI4Az6
It says seven of the videos are unavailable and hidden. What's up with that?
Why are they unavailable? 😭
Thank you, Nick Johnson. Will watch all your videos from here in Alberta, Canada. I love seeing how others live in very different parts of "everywhere"! 🙂
What jobs is he talking about? Look at the millions of job over this country that people aren't working at? Hear it every night on the news.
Half of these places you are showing in the video are not even in McCreary County, KY. Some not even in Kentucky!!
Bryan is my dad and is an amazing person he has helped not only his family but so many others. Thanks for all the kind words
He seems like a genuine , decent man, you are lucky.
Bryan is the kind of person that you can chat for hours and still you wanna listening him more. Bryan need his channel to answer question from people around the world about life and other stuff hahaha.
I could sit on the front porch and listen to him for hours. You are surely blessed to have him as your daddy.
I really enjoyed listening to your dad, He is what I CALL GOOD PEOPLE. Your family and community are blessed to have him.
Not gonna lie... he should quit cock fighting then. Its brutal.
I have some news for you, young man. Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements. It's not a benefit either. It's the government repaying us a quarter on a dollar of what they took. I paid into those for your parents entire lives and your entire life. For 54 years I gave a portion of my paycheck each week. In return I get 25% of a living wage. Thank God I saved money my entire life.
Thanks for the advice. 👍👍 I'm young and will start to save.
Should be as we pay into it.
@@dawan301 Put away at least 15% of your gross pay if possible. No matter what, put away something. It's hard now but it will make your elder years much easier. Hopefully by the time you have a pile to invest we will have a functioning government and your investments will earn you a bundle. Good luck!
@@Bob-rd9vd thanks 👍
10/4 & Ditto
Being 20 years behind the rest of the country is not a bad thing! I’m born and raised in North Carolina Appalachia and the way the country is now I would be happy to be 20 years behind
Right/wrong/good/bad or indifferent🤔. The world goes on it's merry way-!!!🤗.
Totally agree
Just think. When the rest of the world ends, you guys will have another 20 years until it ends for you! 😅
What's wrong. You don't like child transgenders, blm riots, and illegals committing crimes against citizens? Something must be wrong with you.
I admire the people of Kentucky they may not be rich in dollar signs but they got good values an pride an love for their family♥️
Most hotels in the world would be incredibly apologetic if a guest found a blood stained quilt and had to take care of it themselves. Calling the police on you for swapping it with one in an unused room? Madness!
*STOP! THIEF!*
I live about 30 miles from Macquarie county that dude is either mad because he didn't get any dope today or his sister wouldn't give him any
Dude was tweakin'. Meth anyone??
@@BJ-qp5st Yep, Sure as hell a tweaker.
@@MagdaleneDivine I wasn't talking about the old dude in the interview I was talking about the geeker at the hotel
I was raised in Eastern Kentucky. We were poor, but mom made sure we were fed and had clean clothes to wear. I remember packing water from a creek to drink,cook and wash with.Cutting wood and busting coal in the winter to heat our trailer. Mom didn't have a lot to choose from when choosing a meal to cook. I ate lots of soup brown beans ( pinto beans) and cornbread. The sad thing is I had some cousins who thought we were rich at the time. I remember mom getting government cheese, some of the best grill cheese sandwiches.We use to make toys that our mom taught us that she made as a child. We would take a corncob and put 3 chicken feathers in the big end and a nail in the pointed end. It made a great throwing dart.Made toy guns out of inner tubes. That would shoot an inner tube out of it. Catching crawdads in the creeks. I love listening to my mamaw and great uncles tell me about their childhood.
Now from what I learned growing up about 5 families ran our part of the county. They kept new business and factories from moving in.They wouldn't let a Toyota engine and transmission factory move in. So Toyota went to W.V.. They try to say they wanted to stay a small rural town, but they wanted to keep the pay rate around minimum wage. So they didn't have to pay more to keep their employees.
I wouldn't trade my childhood with anyone.I had fun as a child,heck we would take cardboard boxes and slide down boom sage on a hill. It was like sledding down the hill in snow.Stay in the hills until dark playing and sometimes looking for bigfoot . I would get whipped if I needed it. I learned if I wanted something I had to work for it. I got a good union job and made a good life for my family.
you remind me alot of my mom and dad thats how they lived. They are from Salyersville Ky.
right, listening to him makes me feel like he's disrespecting people who are genuinely poor and doing what they can, by generalizing and saying things in ways that make it out as simply as they are just lazy and won't get jobs. Or leave their childhood homes and entire families. I'm just saying if you don't have respect for where you are going or even just a basic understanding for how this happened to these people or the economic decline. Then don't bother to come look at the poor poor Appalachians. No body there wants your pity.
@@courtneyhurt6803 I agree with you
Man I'm from the Third World even I won't last long in those conditions what the hell that's not poor that's destitute.
Everytime I see bean on my cafeteria food I throw it
@@courtneyhurt6803 He also doesn't think about how many empty stores are caused by Walmarts , Lowes etc.. People will go over to the next county and shop if they think they can save a dollar or 2.They don't think about the local mom and pop business are dying.You'll find poor people in every county in the country. Heck look at San Francisco.We make due in what we have in life. I feel this guy and some of the comments are degrading.
I'm from NJ but i briefly lived in Eastern Kentucky for a little bit. Its sad the south and east ends of the state suffer from poverty, but their spirits are full there. Ive never met so many nice and welcomig people during my time living there
They don’t suffer from poverty if they have the “Will” power to get out of it, I worked two jobs until I found one that paid more than enough for us to buy a new home and property, it takes will power and people are lazy
It’s not poverty to not collect a bunch of material junk and work non stop to pay for it, some of us “hillbillies “ want just a simple life and be left alone
@@kamerongilbert9715 exactly! God Bless you!
@@kamerongilbert9715 Cant take any of it with you and the best thing you can leave your kids is the knowledge of whats important in this life and the comfort that comes from knowing that you have moved on to receive the reward that God promised through the sacrifice made for us. This life is but the blink of an eye.
I was born and raised in Kentucky and I felt more free and safe than any place I’ve lived in . people are the nicest and giving and I’m always grateful to be born a Kentucky woman because I know how I can live on less and I love the people who raised me and taught the values I’ve grew up with and believe me I would go back in a heartbeat because I love it .
I grew up in Appalachia Kentucky. And it didn’t used to be like this. My whole life I’ve watched the whole region slowly fall apart. The world came in and took hold, and that was the beginning of the end.
The companies came in, developed everything up, stripped the area of its coal, limestone and other resources. And then they pulled out and left crumbling stores and people that had been stripped of their heritage, self sufficiency, and left them to figure it out.
Some did. Most didn’t. And now, most people that live there, have even less trust for outsiders than they did before.
I agree but its the same as walmart does in so many towns
@@tedted4002 or Dollar General.
When the gov't arrives and says "We're here to help", REMOVE them imminently!
noones built anything here
@@lisaparks2387 McCreary County? Or Appalachia Kentucky in general?
if everyone had a neighbor like brian, the country would be a better place. genuine, hard working, no bull s t people are getting hard to find.
Yeah, I'd sure love an illegal cock fighting operation right next to where I live...
Came here to say this !
Moved to the country and now I have 2;)
if everyone had a neighbor like brian, the country would be a better place? You mean the guy that had dozen of animals in cages with the sole intention of having them fight each other to the death for entertainment?
@@TandAwanderings oops didnt catch that. Those were his roosters? Lol.
Well, tbh, my neighbor does have alot of dogs in cages. You might be on to something. I still prefer him than the neighbors I had in the city. They were drug dealers. And on the other side they spoke no english and never once spoke to us in 10 years.
This guy plows my drove for free, feeds our chickens when we go out of town, and lends me a tool, any tool when I need it. Including his tractor.
Blessed. And no I dont care about this guys roosters or my neighbors dogs.
Nick I always enjoy your shows. Thank you. These are greatly fun and interesting how you travel and obviously have a good time showing us.
My mother worked as nurse for the state of Kentucky from 1966-1994. She traveled to all one hundred and twenty counties. She was a native of Floyd County in Eastern Kentucky,. She said the the poorest counties then were McCreary and Elliott. She had five standing rules she used when traveling for the state. 1. Where the state office /health department was located. 2. Where to get gasoline after 5pm. 3. If the country had clean hotels. 4. Where to get a decent meal. 5. When to keep driving to the next county.
That white beard gentleman hit a great point when he said "ain't no more Republicans or Democrats...people don't want to work anymore..." or something close to that.
@CW older people are stuck in their ways. They are mad they are being left out, because they will not adapt.
True, but they also think they deserve a leg up to, because they're white.
@@hoopty. STFU, most older people paved the way for young folks.
That gentleman was also right when he said shutting down the coal industry ruined the area. Which is a shame being as we have the clean burning coal technology to produce power but the climate change knuckleheads have gotten it all shut down and ruined peoples lives in the process.
Everyone can get along while eating at McDonalds
Brian is a a oldschool good man, well mannered and good values. We need more such men. Money does not make men, remember that.
I would question the values of someone who calls themselves a "Chicken Fighter" 🤔 They generally attach blades onto the chickens feet and allow them to fight to the death for money or for fun.
@@chrsmdws1 This isn't the 19th c...guy should be in prison.
He fights chickens. That is all I have to know about his character, plus he keeps them in very bad conditions without the proper shelter or room to roam. He probably does the same to his dogs.
@@mandograssable what about bush clinton obama and biden fighting wars in countries they have nothing to do with. You talk about chickens while these 4 criminals have millions of people killed, including your own young boys sent out there as soldiers.
Chicken fighter trash
I loved listening to the older man, reminds me of my dad, a great storyteller with a lot of common sense
Your interview with old man wisdom is legendary. Seriously.
Ahh Appalachia. I was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky and only moved in the last few years. I worked for the local power company for a bit (AEP) and I got to visit the poorest of the poor first hand. We would see multiple homes sharing electric via extension cords and surge protectors, homes missing entire floors due to fire or flood, children sharing rooms with farm animals, and so much more. It's appalling to see what some of these people are willing to live in. When I was changing electrical meters with a colleague, a young pregnant woman offered to be my girlfriend if I would just live with her and help her with her baby. She had dropped out of high school when she became pregnant and the babies father ran away and her family gave her a broken down trailer to live in but she had no job and no prospects. Just a very sad area that will likely never receive the help it needs to become anything ever again.
Can you imagine what the other two hotels were like if this was the good one?!!! 😳
Some places in America is like a third world country.But, they forget to realize they are “Americans “ and have opportunities if they have the desire to do better.Most American poverty is by choice.
Poor decisions everywhere
Wow that’s sad , I’d rather live in a cardboard box here in California where I currently live 😅
@@yammietits5040 but there is hope for you here because you can afford a home here.
I grew up in this county. I remember when I took my husband back there to show him where I grew up and I remember him say that he expected it to be that rural, but not that poor. I lived in a holler and we had electricity on my side of the road as well as well water and some springs. The other side of the road lacked both, including the church we attended. The hotel you stayed in actually used to be very nice! We took our high school prom pictures there. When the county got a McDonald’s it was pretty crazy because we didn’t have to drive to another county for it. I went to McCreary Central High and lived right between McCreary County and Wayne County. In high school I’d drive home from school and then drive to Wayne county, where there were decent jobs. Seeing the video was a little surreal because I remember the county looking basically like the video showed and I guess I didn’t realize “how poor” it was. Great time growing up with the rivers, nature, and just the peacefulness. I’ve been to 15 countries and 29 states, but the feeling of peace sitting in a field in the Daniel Boone National Forest listening to the wildlife will forever stay in my mind. A much simpler life ❤
❤️
Thank you ❤️
Well then! Hello old friend! Hope you're doing well! It's galimore!
Thank you for your valuable insight as a former resident of McCreary county. There is good and bad anywhere you go in the world. Maybe we just have to look harder for the good sometimes.
I love seeing these mountain towns and back country roads. Just wish you wouldn't stereotype these towns and people as being dumb and hillbillish. People from the mountains are good people and have had a hard life. They didn't ask an outsider to come in and make their homes look bad for others who may want to visit their towns. Show more of the positive side of these towns and maybe more travelers will come through and spend money here that could help these people and help their town to maybe grow.
Not to mention if you are born here, it’s really hard to get out.
I think Nick has shown the good side of these people in his videos.
Agree, the sarcasm rubs me the wrong way. These folks are living their lives the best way they can.
I see parallels with how the English saw and sometimes still see the Irish, Welsh and Scots as being dumb and backward. As Appalachia was settled by many people from those same regions I see it as an extension of that prejudice.
@@justin9489yeah..but getting out sucks too
I moved here a year last December shortly after my wife died. I lived here 50 years ago pretty much across the street from where I live know. I love it here. Yes, a lot of poor people and there's not much to do but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Brian is a common sense man. We need people like him running the government and businesses. He just seems like a fair person.
Maybe I don’t understand, but does he abuse animals for a living?
@@rtagnani I have no idea. Did that come up in the video? I saw the raccoon tails. I was not concerned one way or another. I am from southwest VA. I am used to people who hunt and fish for sport and food. I am not a big meat eater. I was a vegan at various points in my life.
I don't pass judgment on hunters. It is legal. Some counties encourage it for population control. Some people eat the meat of these animals. From the video, Brian appeared to be a stand up guy. I stand by my statements.
any one doubt he has a large hole in his basement ?
@@rtagnani Are you looking for a reason to judge the man and others?
@@dsimon33871 I think Ryan has good reason to wonder if Brian needs to make a living by promoting roosters to fight and kill each other. Can we find other ways to fill our boredom than forcing animals to kill each other or entertain us with their antics in circuses?
Brian is a true American patriot. 🇺🇸 God bless him and his family.
Loved the way you handle your self with that MAD man good on you Nick
What is a 'true American' exactly?
Except the fact he fights roosters...which is illegal and animal cruelty.
What does American patriotism really mean?? America is not good to it's real citizens, just the capitalisits... so the sense of patriotism is futile
@7:15 Being 20 years behind the rest of the country is a blessing, not a curse.
All my family is from KY and I LOVE IT ALL.❤️
That guy at the Motel was seriously psychotic and off his meds. That fellow Brian is one of kind , very intelligent and seems like a good man.
Yeah, he was just awful...
Yeah, he was off his meth, and very unhappy about it.
the motel guy was horrible but Brian--I wonder if he puts metal spurs on his Roosters to shred his opponents.
@@uditfonseka Staging animal fights is illegal in a lot of places. I'm betting the law ignores it there.
Except for the animal cruelty...
When a crackhead calls you a thief
Stay safe out there when making these great videos Nick!🌟🌠💯
I’ve lived in East Tennessee for many years. A lot of the same scenery there as well. As far as church goes, I’ve been to every denomination and even stumbled into one up the holler where the preacher came walking in carrying several wooden crates making a familiar rattling sound. Can safely say that’s the only one I excused myself from as fast as I could. But generally in the Appalachia family comes first. It’s all you really have in this world, everything else is just stuff.
Ssssssssssssssssssssss!
Most people in Kentucky are like Bryan! We are good people! Most people think we are dumb and inbred but that is far from the truth! I’m proud to be a Kentuckian and raised on a coal miners pay.
I'm not one of those "most people" who think that about Kentuckians, as I have always admired your Faith, your closeness, and your perseverance.
The only thing I don't understand is, why don't you take Pride in where you live? Why do you leave your trash laying about? Being poor >should have nothing to do with not keeping your place tidy.
@@deirdrepasko9965 it's not like this everywhere in Kentucky. This guy portrayed us as all white trash it his video honestly pisses me off he comes in an runs down my hometown and some of the things he showed wasn't even here in Kentucky he was showing stuff from Tennessee but I'm still not going to say anything bad about any place some of the businesses he showed have been shutdown for years. And when he talks drugs that's not just a Kentucky issue that's a world wide problem but to talk like we are all trash is slander and I hope they're some way he can get in trouble for this video it's very misleading it is enough to have alot of us here in McCreary county very upset.
He also makes a blanket statement claiming all residents there don't like a certain other race.. Assumes they voted "as far right as possible."
His other vids he doesn't usually interview people such as Kensington, PA(I guess he doesn't have to help flip that place blue)..
He spoke recently of people leaving the big cities (LA, San Fran, etc.) Then he shows Appalachia& what 1 800k house looks like.. Maybe he's trying to get his big city buddies to move there& flip it blue before 2024?
I've always liked watching his videos but now he just seems like an extreme antiwhite.
All the loud ones that stick out are the dumb ones
The owner of the Dairy Bar had a concise summary of the area's woes. His accent was easy on the ears. I'm glad he stayed in his hometown as a merchant. Interesting video on the area.
Bryan seems like a man of good values.
the owner dosnt like my grandpa :(
They have the best fudge brownies sundays on earth! We always love going to the drive in!
@@Blessedhope83 they are pretty great but I don’t got there often
That's what the mountains need another smartass passing judgement on the people who live there.
Your tone is judgemental and offensive.
Also I like that you are helping folks find cheaper places to live. It can be a blessing. I just moved from, Tampa, FL, where a 2 bedroom apt. was $3000 + a month, a 400 sf efficiency $2000, and that did not include utilities. When I moved to FL in 1987 cost of living was some of the lowest in the country. Since there is no income tax, property taxes are often as high as rent. I moved to the Ozarks where cost of living is a fraction of Tampa, Have a nice place to live among really nice people.
Coal towns were exploited on so many levels
Bryan Baird is a very wise man.
Always appreciate how Nick gets a local perspective!
We need a ton more people like Bryan Baird in this effed up world.
Yeah, that guy is totally awesome and wise. Really liked hearing from him. Also, the restaurant owner is great.
what do you think of the cock fighting? maybe dog fighting is better?
@@markkrispin6944 Yeah, definitely need more chicken fighters. 😒
I think you mean he CREATES a local perspective. He only shows the most pathetic side of every town because he says the nice parts aren't interesting - then he adds his own narrative that is over the top to make it even MORE interesting.
I live in Kentucky and seeing that motel employee treat you that way has really bothered me! On behalf of everyone in Kentucky, I would like to apologize and hope that you will come back and explore the rest of this amazing state! 💙💙💙
We didn’t see what led up to that interaction. My gut tells me this asshole that calls us “hillbillies” probably brought it upon himself.
Maybe if you stop voting for Mitch McConnell they’ll think about it
He wouldn't understand better Southern culture.
I live in KY too. I don't feel sorry for these people. If you keep voting for politicians who don't promote your interest you get what you deserve. Obviously, you will never see poor white drug addicts who live off the government on Fox News. That would be against their false narrative of these problems only exist in Democrat run big cities.
@@richmrstonestone like owning people. awesome "culture"
Wonderful interview! This guy was what a lot us could do better. Life smarts! THANK YOU NICK!
I don’t trust any guy like that. He needs to mind his own business.
Loved this trip! Amazing, I really enjoyed the farmer, he was so sharp and happy, I live in Hilo Hawaii, now some would say wow Hawaii, but we have a large Meth problem and so much homeless, I don't think this town would have that, so who's happier? Blessings
I ate at the Dairy Bar, last summer. The people there were some of the sweetest and down to earth people I’ve ever met. I remembers young teenage boy sitting outside reading the Bible. We had two full meals for only $15. The land is beautiful, but the people have been beyond neglected.
The people in Appalachia took the war on poverty to heart. In the 80s, some people were disabled only because they thought they were disabled.
They are neglecting themselves and keep voting against their own interests
@@martinalewis2844Yeah, the Democrats were real helpful with their war on coal without replacing it with anything else. Know what you're talking about before you speak.
@@martinalewis2844sounds like Chicago.
Spot on.
@@martinalewis2844
Brian should be a commercial for our country! He has wisdom beyond his years!!
does he use hard plastic or razors for spurs for the cock fighting to draw more blood? Put that in the commercial.
He reminds me of my Papaw. Makes me miss home lol
Brian would make a better president than the one we got for sure
Where is the government help for this town ? .The government send to other countries , but does help the America people so sad. People being on drugs is a cry for help . Because , people on drugs see no future for themselves . Our ancestors had hope for the future.
I have multiple properties in TN...don't worry, there are plenty of us Brians left...and yes, he should be running the country, I'd got to chuch w/ that dude, but he don't belong to one!
My grandmother was from mcceary in the daniel boone parkway area and seeing this brings back lots of memories from from when I was a kid going to visit family there with her all the time.
Born and raised in our family holler in South Eastern Kentucky, been all over the world and no other place I would rather be. Drugs were brought in by the coal mines and just like when the coal companies left they left us with alot of problems, the pill problem part of it. But not all of us are like that, my family work hard, raise most of what we eat, and keep our word and will give our shirt off our back for anyone. I will always be a proud Kentuckian
I lived in KY for 5 years and they are the most giving, take care of ur neighbor type people I've ever met. They also hold a grudge for the rest of their lives. Lol it's a funny combination of personality characteristics ❤️
Hatfield and McCoy is example of later. But- yes on former. Thanks 😊
Most are full of themselves
I've lived in this exact area my entire life. It's a very "give respect, get respect" mentality. It should be that way everywhere. It's very easy to not be an asshole. That mentality is why I'll never leave here. It's a beautiful way of life
@@briang5929 Get real, that region is sheer goddamn misery. That's great that you love it, but with more than half the counties on welfare or methamphetamine (or both) as means to deal with said misery, you're not very convincing lol.
It's a very Celtic trait. Family comes first, visitors will receive a warm welcome but if you wrong them in any way it will not be forgotten until the score is settled.
Please do more Appalachia videos!! I would love to see the region during summer!
May is best!
From WV, my grandmas trailer still looks bad even in the nicer weather 😂😂
celticfiddle7605 Bandwagoner
It's nice in the whole one week of spring 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Autumn in the ridges of PA is beautiful. Late October.
Bryan gets it! He’s someone I’d like to hang out with on the front porch to have a long chat over some cold drinks. You can look at him and tell he has done well in life and takes care of himself and his family.
My family is from McRoberts, Letcher County. There are a lot of smart and good people from Kentucky. Cody Johnson, my maternal grandfather and one of the best men to ever live moved us to Florida and did very well building houses. I'm proud to say there is a street in town named after him.
This world NEEDS more Brian's!! I wish I could sit on the porch with a cup of coffee with him and just listen to his wisdom. He is an amazing man!!
Chicken fighter trash
@@daveyvane9431 killer beard though
LOL ! LOL !@@daveyvane9431
Boring trash
He's definitely right about the politics!
The gentleman in the diner wearing the gray baseball cap should run for public office in my opinion. He's seen enough of the outside world to know the difference and has a common sense approach to life.
He already has run for judge executive (like a mayor for somewhere that doesnt have cities, not enough people for a city) and he lost, haha
He’s a pastor I think that had a lot to do with that
Also done with the bullshitiness in both parties
@@cl0wnc0llege38 _"....and he lost, haha"_
.....What's so funny about that?
@@cl0wnc0llege38 "...and he lost, haha"
.....What's so funny about that?
I am from Southeastern Kentucky, not from this county in the video but one that is similar. I hate that you had to encounter someone like that at the hotel, which is unacceptable. I do want to say that I now live in central KY. The attitudes of the public are so cold here in the city. (I’m just not used to it although it has been 5 years) Yes, I want to go back and live in a small town, I want a home with more than an arm’s length between the homes. Not to mention a place with less life-threatening crimes. (although they do occur in small towns) No, I do not want to live in poverty or the deterioration you see in this video. There is a company that resides in EKY that also has an establishment here in the city, I used to work for the one in EKY. The pay was less than $8.00 an hour, the same position here in the city pays $12-14 based on experience. (majority of the corporations are like this in EKY) The problem I have faced in wanting to move back to my hometown lies mostly in the pay offered. It is considerably lower, unless you are in the medical field. I am one of the few who witnessed drug addiction within my community and chose not to go down that path, I started working as soon as I was able to, even then I struggled to stay afloat. Research the rates on electricity/the cost of living and compare that to what folks make annually. Yes, more job options are needed and yes, the drug addiction/abuse issues need to be addressed. (the system in place now is not working) The decaying buildings need attention as well. Much of that problem is tied in with old land passed down within families who cannot afford to demolish the structures. Often for improvements to happen the landowner must sell to large corporations who do not have the community's best interest in mind. The majority of the population from my hometown are retired people that are not looking for work, but they worked their whole lives (often before the age of 18) in the coal industry. That leaves the younger generation with jobs that will not even pay the monthly utilities. Often the younger generation will get a college education and move away for better earning opportunities. I miss my home with each bone in my body, I so desperately want to go back and help make improvements to the community, but I am only one person, and I will most likely be fighting a losing battle. This is in no way a testament from all folks in rural areas, this is solely my personal experience and opinion.
That rooster fighter was one solid guy! We need more like him and his frame of mind, we'd be alright. Awesome footage, thank you.
He's a likeable guy, but no we don't. Cock-Fighting is ABHORRENT and inhumane behavior. He also needs an education on political process and public policy. Truth & Facts matter.
Thank you for all the nice comments about my dad Bryan!!❤
Oh my gosh!! Can you have your dad email me Nicky?? I'm NickJohnsonNC18@gmail please do I'd love to talk to him again and keep in touch!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
i need neighbors like him, instead of the white trash dopeheads that took over my neighborhood!
I like your dad. He seems to be a very straightforward, no-nonsense, no B.S. man. Not an ounce of being politically correct, but rather down to earth.
Your dad is adorable!!!
I loved the rooster talk 🐓
i live in McCreary County & while a lot of this is true, not all people here are on drugs and welfare. you failed to show all of the good the county holds. Some of the most kind hearted people live here, & would’ve gave you the shirt off their back if you needed.
So true
Nobody, said ALL THE PEOPLE, are on drugs, but the Stats show too big a percentage are on drugs, and are unemployable. Political Corruption sets a terrible example for all the citizens.
You are absolutely right! I was just telling my husband the exact same thing, some of the nicest people in the world live in Mccreary and Wayne counties in KY. I was raised in Ohio, but this is the area my family is originally from and where my mom spent half of her childhood until my grandparents moved to Ohio. We visited family at least a couple of times a year when I was growing up and I still go down there every few years as an adult. Also, I would like to add, the area is absolutely gorgeous, Cumberland Falls, Daniel Boone National Forest, and Big South fork, all are stunning.
@@johndoe-ss9bz exactly
Nick did show a lot of the good side and a lot of good people I thought watching this video. I actually have a more positive impression of the place watching this video than I would've just reading statistics or assuming stereotypes. What do you believe Nick left out here?
Surprised to see a Williamson Heating and Cooling sign there. It was a big furnace company back in the 70s and was big in the northeast. Great video.
Such a beautiful place and real people🙏
When I moved to Tennessee last Summer I found the people to be very polite and mannerly. If questioned, they do have an opinion and I found them to be refreshingly strong minded and sensible. I like Tennesseans. They respect the Bible and most believe in God. And yes, family is very important. In the town I chose up near the Kentucky border it has a neat and clean downtown. Plenty of small businesses. We have everything we need. Got a job right away! Just went up to a business and met the owner and said I wanted to work! Hired right away. We are very happy and never want to move.
what town?
Which town? My mom is building a retirement home right on the KY/TN border and I love it
😊💙
I was driving from Washington State (where I am from) to Alabama for a job a few years ago. We started the last part of the trek just past the south of Illinois, driving into and thru Kentucky in the early morning. I was so stunned, we had to pull off the side of the road and just LOOK. Never seen anything so pretty-- the sun was coming up light orange, pink, and yellow. The hills were a bright green, very bright blue and sort of light purple. Stray sprouting cotton here and there off the side of the road with the pink on it.
I've never been east of the Mississippi before then in my life, and had assumptions that it wasn't much. It turned out to be one of the prettiest states I have EVER seen.
Kentucky in the morning, early summer, is one of the most beautiful places in the world (and I have travelled out of the U.S). Will take your breath away fr.
Love it
It’s why it’s called THE BLUEGRASS STATE “KENTUCKY “ 🎉❤🎉😂
@@ritaanderson-qt9vz yes, but he said himself he was going there in winter and supposed it to be very green at another time of the year :) I suggest that he go in late Spring or summer. He really would be glad he did.
Agree ❤️
@Kernica1 Garden of the gods and Giant City state parks are incredibly beautiful.
Ky people are the best people, some has more then others but most are kind and friendly and would help others anyway they can.
Not in my experience. I’m glad we left - too many meddlers and false Christians who don’t obey God’s word.
I love the gentleman's words about respect. Too the point
These people aren't worth any less than you. They are pretty good-hearted and family oriented people.
They’re not very welcoming though. I stopped for gas in Whitley City, KY and was accosted by a methhead for being a biracial family with New York plates. Why treat people like this?
Thank you for your comment this video actually makes me upset most of us a hard working family people but he can show all the run down places he wants but to portray our entire county as run down druggies is enough to make someone fighting mad drug problems is country wide I'm not going to sit here and pretend that everyone in our area are hard working down to earth good people but the majority of us are and we take pride in working hard and taking care of one another.
@@redcomic619 I'm sorry this happened to you we do have some people here that aren't so good but that's really everywhere. I can tell you most people here are good down to earth people. it's sad that a few bad apples can make people believe we are nothing but trash here. I can speak for the majority and say most of us would have welcomed you here I believe in treating everyone with respect nobody deserves to be treated like they aren't welcome but I know exactly what your saying and can probably tell you the gas station you stopped at I'm sure it had gambling machines.
@@tkfarms4337 he says everyone can see the nicer parts of an area but he wants to show the lower depths and how the "poor" live. So it paints a picture that creates a false image of any place. Never really shows anything but the destitute.
@2nd Place Since 1865 Extremely different. Founding stock > immigrants
Watching this channel makes me appreciate my little home in the woods. Peace and tranquility is for me.
Just bought 10 acres in central Kentucky. Can't wait to build a house on it
@@richardhanes7370 Hope the folks that live on that road don't resent you. Someone from a small town, some people resent new people moving in that aren't from there. Peace. Go and meet your neighbors! Even if they cpl miles away!
You need to show the Lake Superior and North Shore drive up to Grand Maris, MN. You I know would really enjoy showing us there.
What’s crazy is that I agree with a lot of what that gentleman said being from a huge city like Detroit as i get older my opinion on life has really changed.
Bryan is surprisingly worldly, intelligent and most of all NEUTRAL.....I'm an Air Force Veteran and him saying the country should take care of its Veterans first is very very empathetic and wise. And what he said about Politics should be sent to Washington......about working TOGETHER. We need more like him........
It wasn't that long ago when Democrats and Republicans got together to hash things out. But after Newt Gingrinch showed up with his way or the highway mentality, politics has become very divisive.
There's something called New World Order which controls Both Parties and doesn't care about our country or it's citizens, they only care about money, their prestige and material things in life.
He ain't neutral. He's on camera wearing Trump hats
So sad these people are going to vote for someone who thinks they are scumbags and wants to keep them that way. Do they realize Trump wants to take away their benefits and would execute them if he could?
@@traceytrotter9934 Where's your proof? And whom is Your Choice instead?
You are a brave man. I am a native Kentuckian and there are places you need to tread lightly.
Absolutely, and if you see driveways going up in the mountains, do not go back there. Those people DO NOT want you bothering them or snooping around. You could be staring into a double barrel...
Absolutely
Sensato, isso serve para todos os lugares.
I live in Mccreary Co, a little over a mile up the road from the area you in, in Marshes Siding, and you have made it a point to film all the bad shit, there’s always filth anywhere you go, you should do a film showing the beauty of the county. In fact if you ever want to come back I will host you around the country. We might be a little behind the rest, but that’s the way we like it.
I’ve been to “Whitley” as the NS railroad calls it to video trains. It certainly is a very poor area. I enjoyed that chat you had with Brian. He makes a lot of sense.
All of my relatives are from Eastern Kentucky ( Clay, Estill and Jackson counties), and though I've never lived there, I spent a lot of time there ( since the mid '70s)...over the years, I met a lot of truly wonderful people. No one like that jerk at the hotel.
Each season has its own type of beauty, if you ask me. Winter makes you appreciate Spring! Early Spring and Fall are the best times, in my opinion.
My grandparents lived in a house built into a hillside.
Those little churches are often " first responders" of a sort when it comes to natural disasters. ...they walk the walk, not just talk the talk..
I'll bet you had a lot of fun there.
They are doers of God’s word, not hearers only…
Social Security is not an entitlement! We all work for it and pay into it our whole working lives, just so you know!
Exactly 💯
That interview at the end was so good. The part where he talks about no compromise in politics anymore, it's either one extreme or the other there is no in between.
I'm a truck driver livin in Lexington KY and i drive through eastern KY from time to time and i love eastern Kentuckiens.
This makes me sad to watch. My mom was born in Whitley County (next to McCreary county). She managed to move to California (while it was still the Golden State) while many of her family stayed around. I remember Cumberland Falls being so beautiful in the late in 1990 or so when we had a family reunion there. Its a much different look and feel now. I will say that Brian is a gem. In the few times I've been around there the last few years its people like him that remind of how the area was way back when.
Cumberland Falls still looks the same. Maybe it looks different to you because this was filmed in the winter.
I just love this bearded man. He’s 💯 correct. He’s smarter than most ppl here in California that’s for sure. I will pray for his best to happen for him. God bless him.
One of my favorite books is the story of Abraham Lincoln's life. He was born in Kentucky. There's such a sweetness about the life as it was 200 years ago in rural Kentucky. Log cabin life where people raised gardens and made everything they needed. Corn pone and pawpaw trees.
Mr Baird you hit it right on the nail. It's all gone down. The tubes.
People like Brian can make this country better.. Having respect for his fellow people and minding his own business..May Jesus bless him and his family..
My grandmother was from Kentucky and had a poverty mindset her entire life. She was Baptist and was proud of being poor. When we gave her presents she gave them back. She had little education and lived in a shack. She never felt comfortable having money. Poverty was her identity as well as being a Christian.
Sounds like being Russian.
@@Mr-zw2tt Dostoyevsky approves this comment 😂
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God
@@elimlinrr6898 Amen!
Just padmouthed the best woman you'll ever know, you should be ashamed, if you grewup poor which you never you'll never understand your granny.
I live in a small town in Ohio. Its within Appalachia. We have Amish community here. We have several restuarants, even a Walmart Supercenter. We moved away in our 20s because of little job opportunity. We lived in SW Florida for 25 yrs. But we moved back 15 years ago.
I love how that gentleman you're interviewing thinks. He makes so much sense
Am from Nairobi Kenya and still wondering why this people are homeless in this Powerful Country with rich people...May Our Good Lord Remember them all.....Keep on Praying for them.
Because of Yuppie White America
It has everything to do with Government Greed and nothing to do with other people being rich
@@adamcaldwell2517 Noted Adam...but the rich people can also help lather support the poor people.
It’s not whit peoples fault. It’s the government’s fault. We send Billions to other countries while he have problems here that never get addressed.
@@lucirob9474 May our Good Lord intervene and remember the homeless people and I know it is tough to survive during Winter seasons...More Love from Kenya and still Praying for homeless.
Too bad about the tweeker with the anger issues. You handled that extremely well.
Glad you at least looked at the Big South Fork Scenic yard for a brief moment. It’s a bright spot, at least for me.
I loved this video ❤…. thank you 😊
My family were some of the first settlers of Appalachia since the Revolutionary War. Then my grandpa had to leave the hills of Tennessee in the 1920s because there was no way to make a living. Then about 20 years ago I traveled to TN for the first time. When I met my second and third cousins, the first thing they did was pressure me to attend their churches. When I declined, they didn’t want to have anything to do with me. They insulted my home, Maryland, as being full of depraved people. I said that Maryland actually has a lower divorce rate than Tennessee, and they got spitting mad. Bottom line, they’re courteous at first, but then they get super-defensive.
I do religion like the Bryan in the video. Don't push your religion on me and I won't push my beliefs onto you.
@jbar518 How is declining to attend a church 'supporting Satan'? Absurd.
I've realized that with the hardcore Texans. If you're not the "right" kind of Christian, are from Yankee territory, or anywhere from the West Coast, you're good as dead to them. Funny thing is Texans aren't a whole lot different than Californians. I pointed it out to them and you should have seen the steam coming from their heads. I also pointed out their religious hypocrisy. Their horns started to show.
My family settled in Kentucky before the country left england. They were long hunters with Daniel Boone.
@@jbar518 are you familiar with the Christian mantra "turn the other cheek" or "Do unto others..."? Christian's are supposed to give aid to anyone... friend or foe. But not that any of this argument means a damn thing as ALL religions are make-believe. Invented century's ago, to keep the simple-minded/uneducated people in-line/God fearing. Wouldn't want to burn in hell for eternity!!!... Remember... Trump loves the uneducated!!!
If everyone just stopped the BS, realized there is no God, Allah, Muhammad, etc... just us humans on this earth and treated everyone as we'd like to be treated, we'd be 7,000,000,000+ times better off...
I spent my summers with my grandparents in Hazard.. they always had a garden and canned their vegetables and fruits! My grandpa had beehives and the honey was the best! He would go fishing and bring fresh fish and at times turtles! I loved listening to the stories from the hill people how they grew up. My grandma had her first child in back of covered wagon why they were moving closer to her moms house. Loved sitting on the swing and listen to my grandpa stories
I lOVE Hazard Kentucky!
I would listen to Mr. Baird again and again…He is proof that we shouldn’t judge a County by its cover. Smart, wise man. And others in this episode also.
Rooster fighting is a bloody, cruel, sick thing to partake in.
Absolutely incredible! And sad!!
What’s crazy is in the 80’s -early 90’s McCreary didn’t look like this. It was much more like a little mountain town. The pills got bad in the 2000’s, which forced the county to pump suboxine into every region, which of course forced everyone to turn towards meth. It’s really sad. I grew up there, was raised there , up on rattlesnake ridge. My family is still there, someday I’ll be burried on that mountain, .
Not everyone in The county is dope heads, there are some of the finest folks you could ever meet along them hills and hollers, it all depends on where you look. McCreary is like anywhere else on earth, you’ll find what your looking for.
I'm from Louisiana and I thought your video on La was an accurate portrayal of the poverty that I guess we've sadly gotten used to. But this is just heartbreaking. Thanks for making the video. Maybe it'll help change things for the better.
It ain't that bad here, he just showed the abandoned houses and businesses. He needs to go back to where he came from and quit talking trash about this place.
Thanks for sharing 👍
Brian makes a whole lot of sense to me I'm sure more than he realizes, a lot of people could learn a whole lot from him he is a wise man.
This whole image reminds of my country Latvia. After the collapse of the USSR all the major production was closed in Latvia and people not only lost their ideology but also their means to live. This views of isolation, abandoned and decaying industrial areas and neighborhoods, I grew up in that. I now live in the UK in also a post industrial city, it has some drugs and poverty issues but nothing close to what I experienced back in Latvia in the 90-s and early 00-s and it's pretty much a decent life here.
The guy in the cap and the other bearded man are the salt of the earth. They look like they have actually aged better than most ppl here in the city . They look at peace and just good moral men. I pray for the very best for them.
A good moral man fighting roosters? Are you kidding me? That man fights roosters which is illegal. He probably grows marijuana or makes meth which of course is illegal. Then of course he's on welfare on the public dole taking my tax money that I work for. Good moral man salt of the Earth? Ha! I hardly think so.
I'm from McCreary, the majority of the folks there are all like that, if you get a flat in mccreary 8 people will stop to change your tire. I don't feel like it was portrayed accurately. Don't get me wrong plenty are poor but the majority would still make sure you've had a good meal and some good laughs.
I was thinking how relaxed and young he looks
I Truck For 50 Years Seen the USA and Canada Seen a Lot I Must Say You Put On A Great Show Take Care 10-4
its like this all the way up into Pennsylvania and southern NY also....there are some people with money but the areas face several challenges
Thanks for shining a spotlight on us here in Southeastern Kentucky. I live in Knox County a couple counties east of McCreary County. The income gap between here and the other regions of the state are incredibly drastic, with most people here not even bringing in 10k a year. There's buildings falling apart everywhere, trash thrown on the side of the road, druggies and meth heads up every backroad. It's pretty insane here, but you can find good people with good values like Brian, Mark, and those 2 church boys. Keep up the great work mate!
Ok James!
Dam it..10.000 a year how can you survive
@@brianmatthews4149 Mostly off of Food Stamps and Social Security with a lot of old timers being more self-sufficient by growing their own gardens and chopping down firewood. That's how my Uncle is anyways.
Edit: Also forgot to mention, a lot of people sell drugs here soooo yeah...
Mitch McConnell should be ashamed of himself! He’s one of the wealthiest men in congress. He should have gotten some manufacture companies and businesses in Kentucky. I’m so sorry to see how Kentuckians are suffering!
@@bbe3034 or the lyndsey graham or j KENNEDY of LOUSIANA..
this Kentucky man has a good, kind heart. God bless all sweet people.
Nick - I've watched you so long, you feel like family
What a lovely hotel attendant.
Nick you really put on a great video , it is an eye opener for us to see the crumbling of this nation. I wish I had all the answers.
Bryan, is a great person. I have known him and his family for years. He is one of the most honest person you will meet.
Cheryl - if you see him again ask him to email me! NickJohnsonNC18@gmail
@@NickJohnson will do,
Can you please give me the address to that Dairy bar there ? Appreciate it !
McCreary county also has the Blue Herron historic mining town and tipple run by the National Park Service as well as the tourist train from Stearns. There was some lumber - mainly RR ties - being loaded at Pine Knot, but I'm not sure if that is still happening.