Here's the entire Appalachia Playlist: ukposts.info/slow/PLq-_cmf3H6yrVA4HLAJ9hgylkyIiI4Az6

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 ❤

When a crackhead calls you a thief

Your interview with old man wisdom is legendary. Seriously.

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.

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.

I loved listening to the older man, reminds me of my dad, a great storyteller with a lot of common sense

Stay safe out there when making these great videos Nick!🌟🌠💯

Brian is a common sense man. We need people like him running the government and businesses. He just seems like a fair person.

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.

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.

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.

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 ❤️

Brian is a true American patriot. 🇺🇸 God bless him and his family.

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.

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

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.

Bryan Baird is a very wise man. Always appreciate how Nick gets a local perspective!

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’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.

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.

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.

I love how that gentleman you're interviewing thinks. He makes so much sense

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.

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! 💙💙💙

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.

Wonderful interview! This guy was what a lot us could do better. Life smarts! THANK YOU NICK!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Please do more Appalachia videos!! I would love to see the region during summer!

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.

I love the gentleman's words about respect. Too the point

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........

Thank you for all the nice comments about my dad Bryan!!❤

Ky people are the best people, some has more then others but most are kind and friendly and would help others anyway they can.

These people aren't worth any less than you. They are pretty good-hearted and family oriented people.

Brian should be a commercial for our country! He has wisdom beyond his years!!

Nick - I've watched you so long, you feel like family

God bless this man

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!!

Watching this channel makes me appreciate my little home in the woods. Peace and tranquility is for me.

That hotel definitely lowered there drug screen policies and that guy is the proof of that. What a piece of work

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..

You are a brave man. I am a native Kentuckian and there are places you need to tread lightly.

I loved this video ❤…. thank you 😊

I've lived in this area all my life. You'll find a wide range of people regarding intelligence. If you run into a true redneck lets just say they're provoked easily. If you're passing through & need something, get to the point & don't joke & try to be cute. If they sense you're not from here & don't understand you they might think you're making fun of them & then you're GOING TO HAVE A BAD TIME!.

These rural areas are this way by design. If the system can get the young people addicted to drugs, and take all the opportunity away, they can come in and own the land and their agenda can be complete.

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.

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.

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

Too bad about the tweeker with the anger issues. You handled that extremely well.

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.

His hotel is filthy and he doesnt want the hotel to be exposed for the scum it is!

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.

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..

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.

It's amazing how we can live simple and are happy.

God Bless each of you. ❤😊

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.

Interesting and insightful Appalachia video series. The shutdown of coalmines was a reoccurring topic brought up by many of the people that you interviewed, particularly in West Virginia. Many towns and families are struggling to survive and you're bringing awareness to the issues. Thanks for taking the time to cover the topic.

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 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.

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.

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!

I've had friends who went North to get work in the mills of East Chicago. They were all extremely good people to know. Most if not all went back to Hardin County. A lot of the coal miners from the days of script pay, honestly, they were slaves to the coal company which made the script, paid only in script so the only place they could shop was in the Company Store which was so expensive the people owed them money after shopping. That story is familiar but now it's called the dollar. Listen to Tennessee Ernie Ford's song about those times.

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.

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.

Nick - You are living my dream. I’m a teacher. During my breaks, I travel (via road, because planes aren’t my thing.) It’s my passion - and sometimes, my therapy. My road trips involve stormchasing, photography, sightseeing, and a general curiosity/appreciation for small towns and the people who live in them. Unlike you, I’m too shy to try to interview folks - so I doubt I’ll ever start a YT travel channel. I’ll just live vicariously through you and your boldness. 🙂😍 Keep up the good work!

Hi Nick my suggestion is I always carry a blanket extra sheets and pillows bath towels soap shampoo because you never know

Thanks for sharing 👍

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.

this Kentucky man has a good, kind heart. God bless all sweet people.

In full agreement with taking care of veteran's. Taking each day at a time. Even during the exodus from the dust bowl, many stayed on their properties. Those however, who left for California and the midwest coast eventually prospered and thrived.

I love following pages that show tours through different cultures throughout our great nation. Peter Santonella is my favorite though, bc he truly embraces each culture, and tries to understand the people there despite their hardships. The undertone of your attitude towards some of the issues in KY comes across as very judgemental and negative. We all know that they are struggling, but those people don't deserve to be torn down and only listed for those issues. It's not right. A few bad apples can be found in any neighborhood, but it does not represent the people as a whole. I work in KY once every 3 weeks and I absolutely love the Appalachia people the MOST! They will always make you feel welcome in most instances, and they will never make you feel judged. That guy at the hotel was in the wrong for how he treated you though, I will say that. Just want to encourage you to try to avoid listing so many negative things when speaking about statistics, and show yourself as more positive and uplifting... then people will flock to your page like bigger channels.

I was looking forward to seeing this video, and it didn’t disappoint me. We are blessed to live in America. The Appalachia region has many qualities that we can learn from. Bryan seems like an interesting guy. Thank you, Nick!

The guy at the hotel, wow absolutely insane! Great video, Nick! Keep up the great work!

I would have never guessed this area has drug problems judging from the interaction Nick had with the guy at the motel! 😂

Absolutely incredible! And sad!!