Hey guys. I wanted to address the content of this video as after three years it's now showing up in a lot of folks' recommended videos and getting a ton of views. At the time that I posted this video, the channel had less than 1,000 subscribers and most videos had views in the hundreds. The majority of subscribers were geographers and nerdy folks interested in places. I was able to use terms like "ghetto" and "third world" knowing that viewers would put those terms in context as slang. But with this video now being tossed around the political media circles and being recommended to folks who watch a lot of political videos, many people are pouncing on it as a political tool. "Of course these places suck, they're Democrat cities", or "Of course these places suck, they're Republican states". I take pride in this channel being above politics and cringe when videos are used to push an agenda. I could've definitely presented the info in this video better and more professionally, although I do stand by the actual content. Specifically for Chicago, I have posted a new video that addresses some of what I spoke about here, and how I myself am partly to blame for some misguided opinions of Chicago. If you're interested in a new (and frankly, much better) overview of Chicago, please do check out my more recent video on the city. ua-cam.com/video/ckCoFSQgeP4/v-deo.html
I appreciate you ❤️ A man that stands by his work and words, but not too prideful to be self-aware or aware of others. And because of this, I am subscribed! Keep up the good work.
Well said and agree. Poverty is rampant in both Red and Blue states. To say it's the fault of one party is inane. Neither party has fixed it in either Blue or Red States
My truck broke down in one of what was probably the poorest areas of Southern West Virginia. I managed to coast into a small town, but it was Sunday morning and nothing was open but a convenience store. The town appeared to be a whole lot of nothing. My truck was full of expensive gear (telescopes, computers and camping gear), so I couldnt just lock it up and come back the next day. Anyway, the girl in the convenience store called to one of the auto shops in town, and the owner skipped church, came in and fixed my truck. When I went to pay him, he said 'No charge' because he saw the veteran license plates on my truck. I insisted on paying, but he wouldnt budge. Nicest and kindest people Ive ever seen in my life. Since then, Ive realized that many of the most charitable people youll ever meet are also some of the poorest. It still blows me away that people would be that nice to a stranger.
I had to get gas in southern WV and was treated like trash. No response even when I greeted them and nasty looks. I’m a black guy, and I’m not saying they are racist but they sure weren’t friendly.
I been to 46 states and I agree the poorest people in Louisana where the nicest to me. The rudest where in Hollwood and in wealthy parts of L.A. The farm people of the midwest where ones I also liked a lot.
Of all the US road drifters you are simply the best. No smug sarcasm, no over the top mocking. You could have had a field day with these places but instead presented an excellent sober rendering. Always interesting and unique views. Dog's adorable as well.
I agree... and the content was both interesting and insightful, without a lot of time-filling fluff. I usually don't even bother viewing any video that is a list like this, the top ten whatever or 8 worst whatever... I usually pass on these because they are either overdramatized or sensationalized or just pure garbage content... this was a pleasant surprise, subscribed because I find geography interesting and you deliver good solid no-nonsense content. thanks!
Well said. I was struggling to come up with a paragraph That summarize my thought about this video and then saw that you had written the perfect encapsulation.
The people in Richwood, WV really touched my heart with their kindness in 2016 a couple months after landslides buried much of the town, yet they pulled together and still held their summer parade. A damaged church offered me a free burger, a disabled resident befriended me and told me all about his family roots. I’ll never forget my humbling and positive experience there.
The problem with West Virginia is that the people refuse to leave. I am from Culloden and left in 1952. Ghettos are caused by lazy uneducated people. Yes lazy. Few of the poor even have library cards. You can read your way to an education for nothing. It's free. 20 years ago, I read a book and got a job making $345.
You know…….y’all must be white, because I’ve never been treated well in places like Richmond or Ashland. That’s where I saw my first skinhead with nazi tatts. Pretty impu
Just reiterates that "money doesn't make good people." I grew up in church, and have noted that we are often better when we're humble. Sadly, humbling experiences are what put us there. Success isn't everything. Being kind and good is.
My daughter went to Pine Ridge reservation, she celebrated her 15th birthday there. She made friends. She enjoyed meeting the people, but she told me how poor it was there. We aren't rich or middle class ourselves... I'm glad you talked about Pine Ridge
My hometown is on a Native American reservation in Arizona. My mother made the decision to move my brother and I to the city for better educational opportunities and to avoid the rampant poverty that was all around us. This meant leaving my grandmother behind but she wanted her sons to excel, which we did. Today I live a very comfortable life thanks to those opportunities my mother gave me, and I am forever thankful to her for this.
My grandmother worked as a teacher at one of the Navajo boarding schools just off the rez. Said the folks would rather not see their kids for weeks or months at a time, knowing they would be fed, clothed, and receive a better education than anything the rez had to offer.
It’s such an interesting phenomenon, how some of the poorest places contain some of the kindest hearted people. One year my brother and I got stuck in a rural Appalachian town during a snowstorm trying to get to a larger resort town. We were helped by countless local people at several points along the way. I will never forget it.
My daughter-in-law had a business trip to Chicago so my son went with her. One day, he decided to take the train out to a car museum. As the train got farther away from the business district, the sketchier it got. There was an elderly black gentleman sitting across from him on the train and he noticed my son was getting nervous. He asked him where he was trying to get to. My son told him and then the man said “Son, you look like you got a few dollars in your pocket. I suggest when this train stops you get right back on one going back into the city”. That’s what my son decided to but when he got off, he didn’t know where the station was that he needed. He was nervous about walking around and it was starting to rain. My son then saw a policeman and went over to ask him for directions. The officer had my son get in the car and the officer drove him to the correct train station he needed.
It ain't that bad... As anywhere, yes any where always be aware of the surroundings... Cuz, the best neighborhoods don't mean the safest...and ain't no trains out there...🤔🤔🤔 to get away...
@@moralfortitude...2217 Bruh. Let me tell you right now statistically Chicago is way more violent than most cities. As it stands now it is a whopping 67% more dangerous than the national crime average. It also had the highest number of homicides in the ENTIRE country in 2022.
Back in the early 90s, when I was a young naive kid from Portland Maine, I took a job as travelling salesman and was able to "see America" After a few months I found myself working downtown Chicago, and got lost , on foot, after entering a highrise building and exiting the wrong side. After a few blocks, I was in an area of such decay , it was surrealistic . Block after block of silent abandoned buildings, stripped cars, garbage, needles ,empty crack ampules and a general absence of humanity ...a Ghost Town in the middle of a Major City and I stuck out like Casper! Eventually I found a sm store, that was open (despite it's outward appearance) & was fortunate enough to find that owner was more aware of my danger than I was as a dumb white kid. He insisted I stay inside his store till I could get a ride outta there. He also suggested I remove my gold cross necklace and watch, keep them in my pockets, move my wallet to my front pocket and never return. I gained some valuable wisdom that day . * Cheers to that unknown gentleman. 🍸👍
Back in my more open-to-new-experiences years, before I had an automobile, I hated taking buses, so I used to hitchhike occasionally . . . mostly in suburban and exurban NJ and I never had a problem. This was in the 1970's. 5 years later, I owned an automobile and would occasionally pick up hitchhikers. Mostly because I was bored driving alone, and probably because I was empathetic to those who didn't own an automobile. I did this once on a weekend trip from DFW headed East towards Louisiana and picked up a smooth-talking, friendly man who was quite interesting to talk with as he was intelligent and friendly. I dropped him off and waited in the car while he met with some of his (not-sure-how-they-were) relations in the poorest rural setting near Shreveport/Boisser City that I had ever been to . . . Imagine a field of small 1-room shacks with bunk beds and minimal electricity and plumbing. In most of them, 2+ generations of women, plenty of kids and not a grown man to be seen. Yupp, this is how poor people live(d) and I had no idea. 40 years later, I remember it vividly.
In the early 1980's, I was a physician in training who rotated through the ER at Henrotin Hospital. Our clientele consisted largely of gangbangers from the nearby Cabrini Green projects and drunks/partiers from nearby trendy clubs and bars on North Clark and North Dearborn streets. About as diverse and contrasting demographics as you could hope to find; really a borderlands situation! I was told the ER was the 2nd or 3rd busiest in the city, though the hospital it was attached to was comparatively tiny; most of our patients who needed admission were sent on to Northwestern or Cook County after triage and initial treatment.
I was talking to a girl the other day who had grown up in the city, but then her family had moved to the suburbs to have better schools. She commented that people (in the suburbs) didn’t help each other like they did in the city. I found that very enlightening.
I've been out to Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea and honestly I love it out there. It's surreal to see a massive sulfuric basin in the middle of the desert with rotting fish in the salt crystal sand and the bizarre art made from decades old boats and cars and homes. It is really like nowhere else, it's like you've gone to another dimension.
I grew up in Youngstown, OH (the place with the highest poverty in the US). I grew up way below poverty. I don’t take any offense to the terms you used. I’m replying because of something you said at the end - places like Youngstown do suck, but it’s also home. It’s not a strong tolerance that keeps people there; it’s a lack of options. I’m not here to give you a hard time. I just wanted to add my experience. While the place where I grew up does suck and requires an incredible strength to survive, I also love it because it will always be home in my heart.
I like Ohio. It’s improving faster than its neighbors. I’m from KY. I get so sick of being judged about where I’m from. I’m fucking proud to be from there! I got out and I’m doing ok. Good day 2 y’a, stranger…
My father used to sneak Mafia photos in Youngstown in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s for Time and Life Magazines. In his motel after a day of sneaking photos he would tape the film canisters to underneath the closet’s shelves to hide them in case he got beat up or murdered.
I've been low income all my life and have lived in low income areas. I have no problem with not having much money but I wish there was a place where I could live that was people like myself who keep their homes clean, don't commit crimes, don't abuse their children and animals. Surely there must be some place for us low income people who want some kind of quality of life.
There are lots of places like that. I don't know where you live but you are going to have to get out of the city. I grew up in a small town in southwest Ks. with 280 people. It is the kind of town you are looking for. But you will need a car. Today it has a church, cafe, gas station, grade school, post office, and that is it. The nearest town of 1,200 is 8 miles away, the nearest theater is 30 miles, the nearest Walmart is 80 miles. There are lots of towns like this in the western part of the US.
@@Automedon2 What's stopping you? I live just outside a town of 320 ppl and still get 50Mbps internet, so WFH is possible. if you're going to do the remote thing and the worst road you're looking at is compacted dirt gravel then I strongly recommend buying a smaller fuel efficient car.
I grew up in poverty and the lessons I learned through poverty are enshrined in the love and caring that we had for each other. The love of family that exists in abject poverty has lessons to teach that are to be envied by the well-to-do and rich.
I’ve been to a New Mexico reservation, New Orleans (a couple of years after Katrina) and Perry County, Kentucky. All these places filled me with sadness. After seeing the film “Nomad,” I never realized a town could lose its zip code for being totally abandoned. Such was the fate of Empire, Nevada. I thank you for pointing out communities or neighborhoods in decline. I believe you’ve only begun to hit the tip of the iceberg. I wish there was a magic pill to cure all the parts of forgotten America.
I went to Gary once. My late cousin lived in Chesterton, Indiana and one night when I went to visit (I live 5 hours away in Northeast Ohio) and couldn’t sleep so I was looking up documentaries and found one on Gary. It used to be Thriving city, with theaters, a big civic center and lots of shops downtown. The documentary might have been called, “Stagnant Hope” but don’t quote me on that. So after watching this doc, I got curious. So I took my car (which I suppose was a little dangerous considering I would’ve had out of state plates) and wanted to see Gary for myself. My cousin was this tiny little half Mexican half Scots-Irish lady and maybe 5’1” about 135lbs and drove for Gary Transit for over 15 years, and she used to tell me growing up not to stop in Gary for anything! My point being, I never once while I was driving around, did I feel unsafe and I’m a 5 foot nothin, 130lbs 35 year old white lady. I went to Michael Jackson’s childhood home there, waved to some neighbors that lived a few blocks away (I went in the summertime) and felt all right being there. It was sad but neat to see the city. I think the saddest part for me was, on the boarded up windows of the theaters, they have the wood painted as if people are still in the ticket taking booth. 😞
I was going to mention Gary if no one else has. Yes, it's bad but is actually so burnt out that it's not nearly as bad or violent as it was. Those who remain are actually hard working and mostly friendly, just trying to make it type. If you're ever driving through, check out Kelly's Soul Kitchen and get the best fried catfish with mild sauce around. Also El Norteño has really good but unique tacos.
Living in eastern Kentucky is hard, even when you're middle class, our water has stopped working twice this week, we are under boil water advisories very often, we don't even think twice about it, it's just normal life. It's not unusual at all for our power and/or water to go out and it can be out for days. We have no infrastructure, no jobs, but plenty horrific poverty. And it's so hard to leave, but I am sick of it, I'm working to get out.
J Green many here do enlist, it’s sometimes the only way out, I was lucky enough to be able to obtain a master’s degree and a good paying career, so I’ll be able to get out it’s just a matter of preparing to in these uncertain times.
I was raised by depression era parents. We we raised to be grateful. In times of what some may perceive to be hardship, I’d be reminded that plenty of people in the world have far far less. Boiling water? My mom would say, “Thank goodness we have water to boil”. She came from Texas and was dirt poor (literally) after the crash of ‘29. They lost their home and had to live in a cabin with dirt floors. Unfortunately, about the time people start to forget the past it happens all over again.
Me too depression eta parents born into homes without running water and electricity and when my dad graduated from Texas a and m in 59 they packed up my 5 yr old ass and headed out of easy Texas for good to Santa Monica and never looked back. It's a bit different now but my hometown of Athens still has the same population it did 70 yrs ago but home prices are high. My grandmother used to take in ironing to make ends meet as Texas offers no social services to speak of and my grandfather rode a wagon in the Oklahoma land rush and was born the same year Custer got what was coming to him. So it wasn't really all that long ago.
I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s on a small island off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. And we grew up dirt poor, It was a situation where the whole town depended on the iron ore industry and when they shut their doors in the 1960’s those who decided to stay had no other job options. I remember my mom having to be really creative with potatoes, some days that was all we had and I thought we were lucky to have that. And being from a town the used to mine iron ore for over 100 years, it eventually seeped into the water table, there were constant “ boil water” advisories. I made the decision after high school to leave and I did, do I miss it, yes sometimes, but since then drugs and high crime rates have ravaged the place I used to call home. So, you see it is not just the U.S, it is everywhere.
I live in Crete Greece, I am 45....I've always considered myself lucky enough to have parents that offered everything to my sister and me. I try the same for my kids. After watching this video , I feel many times luckier. It is unbelievable how stupid human race is....spending uncountable resources for wars, drugs, spaceships etc while basic needs and problems of millions of people haven't been (and will never be) resolved...
@@TheBatugan77 NIce. I never said that. But I will say being greedy is a character flaw. And of course, the wealthy can live in their gated communities and send their kids to private schools so they don't have to see or associate with people who would remind them of their excesses. Guilty much?
Thanks for respectfully mentioning the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Most people aren’t even aware this place exists, let alone it’s horrible circumstances.
This is awful. Their Congressperson (is it Dusty Johnson?) should be getting them Federal help. I'm generally not in favor of such actions, but this is certainly an exception.
Not to be contrary, but I lived there. Lots of money goes to tribal government. Not much gets used to make things better. It's a big problem. Still, some good stuff happening. Some good people.
They are supported by federal welfare, they do not own the land, Indian counsels run the reservations, that’s the problem. The place where Indians own the land are prosperous. The government welfare keeps them impoverished, poverty is financially profitable for the counsels not the people.
I spent a week on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I did what I could like building decks onto some of those trailers so kids would stop falling 3 or more feet everytime someone left the door open. I mowed yards where the kids bikes were discovered among the tall grass and they'd thought them to have been stolen. I'd love to go back because I met some absolutely sweet people. There's a truly humbling experience to he had there.
@@floridahiker1503 Awe thank you so much. What an amazing compliment. I agree that we definitely need more people to care and love people who are strangers and are less than perfect human beings. Maybe not necessarily like me LOL but definitely with a huge heart.
Thanks for this informative content. It made me remember a local news story while I was passing through Detroit in 1968. Police were interrogating a thief who had broken glass and stolen jewelry from stores in one part of the city. When asked why he committed his crimes during daylight hours, the perp replied that he was afraid to carry money around at night.
I'm new to your channel and wanted to say I really enjoyed the couple videos of yours I've seen. You're straightforward, honest, and speak earnestly about things that capture your interest. I fully agree with your assessment of these areas, particularly the rural areas and ghettos. It is ultimately sad that these exist in the way they do. Things *should* be better than that, and it's rare that anyone with the ability to do so bothers enough to.
I recently found your channel. As a geography junkie and road trip addict, I really love your contents. This video, however, is the one that shocked me the most. I just learned that extreme poverty is so close to us. It’s unbelievable that very few attention and support has been provided to many of these places.
I'm glad you found the channel. I try to generally keep things positive on the channel but sometimes negative things need to be pointed out. Most stuff about these places is just making fun of them.
Mass majority don't care. Folks are happy with their Budweiser and Nascar. Just ignorant and self absorbed. If fox news doesn't mention it it doesn't exist to them.
78-yr-old Brit here. Old enough to know that not everywhere in the US is sugar and spice and all things nice but some of these places took my breath away. We've got our bad bits, too, but none of them are as desperate as the places shown here. Good commentary; sympathetic, non-sensational and not mocking.
everyone of these places he mentioned is controlled by socialist forces; democratic and liberal...the good thing about this is that in America there is a path of exit from that way of life if a person so chooses...most people dont want to do that because they'll have to work and lose their government benefits....I know people like that and I know people who have gotten themselves out of that situation, also.... in other countries especially socialist countries, no path exists ...
I'm on the east coast and only visited once, but south eastern WA reservations there were houses I visited with particle board for the floor and there were tarps in the living room to keep the rain out. Was really sad
@@Lildoodirty If you "don't know why" it's because you've made the choice not to acknowledge centuries of discrimination, lies, theft, and genocide at the hands of the US government and US citizens, and you'd rather blame the victims instead.
Driving through Navajo nation in Arizona is also very depressing. Miles and miles of abject poverty. My Wife is from Mexico and it shocked her. I'm from Detroit, you're spot on there.
I worked on the US or six years, mostly in county hospitals. I was shocked by the degree of poverty I saw. Many of the people I met were decent, har working people. Definitely not lazy, drug addled complacent people. Just people with no future, no hope, no opportunity. I had a great deal of respect for these people who continued their lives, doing the best they can.
Hey, here's my brainstorm idea: all US Congresspersons are offered an all expenses paid 1 week vacation to one of these areas. The catch is they have to stay at least 3 days. Who's with me? Lets see how many US Congresspersons can actually life the lifestyle of the people they expect to vote for them.
Awesome idea, they can start Poverty Bed n Breakfast. Free bed bugs and glass of dirty water for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No tents, RV’s or Campers allowed. Live it like the locals.
These congresspersons of yours are the employees of money and power. They do not care about you or anyone. This video is good evidence for my hypothesis.
Corporations have hundreds of lobbyists working for them, they go to Washington and give them bags of cash to make laws that benefit them. Screw the people that sent them their to represent them. Michael Franzese just wrote a book called Mafia Democracy it compares how the mafia and the government are ran the same way.
Why do you think congresspeople are somehow responsible for how these people live? Why not look to the local governments in charge of these places, or the people themselves to see if maybe their own choices are causing this poverty? Your congressperson represents you for the federal government. They don't control your water, your power, your housing.
Man, you are a breath of honesty in social media. No political agenda, no sensationalism, no hogtied political correctness. Just rational and fact-based, yet not ashamed of an honest, informed opinion. Thank you for your work to shine some light on our national self-awareness. By the way, amazing array of photos.
Yo, I live in New Orleans and honestly the places hit hardest were bad before Katrina. Rent has gone up so much in the last 15 years but hourly pay has not. And in a city like this it really is neighborhood by neighborhood for crime or wealthy vs poor. Anyway an interesting video. Geaux Saints :)
Dude, I commend you on your bluntness and straightforwardness! It's actually kinda refreshing! I am originally from Detroit but have been gone from there for years now......but it a weird sort of way I miss that "hell hole"!....go figure...
I will also say that when living in Appalachian Ohio after Katrina I went with a large group of about 50 to help rebuild homes in New Orleans. Most of us thought our worst places were better than their worst places. Also, you don’t need a lot of money to help people after a disaster. You only need compassion and a willingness to work hard.
I went down after Katrina and helped get natural gas stations in St Bernard’s back online. I have to admit even with all the devastation, my first thought was how clean the roads actually were. Having worked there prior, the ability to just come in and bulldoze the streets clear was actually an improvement. Still keep in contact with many guys I met during that time to this day.
My husband had a flat tire near Gary, Indiana late at night. He had no choice but to change it. He began to notice he was surrounded by young kids looking for trouble. He placed his 45 cal on his lap. Changed the tire at break speed. Tightened every other lug nut. Got in the car and the hell out. A few miles down the road stopped to secure the tire. Thankful he was safe.
I used to have to drive through from western NYS to school in Chicago in the 70s. Gary and South Chicago were absolutely terrifying (once saw a car burning roadside by an abandoned south Chicago steel mill). Detroit was worse; in the early 70s, there were gangs driving on the road that would hit a car then kill the driver when he/she stopped to exchange information. I thank all the gods that may be my car never broke down going through that I-94 corridor.
Yes, Gary, Indiana, should be on your list. I grew up about two hours from Gary in a farming/small town community. Many non-farmers lived in town and would drive to Gary to work for US Steel-an easy drive via the Indiana Toll Road. My older sisters got their nursing degrees at Gary Methodist Nursing School associated with Gary Methodist Hospital in the 1960s. It was an exciting drive there and back as a little girl when we took them to school and back. It used to be a great place. Then US Steel left as did other related businesses. Now, Gary is dead. Just take the Chicago Skyway and look out over the collapsed roofs and broken windows and graffiti everywhere. My husband was driving back home from Chicago a while back and got lost when he took a wrong turn and missed the Indiana exit onto the Skyway. He wandered a bit, and stopped at a stop sign in an empty kind of area. All of a sudden, a policeman put on his siren and stopped him. “Who are you? Where are you from?” Really grilled him. It turned out that nobody ever stops at any sign in the area my husband was. They have murders and carjackings all the time. “Follow me and l’ll get you to the Indiana Toll Road and never come back here again.”
Geek- Me KING! informative and production quality high, from having the interest and putting in the time. Glad you found me with it. Glad you broke them down into categories, and with the exception of Salton Sea, nothing to make fun of. Kyle, I guessed 3 out of 8, you pulled the rest by surprise, shock and provided a teaching moment for a quarter hour. Now that it's known, time to pray and do something about it. Take the ones that really got worse to make the worst compared to the ones that have been the worst. Some moved from moonshine to meth, they always had the same pain, same problems. Now subscribed, looking forward to seeing, hearing and learning about new places! Yes, congrats! Impressive stats, you earned and deserve the kudos! LC
I lived in a destitute neighborhood in New Orleans whose struggles were obvious to the eye. However below the surface the neighborhood had a deep sense of community and familial connections that are a rarity in modern society. That spirit in combination with the unique and irrepressible cultural traditions made it the richest place in which I have resided.
I'm glad for you guys. However, community shouldn't arise in just poverty. I hope the city and state governments make serious changes to improve the living standards of people who grew up in conditions like you did. NOLA is a very unique city in the US and it's a shame that some parts are just so destitute. Should the quality of life improve I hope that that communal feeling doesn't fade away in favor or individual pursuit.
I used to live in Appalachia. So true. Imagine being born in there in poverty with relatives who lacked ANY practical skills and only a handful of families have all the wealth and privilege. It is very medieval. The right last name can get you a quantum leap in socio-economic advancement. I got out but because of my poverty, my "niche" social skills, etc I have only progressed so far. You are decades behind regular people in other parts of the USA in terms of personal development. The main problem is that you lack mainstream references and experiences with which to connect to people. It IS a THIRD WORLD place.
Yeah, I realized that when I read Heaven (VC Andrews). It was an entirely different world to mine even for children. It was definitely based in some part of reality. I also saw well off people have problems too, though not having food to eat, security, different problems.
same with me in a shitty rural outskirt of San Antonio. You'll go to even the shittiest metropolis in the US and everybody's got a leg up. The United States is a shithole because of how large it is. So what if someones from Camden, they got Philadelphia walking distance from them. Or someone who is from a shitty neighborhood of Houston, they got a straight shot road to abundant arts and industry from like 5 different downtowns to choose from. New York, that's just plain privilege. People from important cities grow up next to job after job after school after school after community service event Rural Texas is hell, specifically south and southwest and west texas of temperatures 100-110. Louisiana, Miss, Georgia Alabama, those places kreeped me out anyway
When my kids were little I would take them to Mexico and we would stay there a few days and I would explain and show them that even though those people were poor, their houses were kept clean and maintained as much as they could. Some of them even had dirt floors and yet they swept and cleaned them. Being poor has nothing to do with cleanliness. " There's a thin line between love and hate. So is there for rich and poor, cleanliness and dirtiness, and disciplined and not disciplined. That thin line is you and your mentality." Solid Future Mastermind
Well said. I was raised by my grandfather, in my youngest years, he would tell me the same thing. "Even if you are poor, you can be clean." Another saying I heard from him: "Even if you can't afford an education, you can read; therefore, you can teach yourself." The lessons here: you can come from nothing, but with EFFORT and the WANT to be better, you can (and will) be.
@@rolmodel12. Until you can't afford water, or cleaner. That only works to an extent. It's very easy to end up in a place where you have no access to ways to clean yourself or your environs adequately, and you'll find very quickly that public spaces don't appreciate you using the restroom sink for a spit bath.
Solid cluelessness, more like. The distance between rich and poor becomes greater, quantitatively, every day. Your mentality has nothing to do with objective reality. If you think it does, go stand in front of a Mac truck and try using your mentality to change its course.
@@dierdriu Having the will to better yourself should not cost a thing. Finding a way to do so, might; but, you gain much more. I think it is a good investment. It is an outlook, an attitude. You can have it, whether rich or poor. But, if you think you can change "objective reality" or stop a "Mac truck" with a good outlook, then, yeah- you're unstable, or on hallucinogens, or maybe just an idiot. Regardless, maybe it's better they go out quick and believing in themselves. Better than being a miserable asshole.
My husband grew up in the 9th district of New Orleans in the 70’s and early 80’s. He was one of the few white students and his dad was one of the infamous dirty New Orlean cops. Some of the horror stories he’s told me just break my heart.
@@creator4413 his dad was a dirty cop, in New Orleans, the town were people just go missing, no one would have bothered him much if at all, this was back in the 70’s and 80’s very different than today, not saying better or worse, but very different.
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@@charlesprice7608 no one actually 'missed' these scumbags ... it was for the greater good if you think about it
Nice job on approaching this video with maturity and professionalism. This is clearly a channel for knowledge and not cheap entertainment. I’m officially a fan and subscriber
I am currently on my first cross country road trip and your videos on the subject really have helped me in planning my trip. This video is important for a whole other reason. Awareness. Thank you for showing the rest of us places that we may never have been exposed to. Some people will live an alternate lifestyle by choice, but there are those that don't...if I had to choose which one of these areas I would live it would be wherever I, without any formal training, could have the most impact in helping those who want it. Thank you for this video.
I'm happy you liked the video. I try to keep things informative and not go over the top desperate for views while hopefully providing useful info. And I hope you're having a great road trip!
It's really sad about Detroit. There are a lot of vacant buildings but if you look at some of these buildings the architecture is absolutely beautiful. You can tell by looking at it that one time this was a beautiful city
My parents moved there in 1951. It was beautiful then. Now, it's just a typical democrat led city. Look them up if you don't believe me. I've traveled all over this country and it's always the same
i grew up in a relatively middle class area of eastern kentucky and am soon moving to a decent neighborhood in huntington, wv. these areas are poor and addiction is a major issue, but things have been looking up the last few years. even when i was in high school (2011-2015), our district had programs in place to ensure poor children were fed outside of school and had christmas gifts, clothes, etc. i struggle to believe there will be a time in my lifetime where i see the area thrive, but it has so much potential. it is beautiful here. the people are kind, hard-working, and generous, even if they don’t have anything but the shirt off their back to give. i fault the government, both state and federal, for lacking the empathy needed to build and rehabilitate these communities. there is genuinely no reason anyone in appalachia, or anywhere in the u.s. for that matter, should be so impoverished while politicians are millionaires and billionaires don’t pay taxes. that money should go to helping addicts recover, to helping families eat, to helping children and adults get proper education so they’re able to contribute more to society. these people need help. no one should have to leave the area they were born and raised just to survive. i love to travel, but appalachia is my home and no amount of poverty would drive me away. we stay because we love it here, and i wish the rich could spare a little to help it become a place that could grow and ultimately thrive.
A beautiful part of the country indeed... I find this so ironic, maybe it's because folks are more spread out there, but lately all the poverty we have seen on TV has been in the inner cities, it's almost like all you good folk don't even exist. And you're in, TN, VA, WV, NC, KY and other parts of Appalachia. Just the lack of dental care makes things harder, job interviews don't go well if front teeth are missing & the cycle repeats... Even if a dentist is near, when you have to choose between feeding the fam & going to the dentist.... it's a luxury item, pair that with a poor diet, lots of Mountain dew consumed, poor brushing habits.. and that's just the dental part, a small slice of the pie as far as hardships go, throw in high illiteracy... You have to have help to even escape the region. My grandpa came from an honest to god Poor House in WV... and climbed the corporate ladder to become a Sharecropper in KY. It's difficult to escape.
No one needs to help your area out. The people in the area have to create some something, that is it's the local people job to create the economy, or to migrate to other places. But that's the way it is. No one owes the people there living
@@jmontoya4689 I agree I live here people don’t wanna do better. They are complacent and treat outsiders like trash if you dress better than them they laugh fuck everyone here I tried helping so many here but they don’t want help
Weird question, but can you tell me how Huntington is as a city on the border of that whole area? Is it a fairly normal city for its size or is it just like the rest of Appalachia but... denser?
In April of 1977 I was transferred from St. Paul, (Russell County,) Virginia to Williamson, (Mingo County), West Virginia in a managerial position (Asst. Trainmaster) with the Norfolk and Western Railway, now Norfolk Southern. My assignment lasted 7 years in one of the busiest parts of the rail network. Coal was king. Let me tell you about the citizens of that region (Rural Appalachia). There are none better! Yes, the geography of Appalachia is challenging. We suffered two major floods (1977 & 1984) that impacted the both Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia. However, the strength and fortitude the people, especially those I supervised was nothing short of astounding. I recognize things are not the same now. Losing Coal has had a major impact on the economy and the opioid crisis has not abated to a significant degree. But my main point in posting this account is to praise the worthiness of people of Rural Appalachia, a people of principle and dedication, who took a young, somewhat inexperience supervisor under their wing and demonstrated what true professionalism (in the art of railroading) and compassion in life was all about. Those 7 years (1977-1984) were so important to me and I want others to know that I hold the people of Rural Appalachia in high esteem!
They are people with a good work ethic, unlike generations of people in the Northern Democrat-controlled cities. These people have no work ethic. They have been raised on generations of government handouts and consider themselves victims every chance they get. They have been raised in the pollution of victimhood and everyone is a racist
Cleveland too. They were both in the top 5 for largest populations in America (around 1950). Cleveland’s population has shrunk so much, it’s smaller than Wichita, Kansas
My Grandpa grew up in Detroit in the 1930's. At that time Detroit was one of the richest city's in America. The Architecture and Workmanship on the 1900- 1940 buildings are very unique. Buildings today are not built with artistic architecture. Sad what Detroit could have been today without the corruption.
I’m currently going to college in New Orleans, and while the government has done a fair amount to help preserve this beautiful city, the way that the system has failed parts of the city is striking. You can be in any part of the city (even the rich parts) and meet a homeless New Orleans native who is the kindest person you’ve ever met who just wants to get by. Resilience is the only way to describe the people. I hope one day everyone in New Orleans can have affordable housing.
+ Its called Democratic leadership. Their all corrupt & belong in prison like Ray "chocolate city" Nagan. New Orleans has a VERY long history of being a racilly divided & VERY corrupt city.
Detroit 1:01, Chicago 1:48, New Orleans 3:07, Eastern Kentucky/Appalacia 4:33, Mississippi Delta 7:01, Pine Ridge/Lakota 7:51, Hilldale/Colorado City 9:18, Bombay Beach 12:21
Thanks for the video and your note about the language you used. We’re all learning. Being open to learning, growing, and understanding perhaps the most important part!
I was an over the road Haz-Mat chemical tanker truck driver for 13 years. ----I saw it all, except for Pine Ridge and the Salton Sea (I drove my car past it). ---What you described is incredibly accurate. --It was shocking and sad to see these places. ---To me, Eastern KY and many parts of WV were devastating. I never saw such poverty. ---Detroit and Chicago at least had access to many modern things. --But Detriot was off the wall out of this world sad but fascinating in its own way. I saw makeshift commercial like billboards advertising drugs made by drug dealers. --What the hell? -The ghosts of massive industry vacated was so crazy to see. ----I would drop off the Tanker on Green Street and go to the Casino (Detroit Moter city) and a few times I made some wrong turns in the tractor. ---All the streetlights were blown out, and it was a wasteland. ----I stopped to get pizza, and it was very good (I am from NY) _I also thought the Pastrami on rye out there was better than NY. ---I was never messed with in my 13 years driving Haz-Mat. --I think they thought I was nuts. ------------WV was a special place to me. --The people were all so nice. ---A few places out there, I did not stop at. --It was scary to be honest. --Very isolated in my opinion. ---They did not have modern services. ---Very few will believe you about that. --I do, because I saw it for a fact. ---------------I did have some issues on the road, but not in your eight places. ---Save a spider in Chicago. ----It jumped on me in the ghetto---I thought it was gone, but it attacked me as I was driving on I94. --It almost killed me. -------------I can tell you traveled. Good work on the truth. -----Sad, but true. --We have third world stuff going on here in one of the richest countries. -I appreciate you exposing the massive poverty that very few know about in America. --------Stefan Veatch.
I too drove tractor trailers long haul for 8 years and agree with you about these places. The images stay in my mind on the extreme poverty and why has none of this been addressed after so many years?
When I was little & growing up and something would happen to me and I would feel pretty bad about it like it was the worst thing...Then my Mother would say to me, you know there are people who are far far worse off than you!!! After seeing this and how some people are living in a country so wealthy as America. I live in Australia, and we have down-and-out areas also but nothing like that. Thank you for posting your videos.
I’m a nurse in South Dakota, albeit on the other side of the state. We get patients from the rez at our hospital, and it’s honestly heartbreaking the lack of medical care and resources that our own citizens lack. The level of poverty on pine ridge and the other reservations is surreal.
These people seem to be brainwashed into thinking they are nothing. But in reality, that rez is rich and the food they eat and how they live can be changed. But if you have the leadership to keep these people down and depressed and feel worthless then Pine Ridge will stay that way.
The offices in DC have plush carpeting and leather furniture but the Indigenous people have no running water and live in shambles...check Trail of Broken Treaties.... it's beyond disgusting and heartbreaking... shame on The U.S.
@@margocaldwell8109 I mean I used to work with who was Turtle Mountain Chippewa would always say you can trust the government just ask a Native American.
West Virginia and Kentucky are absolutely heart-breaking; complete failure on behalf of their state governments to actually provide the services these people need to survive.
@@guitrr That is because from the end of the Civil War until a few decades ago, the areas were run by the Democrats. It is going to take a long time to undo the damage done by the Democrats.
@@guitrr they voted democrat with the unions for 80+ years while they were sold out to foreign owners and replaced with automation. Trying to judge everything through a modern tribal view with no understanding of history is ignorant and shows no real empathy to what happens here or WHY they now vote Republican
Being from Kanawha county West Virginia all I can say is..... Thank you! No one ever believes me especially when the topic of poverty comes up and I mention home and everyone gets upset and acuse me of trying to undermine their urban narrative's. Or just straight up lying in an attempt to "fit in"
My family used to drive from Cleveland all the way to Florida to visit relatives because it's cheaper than flying. It's like a 20 hour drive. We always go through West Virginia and I've seen glimpses of small villages and the poverty was super evident. Derelict buildings, dirt roads, and one town had a single restaurant, a McDonalds, that was super super run-down. We stopped for a restroom break in one area at a solitary gas station (I didn't go in) and my mom said that the bathroom was literally a hole in the ground. It honestly breaks my heart that such extreme poverty exists in areas like this and gets completely disregarded. I guess the areas are so rural that very few outsiders even know these places exist, let alone their condition.
@@Moose803 You've misinterpreted my whole point. I didn't "endure" any inconvenience and I'm not complaining at all. I was simply validating the fact that people living in that area indeed do face significant poverty that many people elsewhere aren't aware of. It has nothing to do with me.
Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah have changed to some degree in the past ten years. There is a modern grocery market that welcomes tourists. Residential and tourist-friendly development is springing up to the west, nearer to Hurricane, Utah. There is off-grid, ranch type property, rental cabins, and a tiny house resort as well.
This is truly heartbreaking. I was feeling bummed about not being able to save money for Christmas then I see this and realize how fkn fortunate I am to have a roof over my head and enough food to last until my next paycheck. I’m so glad this video showed up in my feed.
Sometimes things are so tight that I go hungry for a day or two, and I'll set my alarm for 3:30am, when my paycheck shows up in the bank, and I'll go eat.
I been financially poor most of my life run down old house's sometimes to feed my family i'd have to go shoot something or catch something not much money. But it's been a great life swimming in creek's and rivers. Fishing hunting. Being part of nature. It's the simple things that can make life rich
Exactly. Like the guy standing there with all those cans on the ground. He can store them better & then take them to be recycled & maybe get a few bucks back. Or don’t. But the cans don’t have to be all over the ground. I shouldn’t talk though...I need to go clean something
I don't wana make excuses for laziness but honestly. Are you offering to drive them where they need to go? Are you paying for garbage disposal and dumpster rentals? Can you take the time to teach them the things they need to learn that noone else taught them? Like how to read or cook? Or clean them selves and their homes? Will you lift them up or do you intend to just talk down to them on the internet?
@@evanjuleen you dont need to be able to drive to live in a city or even a bigger town the only place you need a car is if you live in the mountains or near farm land otherwise you can walk second if you dont have shit why would you need a dumpster sure a trash can but even that can be burned there is no excuse to be poor when this country has every freedom you need to become a middle class or even rich person
Pine Ridge is the first area that came to mind when I saw the title of this video. I was a delivery driver for almost 30 years and P.R. was my route for several of those. The first time I went there, it was a huge shock. I had been to inner city ghettos and crime ridden cities but I thought I was in a 3rd world country when I went through Pine Ridge, Manderson, Wanbli, Oglala and Porcupine.
This video is proof that no matter how bad you may think your life is, someone, somewhere else has it worst off than you. It's also motivation to work harder, and smarter to improve your life.
Thank you for mentioning Pine Ridge. I wish I could say it is the only impoverished Indian reservation, but sadly it is not. Most people are in the habit of not even acknowledging Indian reservations, or if they do, they conjure up these tropes about casino-rich tribes run by The Mob. Btw, I am proud to say that a few years back I helped a few refugees from Warren Jeffs's cult (including two of his children) enter college after they left Colorado City.
When I drove through the Navajo Nation, it was spooky. I was heartbroken at the state of the homes, the places the people still lived. I don’t remember seeing a grocery store. It was such a sad place.
@@tracylovingood8696 I've been to the Navajo nation 2x, where my girlfriend lived and idk where you were, but Gallup definitely has grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, movie theatres, Walmart etc.
Well, if you think about it, it is a logical line from a sordid aspect of America's history. The formal genocide of the Native American populations began after the Civil War, and it was active and bloody and incredibly violent. The INFORMAL genocide began after the surrender of the last great chiefs (think Quanah Parker or Sitting Bull). At which point, the US government began officially HELPING these native populations by making them completely dependent on said government, utterly destroying any vestiges of their traditions and depriving them of any of the value of their ancestral lands that they might have been able to take advantage of. THEY DON'T OWN THE LAND THEY LIVE ON, EVEN NOMINALLY. So.... they can't do much. If you think about it.... the Native American population was the first demographic of the US that became dependent on government. That is why they are so advanced in their degeneration and extinction. The American people never see them and wouldn't give a shit even if they knew about it. Out of sight, out of mind. The question is: which demographic is next?
Thank you for helping people in distress!! It took me awhile to remember who Jeff is -- he is the one had a major part in the formation of a compound in my country and my part of it, called Bountiful. Which, if I remember right, was the location he was caught shipping his human trafficking victims to and from in arranged 'marriages' between senior citizens and prepubescent girls. So, kudos for helping a couple of refugees escape from Jeff's nightmare.
When my husband and I were dating I mentioned that we didn't have cable t.v. until I was at least 16. He countered with, "Well I didn't see a television until I was 14!" Since then, I stopped feeling sorry for how me and my family lived. We REALLY didn't have much, but clearly there are people that have less! Loved the video! Thanks, man!
We live in Florida and didnt have A/C till I was 14 also when younger I lived with no running water or electricity.......make you appreciate indoor plumbing! We didnt have cable either so when MTV first became popluar I had to go to friends houses to see music videos!
Back in the early 90s, a buddy of mine from some little hillbilly town in Tennessee brought a newspaper clipping to work (in the Army) from his hometown newspaper one day. It was an article about the town's first red light. We all had a good laugh about it as he read it to us. I won't ever forget one part, as my buddy read it with his distinct accent from the hills of Appalachia......he says "with a red light for stop and a green light for go". I have known people that grew up without indoor plumbing. And I have known people that have never been more than 50 miles from where they were born despite being in their 40s. So, I know what you mean.......lol
My parents never had running water til they were probably in their late teens to 20yrs old. Kinda happens when you spent most of your childhood in a refugee camp in the middle of a third world jungle.
I’ve been to a couple of these places. You certainly didn’t exaggerate on what I can speak to. If anything you didn’t show anything near the worst. It’s heartbreaking. I will say that the people, in the two areas I can speak to, are some of the absolute kindest and generous people in the world. Even those who have resorted to the drug and alcohol issue to cope are not the mean type of folks. They are often gentle and kind without the alcohol. kind. It’s just heartbreaking. The focus on the changes needed are more on the punitive side and not on the loving side of humanity. It is just so heart wrenching. Thank you for bringing it to the light.
I met a southwest Virginia hillbilly in the 90s. His father was a coalminer and he grew up with an outhouse. He charmed the pants off of me, quite literally. RIP Steve. 💔
you're keeping his legacy alive by sharing your moments here. now a brazilian guy from a coastal city (me) knows how charming hillbilly steve was. he didnt forget you either, for sure. thank you for sharing this lovely short story 💛
I did traveling home improvement sales for Sears for several years. Part of my territory was West Virginia, Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky. SW West Virginia had towns that were identical to Silent Hill, and at night gave me such a sense of unease as to be beyond description. As countetbalance, as little as those folks possessed, I met some of the warmest and gentle people I've ever met. Even the snake handling preacher, whose house barely kept the elements at bay.
My Dad, as a young man, went to Malawi, Southern Africa. He said, and others have said on UA-cam, that those Malawians are some of the poorest and also the loveliest people ever.
If I were forced to choose one of these places I would choose WV. Although there are poor areas like you depicted, conversely there are lots of decent areas like Huntington. My late mother was born and raised in WV and anytime we would go to visit her there we noticed that the majority of the people we met or dealt with on a daily basis were very kind and willing to go out of their way to help you or make you feel welcome.
I lived in Huntington myself. Well, Barboursville actually. Not a lot of "rich" (ostentatious) people there, but rich in heart and patient with newcomers is the norm. Didn't want to leave.
Me too, and I live in Baltimore. It's two cities, of course. One full of professionals like me -- so many major institutions here -- and the other, well, the other would normally be on a list like this.
Yes, the Salton sea stinks, and the "beaches" are covered with the remains of sea life, including the shells of feather dusters which are kind of cool. However, it's a fantastic place for bird watching with magnificent frigatebirds making their way to the inland sea. Also it's not random "pollution" that kills the fish, it's salt from the sea bed itself and fertilizer run-off from surrounding farm lands. Because it was made by an accidental release of water from a Colorado River diversion project and because of the wildlife die-offs associated with it, the Salton Sea is actually an ecological disaster area. There is also the country's only moving mud pot which is a curiosity.
@@doctorbohr1585 Yes, there is dramatic geology in cliffs above the Salton Sea on the West side as well as all the "art" on the abandoned buildings. I look forward to seeing your photo esssay some day.
There has also been talk of building a canal from the Sea of Cortez, which would allow sea water to flow downhill to it (the surface of it is a couple hundred feet below sea level) in an effort to control the toxic dust storms
They need to fill it w/ sea water, otherwise all those chemicals will become airborne. Great Salt Lake too needs to be replenished...it too has irritants at the bottom of the Lake!! And for the sake of the thousands of migratory birds,they need a place to stop!!
Although the smell in Bombay beach can be horrible, it’s actually a pretty interesting and weird place to visit. A few years ago, some LA artists and musicians had some kind of art/music festival, and they left some really trippy art installations all over the desert. I heard they wanted to continue it, but maybe Covid interfered or something. I can’t remember exact details. In the same area, you can visit ‘salvation mountain’ and slab city. Both are worth looking up, there is no end to the weirdness found out in the middle of the desert. A lot of really cool art can be found too
really good take on Appalachia, glad you mentioned us, lots of people really dont understand how low quality some living conditions for people are in that forgotten area of the US. SWVA opioid capital of the western hemisphere.
I'm seriously thinking of starting a GoFundMe for the Appalachias. They all deserve the comforts everyone else takes for granted. We, without thought/unconciously, reach up to flip a light switch, open the fridge and pull out xyz and microwave it. We grumble of putting loads into the washer and dryer. We turn the a/c or central air down a degree or so and the heat up. We buy new clothing. And so on. And then there's the Appalachias amd it's people. Fellow Human Beings. No one in 2022 should be living that way. I blame the State Govt for prioritizing The Best for cities that already have the Best. If we care for (and that means CARE for: not just basic needs but also COMFORT and contentment and no worries - the unconscious flip of a light switch, etc) those who have the least and help them build up, it only helps the ones above them and the ones above THEM and so on. Y'all are strong folk. You're survivors. I could never do it. I'll admit that right now. I could never do it. I'd pussy out and trot back to my (low income but - unfairly - better) home and life in my town here. I'm poor, but I'll gladly start a GoFundMe with what money I can spare each paycheck, and hope others will donate as well;. We all need to help others. It's what Being Human is all about.
Appreciate you showin support and shining light on reservations. My family is from the turtle mountain reservation in North Dakota and just like pine ridge it’s just fucked so they moved to Montana, the state with the most reservations. But here it’s not great either, the Rez(es) is so much poorer than the rest of the state, some allowing non natives to buy land on them so that helps with Gentrification, even Mexican Cartels have set up shop on them cuz they know there’s less police and the people there have a 99% chance of getting hooked on whatever they’re selling. I could go on forever, so thank you for bringing awareness to the brothers and sisters of Pine Ridge and their struggles
It’s disgusting how the government has mistreated indigenous people. And poverty, intoxicants, lack of opportunities, are spokes in a viscous cycle. The shame is not on the individuals trying to live on the reservations, but in the corrupt a-holes who contrived them and perpetuate them
I've had two or three periods in my life when I lived without electricity, running water, or hot water. Really makes person grateful for those luxuries when they can get them again.
We were vacationing in the Death Valley/Joshua Tree area and i told my wife I wanted to check out Bombay Beach. It is exactly as you describe. The beach also had very sharp shell pieces. The stench was, indeed, bad. When we pulled into the community, the rental car's GPS started squawking, telling us we were off the road. Very strange place.
Death Valley is VERY far from Joshua tree. Coachella valley is pretty close tho. Bombay beach is really trippy, as is slab city, which is further out. If you didn’t visit, it’s worth looking up on you tube. As is ‘salvation mountain’. There’s a LOT of strange sh*t in the middle of the desert!
@@ltraina3353 Heh. We took a vacation that included stops at both places. I considered removing my mention of DV/JT, thinking someone might call out the distances. I guess I should have simply said we checked out Bombay Beach/Salton Sea while on vacation out west.
Nebraskan here. I've been through Pine Ridge a few times. If I absolutely had to choose one of your eight places, it would be here. There is at least some hope for the area and the Native community is actively working to improve educational and living conditions. In other words, there is a more hopeful attitude among the citizens there.
I feel like you should have added Centralia Pennsylvania to this list. Imagine living in a town where there's been a fire underneath you for the last 50 years. At one point they even had their zip code revoked because the government was trying to get everybody out.
@@danrunner84 not completely, theres a few people still living there, i was there 2 years ago. Most of everything is torn down, but a few houses remain. The church is still visible on the upper portion of the mountain from anywhere in town, its really creepy, especially during foggy times, as the fog gets insane there.
I’m from PA, centralia and the area around it (the closest town is ironically called Ashland) are kinda poor and rural but you don’t see too much “crushing poverty.” That’s more like north Philly or especially Allentown and the poconos where so many buildings and factories are just totally abandoned. Centralia now is just two middle class houses, a fire station, a church, and a lot of tourists.
The fact you know about the impoverished area around salton sea mean you know exactly what you're talking about! So many other youtubers missed this area. Good job!
It's because people outside California can't even imagine any part of California being so destitute. California has always been about "lying to the world about how great they are." So they have always tried to cover-up embarrassments, like the Salton Sea. And until now, unfortunately, they have done so rather successfully.
@@shindari yes California is arrogant with the aspects of this state. To be honest it is a fantastic place to live, California beaches are amazing, the Sierras are absolutely grand. The cities have every amenity that any human would ever want. Also the taxes aren't that crippling as what others may make it out to be. California also has some of the least populated areas in the country. Along with the poorest and richest. Salton Sea has never been purposely hidden or covered up by its own population. There's just so much other things that it gets glossed over. Apathy more than a purposeful cover-up is the problem. The Salton Sea has also had major press coverage, and champions like Sonny Bono in the past. And because water rights are the number one political issue at the state capitol, what happens to the Salton sea is always on the tips of their tongues. My comment was more about UA-camrs not doing proper research and this man doing proper research to give us facts. California is a amazing place to be. It literally has everything. The bad and the good.
Speaking of the Salton Sea, there is a place near there called The Slabs that is an abandoned military base. The physical slabs are where houses on the military base once sat. Now it's full of lazy people who found a place to live.
Some of it I'm sure is just people being trashy but you have to imagine there is a lot of mental illness in communities like this that isnt addressed as well.
My dad had built a house out in Bombay Beach and during the my summer vacations from school in the 70's we would go and spend a week or to out at the house in Bombay Beach. I hated it. No friends to play with. To freaking hot to go outside. so just stayed inside with the air conditioner on. We stopped going because as more and more people left dad decided it was no longer a cool place to go and he just abandoned the house and property and when asked why are you not selling the house and property???? Son who in the hell is going to buy it? Nobody goes out their and nobody would even know it was for sale. What an experience...
I lived near Portsmouth, Ohio for a year or two, which is right in the center of the Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia tri-state area. The place I lived was a literal one-light town in the hills, the only store was a gas station and the only restaurant was a pizza place. What struck me the most about living there was the stark difference in living conditions from home to home. I'd say that at least 70% of the homes there were nearly (if not outright) uninhabitable, but there would be these very nice upper-middle-class homes right next to them. It only served to highlight just how bad things were for those people. The drug abuse down there was heartbreaking, you hit the nail on the head when you talked about people walking around like zombies. I grew up very poor, but what I saw down there went beyond poverty; It was this abject, hopeless destitution that you could just see on peoples faces, this resigned understanding that life was horrific and it wasn't ever going to get any better. It honestly changed me as a person, and I feel like it would change anyone who's never seen it first hand.
A lot of my family are from that corner of Ohio, and as a kid I would stay with them for a few weeks every summer. What you describe pretty much hits the nail on the head for how it was. Neighborhoods with 50% decent houses and the friendliest folks you could ever meet, then a few spots down a house or trailer that's barely standing owned by people I either never saw or was told to not interact with, usually due to the drug problems they had. A lot of this particular town is on a flood plane, and after a really bad year a whole portion got leveled. Had a chance to walk through that area about 15 years later and was amazed to see anyone still living there. Same hodgepodge of fixed up homes and still standing wrecks (some inhabited, some not), only now with a ton of open lots from ones that were cleared and just never rebuilt.
I have seen the same sort of thing in farmland turned to rich estates in a rural area, you could tell what farmers were left were struggling, unpainted houses clearly occupied, the new house next to a house with the roof caved in, no signs of life, but it was not nearly as stark. It still made me sad to drive through.
Detroit has changed a lot....I'm 52 years old, grew up in the Detroit area, moved to Chicago (ironically one of the other urban areas you mentioned). Long story short; moved back 20 years ago, looking for the cosmopolitan/urban feeling of Chicago, and it didn't exist then. There are wide swaths of Detroit that are sparsely populated and "ghetto" but there definitely has been a renaissance of the downtown area over the past few years. I will make you a offer: Would be more than happy to take you around, and give you a tour....you pay for your travel to the D' and I will take care of you from there. fly in on a Friday, and we will give you a grand tour of the D' that might change your mind....if it doesn't...well, you will still have a good time!
Don't bother wasting a trip just to see a few gentrified blocks of downtown while the rest of the city still smolders like a landfill. Many people are proud of their hometowns... whether they should be or not.
I have a Colorado City story. In 1978, some of my extended family, six of us, were on a big tour bus from Las Vegas to Lee's ferry, to take a raft trip down the Grand Canyon (fabulous trip). The bus blew a rear driver tire right at Colorado City. Since it was going to take a couple hours for the repair, most of us passengers wandered into town. I knew nothing about the place, but I did overhear some of the others commenting. The two level houses, etc. As we straggled in some of the locals starting coming by on their ATV's to check us out. Just men folk and boys, all dressed the same with big cowboy hats. A little weird. In the general store there were a few lady and girl folk, all dress in 19th century frontier attire. I was getting a little self conscious, I'm 23 years old, California surfer dude, shorts, no shirt, feeling really out of place. I came around one aisle and came face to face with a young woman maybe about 30 years old. No words, she gave me a quick look up and down and met my eyes. I can see her face clearly in my memory - I swear, I thought at the time she would have left with me if I had suggested it. One of those haunting memories.
Dear god why anyone would walk in public without a shirt? In France there is a sign at a promenade that it is forbidden to go in swim wear on a promenade. Civilized country. Signs for visiting californuans
It's sad how places like this exist in the us. The pine ridge reservation looked worse than any of the parts of Colombia I've been too, and Colombia isn't as rich as America.
It’s sad that everybody sees black or white but if you ask me those kids looked equally sad. I hope we can overcome our problems and start helping out each other.
In 1950 when we moved to Detroit I could leave my bike out front and dad could leave his keys in the car. When I left in 2006 many places you couldn't sit in your front room due to drive-by shootings. There was about 1.1 million population in 1970 and as of 2020 it was down to 590K. I'd go to sleep most every night to the sound of gun fire and sirens. I was even diagnosed with a mild case of PTSD due to the environment I grew up in.
The one redeeming little thing I experienced in Pine Ridge reservation when I drove throught there a few years ago was that in a gas station in the town of Pine Ridge I overheard a young mother with her two kids, both less than ten years of age, and she spoke lakota with them. For me as a linguist (though I don't know any native american languages) that was heartwarming. But other than that it was mostly a sad experience seeing that place.
While roadtripping the western U.S. we drove through some reservations, even stayed for a bit and hung out with some people there. My conclusion is that apartheid is very real and ongoing in many parts of the country. The U.S. needs to seriously acknowledge and address this issue, now.
I stopped at the gas station there years ago and I was asked what I needed. I said I needed to fill up my tank. The young woman working there had no idea what I was talking about.
We spent two days at Canyon de Chelly, AZ, in Navajo Nation. Such poverty, but such cultural pride and knowledge. It's literally a different country within our country, and it deserves so much more recognition and acknowledgement. Yes, there's gorgeous scenery, but the culture is a huge eye-opener. (Bonus points for listening to the Navajo radio stations that serve the area.)
@@518jimg Almost a year since I wrote that, but fair enough. You can be pretty sure they do speak english as well; you'd have to look a long time to find anyone in an indian reservation who knew only a native american language, that hasn't been the case since the early 1900s. Besides it is never a disadvantage to know more than one language. I speak several, and english is not my first language, but that has never been a problem, and I would not have been "better off" (to use your expression) by knowing only my mothers tongue. Furthermore, to each his own is a good way of looking upon those things, and a mother and a father who themselves speak more than one language are perfectly capable of deciding wether to teach their kids one or both.
I grew up in southwest Virginia (and this was before the internet and we didn’t have tv besides three channels for news) but we weren’t even aware that we were that poor. It wasn’t until I grew up and moved away that I saw how barren parts of my old life were... my wife visited it with me a few times and said “this is like going back in time 40 years”
There's quite a few FLDS folk in and around Richfield, UT, 3 hours north of Hildale. Nothing like this, I just bring it up 'cuz it's real strange running across these people at the Walmart or a restaurant. They're not social, I've tried saying "hello" or "pardon me" whenever I'm by a group of them (they're never alone in public), but they usually look straight down and walk quickly. The men are never with the groups of women it seems. Most groups have a matriarchal woman among them to guide them through the stores and out. They talk amongst themselves, occasionally see them laughing. Real odd folk. And they really do all look alike.
@@christopherwilcox9654 Yep, I used to live in Kanab, and I know what you mean. Some people would ltell me that as they drove past/thru there, they just felt a feeling of dread or something "bad." I just know i always went exactly the speed limit. Last thing i wanted to do was be pulled over there.
Hey guys. I wanted to address the content of this video as after three years it's now showing up in a lot of folks' recommended videos and getting a ton of views. At the time that I posted this video, the channel had less than 1,000 subscribers and most videos had views in the hundreds. The majority of subscribers were geographers and nerdy folks interested in places. I was able to use terms like "ghetto" and "third world" knowing that viewers would put those terms in context as slang. But with this video now being tossed around the political media circles and being recommended to folks who watch a lot of political videos, many people are pouncing on it as a political tool. "Of course these places suck, they're Democrat cities", or "Of course these places suck, they're Republican states". I take pride in this channel being above politics and cringe when videos are used to push an agenda. I could've definitely presented the info in this video better and more professionally, although I do stand by the actual content.
Specifically for Chicago, I have posted a new video that addresses some of what I spoke about here, and how I myself am partly to blame for some misguided opinions of Chicago. If you're interested in a new (and frankly, much better) overview of Chicago, please do check out my more recent video on the city.
ua-cam.com/video/ckCoFSQgeP4/v-deo.html
I appreciate you ❤️ A man that stands by his work and words, but not too prideful to be self-aware or aware of others. And because of this, I am subscribed! Keep up the good work.
Well said and agree. Poverty is rampant in both Red and Blue states. To say it's the fault of one party is inane. Neither party has fixed it in either Blue or Red States
I really enjoyed your video.
If you had to choose one of these places where would you live?
Kyle, keep doing what you do! It perfect
You look a little bit like Bruce Springsteen when he was younger.
My truck broke down in one of what was probably the poorest areas of Southern West Virginia. I managed to coast into a small town, but it was Sunday morning and nothing was open but a convenience store. The town appeared to be a whole lot of nothing. My truck was full of expensive gear (telescopes, computers and camping gear), so I couldnt just lock it up and come back the next day. Anyway, the girl in the convenience store called to one of the auto shops in town, and the owner skipped church, came in and fixed my truck. When I went to pay him, he said 'No charge' because he saw the veteran license plates on my truck. I insisted on paying, but he wouldnt budge. Nicest and kindest people Ive ever seen in my life. Since then, Ive realized that many of the most charitable people youll ever meet are also some of the poorest. It still blows me away that people would be that nice to a stranger.
Was this by chance flatwoods?
people who know the value of a dollar and an hour's work.
I had a similar "breakdown" story in Fillmore Utah treated like royalty by the locals Godbless them.
I had to get gas in southern WV and was treated like trash. No response even when I greeted them and nasty looks. I’m a black guy, and I’m not saying they are racist but they sure weren’t friendly.
I been to 46 states and I agree the poorest people in Louisana where the nicest to me. The rudest where in Hollwood and in wealthy parts of L.A. The farm people of the midwest where ones I also liked a lot.
Of all the US road drifters you are simply the best. No smug sarcasm, no over the top mocking. You could have had a field day with these places but instead presented an excellent sober rendering. Always interesting and unique views. Dog's adorable as well.
Thank you!
yeah. That's good to point out. He isn't sardonic and snide, but nor is he blind. He does a pretty good job at this.
I agree... and the content was both interesting and insightful, without a lot of time-filling fluff. I usually don't even bother viewing any video that is a list like this, the top ten whatever or 8 worst whatever... I usually pass on these because they are either overdramatized or sensationalized or just pure garbage content... this was a pleasant surprise, subscribed because I find geography interesting and you deliver good solid no-nonsense content. thanks!
@@GeographyKing Where did you search the photos for these eight places? They are really amazing, sometimes Nat’l Geo quality :-)
Well said. I was struggling to come up with a paragraph That summarize my thought about this video and then saw that you had written the perfect encapsulation.
The people in Richwood, WV really touched my heart with their kindness in 2016 a couple months after landslides buried much of the town, yet they pulled together and still held their summer parade. A damaged church offered me a free burger, a disabled resident befriended me and told me all about his family roots. I’ll never forget my humbling and positive experience there.
My Mother was born in and grew up in Richwood. I have so many fond memories there and still have relatives in the vicinity. Good people there.
The problem with West Virginia is that the people refuse to leave. I am from Culloden and left in 1952. Ghettos are caused by lazy uneducated people. Yes lazy. Few of the poor even have library cards. You can read your way to an education for nothing. It's free. 20 years ago, I read a book and got a job making $345.
You know…….y’all must be white, because I’ve never been treated well in places like Richmond or Ashland. That’s where I saw my first skinhead with nazi tatts. Pretty impu
You're the "correct" skin color that's why
Just reiterates that "money doesn't make good people." I grew up in church, and have noted that we are often better when we're humble. Sadly, humbling experiences are what put us there.
Success isn't everything.
Being kind and good is.
My daughter went to Pine Ridge reservation, she celebrated her 15th birthday there. She made friends. She enjoyed meeting the people, but she told me how poor it was there. We aren't rich or middle class ourselves... I'm glad you talked about Pine Ridge
My hometown is on a Native American reservation in Arizona. My mother made the decision to move my brother and I to the city for better educational opportunities and to avoid the rampant poverty that was all around us. This meant leaving my grandmother behind but she wanted her sons to excel, which we did. Today I live a very comfortable life thanks to those opportunities my mother gave me, and I am forever thankful to her for this.
Referring to my comment that some people choose to live in poverty, your story is a perfect example to the contrary👍
My grandmother worked as a teacher at one of the Navajo boarding schools just off the rez. Said the folks would rather not see their kids for weeks or months at a time, knowing they would be fed, clothed, and receive a better education than anything the rez had to offer.
Why do the reservations still exist??!!!
@@qjtvaddict property rights, now.
Arizona is ranked #47 in education. Red states are always last. Shocker. Hanging dry classes at trump university is not education.
It’s such an interesting phenomenon, how some of the poorest places contain some of the kindest hearted people. One year my brother and I got stuck in a rural Appalachian town during a snowstorm trying to get to a larger resort town. We were helped by countless local people at several points along the way. I will never forget it.
It’s called southern hospitality. You won’t get that up north
@@vtheg4842 Is that so? You don’t know the rural Midwest.
@@edl6398 you’re right. Like most people, I don’t because no one lives there
Its almost like people that aren’t driven by money and greed actually care about other people.
@@vtheg4842 job. B,b
The poverty in that part of West Virginia looks awful, don't get me wrong, but the landscape is breath-taking.
Yup, its on par with Western North Carolina. They just need to manage it better and take care of their people.
i agree
I’m from Ohio, and as soon as you cross the river it starts getting sad real quick 😂
Really anything from Athens and down is bad
I've always lived in West Virginia but only been to Logan County once. That was a very long time ago.
My daughter-in-law had a business trip to Chicago so my son went with her. One day, he decided to take the train out to a car museum. As the train got farther away from the business district, the sketchier it got. There was an elderly black gentleman sitting across from him on the train and he noticed my son was getting nervous.
He asked him where he was trying to get to. My son told him and then the man said “Son, you look like you got a few dollars in your pocket. I suggest when this train stops you get right back on one going back into the city”.
That’s what my son decided to but when he got off, he didn’t know where the station was that he needed. He was nervous about walking around and it was starting to rain. My son then saw a policeman and went over to ask him for directions. The officer had my son get in the car and the officer drove him to the correct train station he needed.
It ain't that bad... As anywhere, yes any where always be aware of the surroundings... Cuz, the best neighborhoods don't mean the safest...and ain't no trains out there...🤔🤔🤔 to get away...
That's common in most cities. It's that massive sewer rats that is freaky.
@@moralfortitude...2217 Bruh. Let me tell you right now statistically Chicago is way more violent than most cities. As it stands now it is a whopping 67% more dangerous than the national crime average. It also had the highest number of homicides in the ENTIRE country in 2022.
Well you don't sound too grumpy to me Darlin' 😘😉
@BYRRD oh so live, there ???
Back in the early 90s, when I was a young naive kid from Portland Maine, I took a job as travelling salesman and was able to "see America"
After a few months I found myself working downtown Chicago, and got lost , on foot, after entering a highrise building and exiting the wrong side. After a few blocks, I was in an area of such decay , it was surrealistic . Block after block of silent abandoned buildings, stripped cars, garbage, needles ,empty crack ampules and a general absence of humanity ...a Ghost Town in the middle of a Major City and I stuck out like Casper! Eventually I found a sm
store, that was open (despite it's outward appearance) & was fortunate enough to find that owner was more aware of my danger than I was as a dumb white kid. He insisted I stay inside his store till I could get a ride outta there. He also suggested I remove my gold cross necklace and watch, keep them in my pockets, move my wallet to my front pocket and never return. I gained some valuable wisdom that day .
* Cheers to that unknown gentleman. 🍸👍
Well isn't that a beautiful story.
Back in my more open-to-new-experiences years, before I had an automobile, I hated taking buses, so I used to hitchhike occasionally . . . mostly in suburban and exurban NJ and I never had a problem. This was in the 1970's.
5 years later, I owned an automobile and would occasionally pick up hitchhikers. Mostly because I was bored driving alone, and probably because I was empathetic to those who didn't own an automobile.
I did this once on a weekend trip from DFW headed East towards Louisiana and picked up a smooth-talking, friendly man who was quite interesting to talk with as he was intelligent and friendly.
I dropped him off and waited in the car while he met with some of his (not-sure-how-they-were) relations in the poorest rural setting near Shreveport/Boisser City that I had ever been to . . .
Imagine a field of small 1-room shacks with bunk beds and minimal electricity and plumbing.
In most of them, 2+ generations of women, plenty of kids and not a grown man to be seen.
Yupp, this is how poor people live(d) and I had no idea. 40 years later, I remember it vividly.
Chicago has many fun neighborhoods.
And I always thought Portland was a ghetto. I avoid that place.
In the early 1980's, I was a physician in training who rotated through the ER at Henrotin Hospital. Our clientele consisted largely of gangbangers from the nearby Cabrini Green projects and drunks/partiers from nearby trendy clubs and bars on North Clark and North Dearborn streets. About as diverse and contrasting demographics as you could hope to find; really a borderlands situation! I was told the ER was the 2nd or 3rd busiest in the city, though the hospital it was attached to was comparatively tiny; most of our patients who needed admission were sent on to Northwestern or Cook County after triage and initial treatment.
I remember being poor growing up, but our neighborhood cared about each other and it was a clean neighborhood.
Well said....your community and people who discuss and watch the neighbourhoods are the best!!! Rich or poor
Mine were poor and filled with crackheads who’d kill a kid for a rock. You’re lucky
I was talking to a girl the other day who had grown up in the city, but then her family had moved to the suburbs to have better schools. She commented that people (in the suburbs) didn’t help each other like they did in the city. I found that very enlightening.
I remember being poor growing up too💯💯 look at us now, grown up🤷
We were so poor that if I hadn’t been a boy I wouldn’t have had a thing to play with.
This video could also be titled " places where houses are still affordable in the US"
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Move to a Midwest small town I have a 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage huge fenced yard sunroom shed with loft all for 108000
Although the air hurts your face in the winter and we just had a tornado 20 miles north but its cheap
You can find all that in small town downstate IL for even less!
Lol 🤣
I've been out to Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea and honestly I love it out there. It's surreal to see a massive sulfuric basin in the middle of the desert with rotting fish in the salt crystal sand and the bizarre art made from decades old boats and cars and homes. It is really like nowhere else, it's like you've gone to another dimension.
Bombay Beach is pretty much Sandy Shore from gta5 lol
I grew up in Youngstown, OH (the place with the highest poverty in the US). I grew up way below poverty. I don’t take any offense to the terms you used. I’m replying because of something you said at the end - places like Youngstown do suck, but it’s also home. It’s not a strong tolerance that keeps people there; it’s a lack of options.
I’m not here to give you a hard time. I just wanted to add my experience. While the place where I grew up does suck and requires an incredible strength to survive, I also love it because it will always be home in my heart.
I like Ohio. It’s improving faster than its neighbors. I’m from KY. I get so sick of being judged about where I’m from. I’m fucking proud to be from there! I got out and I’m doing ok. Good day 2 y’a, stranger…
My father used to sneak Mafia photos in Youngstown in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s for Time and Life Magazines. In his motel after a day of sneaking photos he would tape the film canisters to underneath the closet’s shelves to hide them in case he got beat up or murdered.
Have you ever been to Pine Ridge, South Dakota ???
Okay, it is on the list. I'm actually surprised. People usually don't acknowledge it.
🥲yes indeed..home.
@@sockmonkey22 wow that’s scary..he was a brave man your father.
I've been low income all my life and have lived in low income areas. I have no problem with not having much money but I wish there was a place where I could live that was people like myself who keep their homes clean, don't commit crimes, don't abuse their children and animals. Surely there must be some place for us low income people who want some kind of quality of life.
Montreal
If you find that place, let me know.
There are lots of places like that. I don't know where you live but you are going to have to get out of the city. I grew up in a small town in southwest Ks. with 280 people. It is the kind of town you are looking for. But you will need a car. Today it has a church, cafe, gas station, grade school, post office, and that is it. The nearest town of 1,200 is 8 miles away, the nearest theater is 30 miles, the nearest Walmart is 80 miles. There are lots of towns like this in the western part of the US.
@@Automedon2 What's stopping you? I live just outside a town of 320 ppl and still get 50Mbps internet, so WFH is possible.
if you're going to do the remote thing and the worst road you're looking at is compacted dirt gravel then I strongly recommend buying a smaller fuel efficient car.
Upstate NY isn’t awful, plus houses are fairly affordable (somehow)
I never, ever forget just how insanely lucky I am every day of my life. I cannot imagine living in abject, crushing poverty.
You are truly blessed by God. Pray and thank Him always 😊
I grew up in poverty and the lessons I learned through poverty are enshrined in the love and caring that we had for each other. The love of family that exists in abject poverty has lessons to teach that are to be envied by the well-to-do and rich.
You wont have to imagine for long thanks to the demorats
That’s not luck.
@@jesussaves7973 god has nothing to do with it.
I’ve been to a New Mexico reservation, New Orleans (a couple of years after Katrina) and Perry County, Kentucky. All these places filled me with sadness. After seeing the film “Nomad,” I never realized a town could lose its zip code for being totally abandoned. Such was the fate of Empire, Nevada. I thank you for pointing out communities or neighborhoods in decline. I believe you’ve only begun to hit the tip of the iceberg. I wish there was a magic pill to cure all the parts of forgotten America.
Magic Pill is stop worrying about rich assholes and help real people.
I grew up in Chicago, and it's always been tough town. But even driving at 80 miles an hour through Gary Indiana scared the living hell out of me.
I went to Gary once. My late cousin lived in Chesterton, Indiana and one night when I went to visit (I live 5 hours away in Northeast Ohio) and couldn’t sleep so I was looking up documentaries and found one on Gary. It used to be Thriving city, with theaters, a big civic center and lots of shops downtown. The documentary might have been called, “Stagnant Hope” but don’t quote me on that. So after watching this doc, I got curious. So I took my car (which I suppose was a little dangerous considering I would’ve had out of state plates) and wanted to see Gary for myself. My cousin was this tiny little half Mexican half Scots-Irish lady and maybe 5’1” about 135lbs and drove for Gary Transit for over 15 years, and she used to tell me growing up not to stop in Gary for anything!
My point being, I never once while I was driving around, did I feel unsafe and I’m a 5 foot nothin, 130lbs 35 year old white lady. I went to Michael Jackson’s childhood home there, waved to some neighbors that lived a few blocks away (I went in the summertime) and felt all right being there. It was sad but neat to see the city. I think the saddest part for me was, on the boarded up windows of the theaters, they have the wood painted as if people are still in the ticket taking booth. 😞
Yeah Gary is depressing AF even just driving by it
I was going to mention Gary if no one else has. Yes, it's bad but is actually so burnt out that it's not nearly as bad or violent as it was. Those who remain are actually hard working and mostly friendly, just trying to make it type. If you're ever driving through, check out Kelly's Soul Kitchen and get the best fried catfish with mild sauce around. Also El Norteño has really good but unique tacos.
Gary is a bastard lol. I've been all over meanest town I ever saw
Gary I heard is the most violent per capita. He forgot one.
Living in eastern Kentucky is hard, even when you're middle class, our water has stopped working twice this week, we are under boil water advisories very often, we don't even think twice about it, it's just normal life. It's not unusual at all for our power and/or water to go out and it can be out for days. We have no infrastructure, no jobs, but plenty horrific poverty. And it's so hard to leave, but I am sick of it, I'm working to get out.
You can do it.
Stay strong, Kayla..
So what’s the reason? WHY is it so so bad. WHY haven’t the folks who live there made it better?
I pray you get out real soon babe. Keep pushing.
J Green many here do enlist, it’s sometimes the only way out, I was lucky enough to be able to obtain a master’s degree and a good paying career, so I’ll be able to get out it’s just a matter of preparing to in these uncertain times.
I was raised by depression era parents. We we raised to be grateful. In times of what some may perceive to be hardship, I’d be reminded that plenty of people in the world have far far less. Boiling water? My mom would say, “Thank goodness we have water to boil”. She came from Texas and was dirt poor (literally) after the crash of ‘29. They lost their home and had to live in a cabin with dirt floors. Unfortunately, about the time people start to forget the past it happens all over again.
Me too depression eta parents born into homes without running water and electricity and when my dad graduated from Texas a and m in 59 they packed up my 5 yr old ass and headed out of easy Texas for good to Santa Monica and never looked back. It's a bit different now but my hometown of Athens still has the same population it did 70 yrs ago but home prices are high. My grandmother used to take in ironing to make ends meet as Texas offers no social services to speak of and my grandfather rode a wagon in the Oklahoma land rush and was born the same year Custer got what was coming to him. So it wasn't really all that long ago.
Great full, that is the operative word. If more people were great full they would be better off.
I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s on a small island off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. And we grew up dirt poor, It was a situation where the whole town depended on the iron ore industry and when they shut their doors in the 1960’s those who decided to stay had no other job options. I remember my mom having to be really creative with potatoes, some days that was all we had and I thought we were lucky to have that. And being from a town the used to mine iron ore for over 100 years, it eventually seeped into the water table, there were constant “ boil water” advisories. I made the decision after high school to leave and I did, do I miss it, yes sometimes, but since then drugs and high crime rates have ravaged the place I used to call home. So, you see it is not just the U.S, it is everywhere.
I live in Crete Greece, I am 45....I've always considered myself lucky enough to have parents that offered everything to my sister and me. I try the same for my kids.
After watching this video , I feel many times luckier.
It is unbelievable how stupid human race is....spending uncountable resources for wars, drugs, spaceships etc while basic needs and problems of millions of people haven't been (and will never be) resolved...
💯 in agreement.
"Out of sight, out of mind", and wealthy people always have enough money to keep from having to see ugly things.
@@alexstokowsky6360
Being wealthy is not a character flaw. Cut the crap.
@@TheBatugan77 NIce. I never said that. But I will say being greedy is a character flaw. And of course, the wealthy can live in their gated communities and send their kids to private schools so they don't have to see or associate with people who would remind them of their excesses. Guilty much?
Thanks for respectfully mentioning the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Most people aren’t even aware this place exists, let alone it’s horrible circumstances.
This is awful. Their Congressperson (is it Dusty Johnson?) should be getting them Federal help. I'm generally not in favor of such actions, but this is certainly an exception.
Not to be contrary, but I lived there. Lots of money goes to tribal government. Not much gets used to make things better. It's a big problem. Still, some good stuff happening. Some good people.
No
its run by the Fed Gov
They are supported by federal welfare, they do not own the land, Indian counsels run the reservations, that’s the problem. The place where Indians own the land are prosperous. The government welfare keeps them impoverished, poverty is financially profitable for the counsels not the people.
I spent a week on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I did what I could like building decks onto some of those trailers so kids would stop falling 3 or more feet everytime someone left the door open. I mowed yards where the kids bikes were discovered among the tall grass and they'd thought them to have been stolen. I'd love to go back because I met some absolutely sweet people. There's a truly humbling experience to he had there.
The world needs more people like you. Thanks for helping the Lakota.
good for you man - you sound like a good person
And a few months later...everything you did to improve things was gone.
I was tbere too.
Did you work with Re-member ?
@@floridahiker1503 Awe thank you so much. What an amazing compliment. I agree that we definitely need more people to care and love people who are strangers and are less than perfect human beings. Maybe not necessarily like me LOL but definitely with a huge heart.
Thanks for this informative content. It made me remember a local news story while I was passing through Detroit in 1968. Police were interrogating a thief who had broken glass and stolen jewelry from stores in one part of the city. When asked why he committed his crimes during daylight hours, the perp replied that he was afraid to carry money around at night.
Bad Lt. • Sad and ironic.
Sounds like something from a stand-up comedian.
Kind of funny. The robber knew there are even more robbers that operate under the cover of darkness.
I'm new to your channel and wanted to say I really enjoyed the couple videos of yours I've seen. You're straightforward, honest, and speak earnestly about things that capture your interest. I fully agree with your assessment of these areas, particularly the rural areas and ghettos. It is ultimately sad that these exist in the way they do. Things *should* be better than that, and it's rare that anyone with the ability to do so bothers enough to.
I recently found your channel. As a geography junkie and road trip addict, I really love your contents. This video, however, is the one that shocked me the most. I just learned that extreme poverty is so close to us. It’s unbelievable that very few attention and support has been provided to many of these places.
I'm glad you found the channel. I try to generally keep things positive on the channel but sometimes negative things need to be pointed out. Most stuff about these places is just making fun of them.
Ditto. Great channel.
@VxG Most people that are in these places would happily move if given just a little bit of a boost at their new locale
most of these people are mentally ill. And doing just fine, leave them be.
Mass majority don't care. Folks are happy with their Budweiser and Nascar. Just ignorant and self absorbed. If fox news doesn't mention it it doesn't exist to them.
78-yr-old Brit here. Old enough to know that not everywhere in the US is sugar and spice and all things nice but some of these places took my breath away. We've got our bad bits, too, but none of them are as desperate as the places shown here.
Good commentary; sympathetic, non-sensational and not mocking.
It's disturbing indeed. I hope these people see better futures.
I agree. A non mocking straight forward factual vid
This is what capitalism brings.
everyone of these places he mentioned is controlled by socialist forces; democratic and liberal...the good thing about this is that in America there is a path of exit from that way of life if a person so chooses...most people dont want to do that because they'll have to work and lose their government benefits....I know people like that and I know people who have gotten themselves out of that situation, also.... in other countries especially socialist countries, no path exists ...
@@stevegold7307 If you think that eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, or Utah are controlled by 'socialist forces', you've got your own problems.
I'm so glad you included the native reservations. These really are something you have to see to believe. It's very sad
I'm on the east coast and only visited once, but south eastern WA reservations there were houses I visited with particle board for the floor and there were tarps in the living room to keep the rain out. Was really sad
And we only have the federal government to blame for that.
@@KnivingDispodia I don’t know why they adults and capable human beings
I’ve always thought that they don’t want government help
@@Lildoodirty If you "don't know why" it's because you've made the choice not to acknowledge centuries of discrimination, lies, theft, and genocide at the hands of the US government and US citizens, and you'd rather blame the victims instead.
Driving through Navajo nation in Arizona is also very depressing. Miles and miles of abject poverty. My Wife is from Mexico and it shocked her. I'm from Detroit, you're spot on there.
It is. I got lost there in a storm one night. Street signs all had spray paint covering them. No internet at that time so I had no idea where I was.
I worked on the US or six years, mostly in county hospitals. I was shocked by the degree of poverty I saw. Many of the people I met were decent, har working people. Definitely not lazy, drug addled complacent people. Just people with no future, no hope, no opportunity. I had a great deal of respect for these people who continued their lives, doing the best they can.
Depends on the company you keep. I've never met a person that you've described .
Yes saw a lot of that in rural PA and in rural Florida..poor people with great character and pride and no way out...
It's like that, all over America. Small pockets of kindness, in an unforgiving world
@bella Doesn't sound like company she keeps, just poor people in the area she was in. 😕
You have a big heart to see the good in others with great compassion. God Bless you
Hey, here's my brainstorm idea: all US Congresspersons are offered an all expenses paid 1 week vacation to one of these areas. The catch is they have to stay at least 3 days. Who's with me? Lets see how many US Congresspersons can actually life the lifestyle of the people they expect to vote for them.
They keep voting themselves raises they are millionaires but they will vote down any thing for the destitute
Awesome idea, they can start Poverty Bed n Breakfast.
Free bed bugs and glass of dirty water for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
No tents, RV’s or Campers allowed.
Live it like the locals.
These congresspersons of yours are the employees of money and power. They do not care about you or anyone. This video is good evidence for my hypothesis.
Corporations have hundreds of lobbyists working for them, they go to Washington and give them bags of cash to make laws that benefit them. Screw the people that sent them their to represent them. Michael Franzese just wrote a book called Mafia Democracy it compares how the mafia and the government are ran the same way.
Why do you think congresspeople are somehow responsible for how these people live? Why not look to the local governments in charge of these places, or the people themselves to see if maybe their own choices are causing this poverty?
Your congressperson represents you for the federal government. They don't control your water, your power, your housing.
Man, you are a breath of honesty in social media. No political agenda, no sensationalism, no hogtied political correctness. Just rational and fact-based, yet not ashamed of an honest, informed opinion. Thank you for your work to shine some light on our national self-awareness. By the way, amazing array of photos.
Yo, I live in New Orleans and honestly the places hit hardest were bad before Katrina. Rent has gone up so much in the last 15 years but hourly pay has not. And in a city like this it really is neighborhood by neighborhood for crime or wealthy vs poor. Anyway an interesting video. Geaux Saints :)
You may have a problem if you are that concerned with political correctness on an unrelated video.
@@slinkingslug very true
Yes. This is why I love this channel
Dude, I commend you on your bluntness and straightforwardness! It's actually kinda refreshing! I am originally from Detroit but have been gone from there for years now......but it a weird sort of way I miss that "hell hole"!....go figure...
I will also say that when living in Appalachian Ohio after Katrina I went with a large group of about 50 to help rebuild homes in New Orleans. Most of us thought our worst places were better than their worst places.
Also, you don’t need a lot of money to help people after a disaster. You only need compassion and a willingness to work hard.
It always strikes me how the people with the least, are usually the ones who give the most in times of crisis.
You go, CKN. Most Americans have it so much better that the people in this video, and need to appreciate it.
I went down after Katrina and helped get natural gas stations in St Bernard’s back online. I have to admit even with all the devastation, my first thought was how clean the roads actually were. Having worked there prior, the ability to just come in and bulldoze the streets clear was actually an improvement.
Still keep in contact with many guys I met during that time to this day.
☺💙
This video really made me realize how lucky I am to live where I do.
Life can put us anywhere anytime. You never know what might happen.
Same here.
Me too. I am fortunate enough to live in a nice city in Michigan and plan to move to Montana when I finish school!
Same I’m lucky to live here in Arizona. Didn’t even know the u.s had places without running water since this country has so much money
@@icecreamjunkie6790
Cool I always wanted to go to Montana.
My husband had a flat tire near Gary, Indiana late at night. He had no choice but to change it. He began to notice he was surrounded by young kids looking for trouble. He placed his 45 cal on his lap. Changed the tire at break speed. Tightened every other lug nut. Got in the car and the hell out. A few miles down the road stopped to secure the tire. Thankful he was safe.
Gary is a scary place. Lots of crime and drugs.
I used to have to drive through from western NYS to school in Chicago in the 70s. Gary and South Chicago were absolutely terrifying (once saw a car burning roadside by an abandoned south Chicago steel mill). Detroit was worse; in the early 70s, there were gangs driving on the road that would hit a car then kill the driver when he/she stopped to exchange information. I thank all the gods that may be my car never broke down going through that I-94 corridor.
Yes, Gary, Indiana, should be on your list. I grew up about two hours from Gary in a farming/small town community. Many non-farmers lived in town and would drive to Gary to work for US Steel-an easy drive via the Indiana Toll Road. My older sisters got their nursing degrees at Gary Methodist Nursing School associated with Gary Methodist Hospital in the 1960s. It was an exciting drive there and back as a little girl when we took them to school and back. It used to be a great place.
Then US Steel left as did other related businesses. Now, Gary is dead. Just take the Chicago Skyway and look out over the collapsed roofs and broken windows and graffiti everywhere.
My husband was driving back home from Chicago a while back and got lost when he took a wrong turn and missed the Indiana exit onto the Skyway. He wandered a bit, and stopped at a stop sign in an empty kind of area. All of a sudden, a policeman put on his siren and stopped him. “Who are you? Where are you from?” Really grilled him. It turned out that nobody ever stops at any sign in the area my husband was. They have murders and carjackings all the time. “Follow me and l’ll get you to the Indiana Toll Road and never come back here again.”
Gary is definitely on my list of bad places - and I'm from Detroit's suburbs!
@@peggybrilli2642 U.S. Steel is still in operation and yes the "city" of Gary is a dump
Geek- Me KING! informative and production quality high, from having the interest and putting in the time. Glad you found me with it. Glad you broke them down into categories, and with the exception of Salton Sea, nothing to make fun of. Kyle, I guessed 3 out of 8, you pulled the rest by surprise, shock and provided a teaching moment for a quarter hour. Now that it's known, time to pray and do something about it. Take the ones that really got worse to make the worst compared to the ones that have been the worst. Some moved from moonshine to meth, they always had the same pain, same problems. Now subscribed, looking forward to seeing, hearing and learning about new places! Yes, congrats! Impressive stats, you earned and deserve the kudos! LC
I lived in a destitute neighborhood in New Orleans whose struggles were obvious to the eye. However below the surface the neighborhood had a deep sense of community and familial connections that are a rarity in modern society. That spirit in combination with the unique and irrepressible cultural traditions made it the richest place in which I have resided.
Totally agree with this view. Of what he's listed, I'd pick New Orleans as the most livable of all the "worst" places mentioned.
Yep. Some of the best times of my life were when I was “poor”, hanging out with “poor” folk in “poor” places.
I'm glad for you guys. However, community shouldn't arise in just poverty. I hope the city and state governments make serious changes to improve the living standards of people who grew up in conditions like you did. NOLA is a very unique city in the US and it's a shame that some parts are just so destitute. Should the quality of life improve I hope that that communal feeling doesn't fade away in favor or individual pursuit.
I was going to say the same. I love our city. The homeless situation is getting worse it seems. Could be because of the Pandemic too. :/
Good to know. This is the one I would choose after hearing this to live.
I used to live in Appalachia. So true. Imagine being born in there in poverty with relatives who lacked ANY practical skills and only a handful of families have all the wealth and privilege. It is very medieval. The right last name can get you a quantum leap in socio-economic advancement. I got out but because of my poverty, my "niche" social skills, etc I have only progressed so far. You are decades behind regular people in other parts of the USA in terms of personal development. The main problem is that you lack mainstream references and experiences with which to connect to people. It IS a THIRD WORLD place.
But you are articulate and smart. You can still learn those things.
Thank you for sharing your experiences
Yeah, I realized that when I read Heaven (VC Andrews). It was an entirely different world to mine even for children. It was definitely based in some part of reality.
I also saw well off people have problems too, though not having food to eat, security, different problems.
What is so different in social skills there? In what way do children grow up differently besides the materialistic and food related poverty?
same with me in a shitty rural outskirt of San Antonio. You'll go to even the shittiest metropolis in the US and everybody's got a leg up. The United States is a shithole because of how large it is. So what if someones from Camden, they got Philadelphia walking distance from them. Or someone who is from a shitty neighborhood of Houston, they got a straight shot road to abundant arts and industry from like 5 different downtowns to choose from. New York, that's just plain privilege. People from important cities grow up next to job after job after school after school after community service event
Rural Texas is hell, specifically south and southwest and west texas of temperatures 100-110. Louisiana, Miss, Georgia Alabama, those places kreeped me out anyway
When my kids were little I would take them to Mexico and we would stay there a few days and I would explain and show them that even though those people were poor, their houses were kept clean and maintained as much as they could. Some of them even had dirt floors and yet they swept and cleaned them. Being poor has nothing to do with cleanliness.
" There's a thin line between love and hate. So is there for rich and poor, cleanliness and dirtiness, and disciplined and not disciplined. That thin line is you and your mentality." Solid Future Mastermind
Right.
Well said. I was raised by my grandfather, in my youngest years, he would tell me the same thing. "Even if you are poor, you can be clean." Another saying I heard from him: "Even if you can't afford an education, you can read; therefore, you can teach yourself."
The lessons here: you can come from nothing, but with EFFORT and the WANT to be better, you can (and will) be.
@@rolmodel12. Until you can't afford water, or cleaner. That only works to an extent. It's very easy to end up in a place where you have no access to ways to clean yourself or your environs adequately, and you'll find very quickly that public spaces don't appreciate you using the restroom sink for a spit bath.
Solid cluelessness, more like. The distance between rich and poor becomes greater, quantitatively, every day. Your mentality has nothing to do with objective reality. If you think it does, go stand in front of a Mac truck and try using your mentality to change its course.
@@dierdriu Having the will to better yourself should not cost a thing. Finding a way to do so, might; but, you gain much more. I think it is a good investment.
It is an outlook, an attitude. You can have it, whether rich or poor.
But, if you think you can change "objective reality" or stop a "Mac truck" with a good outlook, then, yeah- you're unstable, or on hallucinogens, or maybe just an idiot. Regardless, maybe it's better they go out quick and believing in themselves.
Better than being a miserable asshole.
Straight to the point and no messing around, great summary.
My husband grew up in the 9th district of New Orleans in the 70’s and early 80’s. He was one of the few white students and his dad was one of the infamous dirty New Orlean cops. Some of the horror stories he’s told me just break my heart.
Did he get his ass kicked daily? Scary
@@creator4413 his dad was a dirty cop, in New Orleans, the town were people just go missing, no one would have bothered him much if at all, this was back in the 70’s and 80’s very different than today, not saying better or worse, but very different.
@@charlesprice7608 no one actually 'missed' these scumbags ... it was for the greater good if you think about it
@ Jesus, Ross! You're certainly a disgusting human being
@ And this de-humanization is why this American disaster continues.
Nice job on approaching this video with maturity and professionalism. This is clearly a channel for knowledge and not cheap entertainment. I’m officially a fan and subscriber
Indeed. The professionalism is sublime.
Completely agree!!! You win my sub! Thank you for discussing this with compassion and respect.
Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Eastern Kentucky/Appalacia 4:33, Mississippi Delta 7:01, Pine Ridge/Lakota 7:51, Hilldale/Colorado City 9:18, Bombay Beach 12:21
Thank you.
Like and comment to help get this higher up in the comments
You a real one
No camden NJ??? This whole video is discredited without that city on it..
Thank you, your videos are always so interesting!! Unbelievable that these places exist now in the modern age!!
I am currently on my first cross country road trip and your videos on the subject really have helped me in planning my trip. This video is important for a whole other reason. Awareness. Thank you for showing the rest of us places that we may never have been exposed to. Some people will live an alternate lifestyle by choice, but there are those that don't...if I had to choose which one of these areas I would live it would be wherever I, without any formal training, could have the most impact in helping those who want it. Thank you for this video.
I'm happy you liked the video. I try to keep things informative and not go over the top desperate for views while hopefully providing useful info. And I hope you're having a great road trip!
It's really sad about Detroit. There are a lot of vacant buildings but if you look at some of these buildings the architecture is absolutely beautiful. You can tell by looking at it that one time this was a beautiful city
My parents moved there in 1951. It was beautiful then. Now, it's just a typical democrat led city. Look them up if you don't believe me. I've traveled all over this country and it's always the same
Detroit was amazing. So sad. Had the most beautiful high school ever.
Now days if you go to Detroit, the gangs Will kill you!!!
And Detroit is the only one moving forward. A lot has been done and there is a lot to do, but it's transforming.
@@johnbob4545 I really hope it does.
i grew up in a relatively middle class area of eastern kentucky and am soon moving to a decent neighborhood in huntington, wv. these areas are poor and addiction is a major issue, but things have been looking up the last few years. even when i was in high school (2011-2015), our district had programs in place to ensure poor children were fed outside of school and had christmas gifts, clothes, etc. i struggle to believe there will be a time in my lifetime where i see the area thrive, but it has so much potential. it is beautiful here. the people are kind, hard-working, and generous, even if they don’t have anything but the shirt off their back to give. i fault the government, both state and federal, for lacking the empathy needed to build and rehabilitate these communities. there is genuinely no reason anyone in appalachia, or anywhere in the u.s. for that matter, should be so impoverished while politicians are millionaires and billionaires don’t pay taxes. that money should go to helping addicts recover, to helping families eat, to helping children and adults get proper education so they’re able to contribute more to society. these people need help. no one should have to leave the area they were born and raised just to survive. i love to travel, but appalachia is my home and no amount of poverty would drive me away. we stay because we love it here, and i wish the rich could spare a little to help it become a place that could grow and ultimately thrive.
A beautiful part of the country indeed... I find this so ironic, maybe it's because folks are more spread out there, but lately all the poverty we have seen on TV has been in the inner cities, it's almost like all you good folk don't even exist. And you're in, TN, VA, WV, NC, KY and other parts of Appalachia. Just the lack of dental care makes things harder, job interviews don't go well if front teeth are missing & the cycle repeats... Even if a dentist is near, when you have to choose between feeding the fam & going to the dentist.... it's a luxury item, pair that with a poor diet, lots of Mountain dew consumed, poor brushing habits.. and that's just the dental part, a small slice of the pie as far as hardships go, throw in high illiteracy... You have to have help to even escape the region. My grandpa came from an honest to god Poor House in WV... and climbed the corporate ladder to become a Sharecropper in KY. It's difficult to escape.
No one needs to help your area out. The people in the area have to create some something, that is it's the local people job to create the economy, or to migrate to other places.
But that's the way it is.
No one owes the people there living
@@jmontoya4689 you clearly have no empathy or understanding regarding appalachia
@@jmontoya4689 I agree I live here people don’t wanna do better. They are complacent and treat outsiders like trash if you dress better than them they laugh fuck everyone here I tried helping so many here but they don’t want help
Weird question, but can you tell me how Huntington is as a city on the border of that whole area? Is it a fairly normal city for its size or is it just like the rest of Appalachia but... denser?
In April of 1977 I was transferred from St. Paul, (Russell County,) Virginia to Williamson, (Mingo County), West Virginia in a managerial position (Asst. Trainmaster) with the Norfolk and Western Railway, now Norfolk Southern. My assignment lasted 7 years in one of the busiest parts of the rail network. Coal was king. Let me tell you about the citizens of that region (Rural Appalachia). There are none better! Yes, the geography of Appalachia is challenging. We suffered two major floods (1977 & 1984) that impacted the both Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia. However, the strength and fortitude the people, especially those I supervised was nothing short of astounding. I recognize things are not the same now. Losing Coal has had a major impact on the economy and the opioid crisis has not abated to a significant degree. But my main point in posting this account is to praise the worthiness of people of Rural Appalachia, a people of principle and dedication, who took a young, somewhat inexperience supervisor under their wing and demonstrated what true professionalism (in the art of railroading) and compassion in life was all about. Those 7 years (1977-1984) were so important to me and I want others to know that I hold the people of Rural Appalachia in high esteem!
My dad grew up there and I've heard the stories from the 77 flood many times
They are people with a good work ethic, unlike generations of people in the Northern Democrat-controlled cities. These people have no work ethic. They have been raised on generations of government handouts and consider themselves victims every chance they get. They have been raised in the pollution of victimhood and everyone is a racist
Id like to see how Detroit looked like in the 60’s must have looked amazing and ppl must have been optimistic
Cleveland too. They were both in the top 5 for largest populations in America (around 1950). Cleveland’s population has shrunk so much, it’s smaller than Wichita, Kansas
My Grandpa grew up in Detroit in the 1930's. At that time Detroit was one of the richest city's in America. The Architecture and Workmanship on the 1900- 1940 buildings are very unique. Buildings today are not built with artistic architecture. Sad what Detroit could have been today without the corruption.
@@kevind3185 Detroit was doomed when auto manufacturing moved abroad. I don’t think less corruption could have saved them.
It was THE place to be
@@michaelbledsoe9296 Detroit went down hill in the 1960's before the import cars were sold here in mass.
I’m currently going to college in New Orleans, and while the government has done a fair amount to help preserve this beautiful city, the way that the system has failed parts of the city is striking. You can be in any part of the city (even the rich parts) and meet a homeless New Orleans native who is the kindest person you’ve ever met who just wants to get by. Resilience is the only way to describe the people. I hope one day everyone in New Orleans can have affordable housing.
+ Its called Democratic leadership. Their all corrupt & belong in prison like Ray "chocolate city" Nagan. New Orleans has a VERY long history of being a racilly divided & VERY corrupt city.
@@marvinheemeyer6660 Ray Nagin is actually in prison, as he should be
@@roachlegg1 + Things started to look like they were gonna do some good but stopped after Nagan. There's alot more need to be locked up.
Detroit 1:01, Chicago 1:48, New Orleans 3:07, Eastern Kentucky/Appalacia 4:33, Mississippi Delta 7:01, Pine Ridge/Lakota 7:51, Hilldale/Colorado City 9:18, Bombay Beach 12:21
Thank you Miy. That's really useful.
Thank you
Thanks for the video and your note about the language you used. We’re all learning. Being open to learning, growing, and understanding perhaps the most important part!
I was an over the road Haz-Mat chemical tanker truck driver for 13 years. ----I saw it all, except for Pine Ridge and the Salton Sea (I drove my car past it). ---What you described is incredibly accurate. --It was shocking and sad to see these places. ---To me, Eastern KY and many parts of WV were devastating. I never saw such poverty. ---Detroit and Chicago at least had access to many modern things. --But Detriot was off the wall out of this world sad but fascinating in its own way. I saw makeshift commercial like billboards advertising drugs made by drug dealers. --What the hell? -The ghosts of massive industry vacated was so crazy to see. ----I would drop off the Tanker on Green Street and go to the Casino (Detroit Moter city) and a few times I made some wrong turns in the tractor. ---All the streetlights were blown out, and it was a wasteland. ----I stopped to get pizza, and it was very good (I am from NY) _I also thought the Pastrami on rye out there was better than NY. ---I was never messed with in my 13 years driving Haz-Mat. --I think they thought I was nuts. ------------WV was a special place to me. --The people were all so nice. ---A few places out there, I did not stop at. --It was scary to be honest. --Very isolated in my opinion. ---They did not have modern services. ---Very few will believe you about that. --I do, because I saw it for a fact. ---------------I did have some issues on the road, but not in your eight places. ---Save a spider in Chicago. ----It jumped on me in the ghetto---I thought it was gone, but it attacked me as I was driving on I94. --It almost killed me. -------------I can tell you traveled. Good work on the truth. -----Sad, but true. --We have third world stuff going on here in one of the richest countries. -I appreciate you exposing the massive poverty that very few know about in America. --------Stefan Veatch.
I too drove tractor trailers long haul for 8 years and agree with you about these places. The images stay in my mind on the extreme poverty and why has none of this been addressed after so many years?
The way you type suggests heavy drug use. Get some help my friend.
You guys must be able to tell stories for years! I love it.
I grew up in desert shores a salton sea tiny town. In the summer it smelled like dead fish and p.e. in school was in 120f, ah good times.
My name is Jane. It might sound weird, but, this is a great nation because we are allowed to be poverty stricken and still live freely.
Isn't Bombay Beach where Trevor Philips lives?
yeah it does look a lot like Sandy Shores. Rockstar probably based the town after Bombay Beach
@@gameboygamer6498 they did
@@lilzigss I believe it’s based more on the town of Desert Shores on the other side of the Salton Sea, which isn’t much different anyway.
"The only thing they farm out here is methamphetamine!!"
Bombay beach is going to end up as some artsy expensive oasis like Marfa Tx
cleveland's motto is "at least we're not detroit"
That's quite an accomplishment! 👍
There economy is built on lebron James and most of the places look like a scooby doo ghost town.
@@MrSmity We’re so retarded that we think this is art 🎨
Alabama's motto, "At least we're not Miss."
As in many lists of "worst of the US" have places like MS and AL last but AL is only 49 to MS's 50.
Come on down to Cleveland town everyone
When I was little & growing up and something would happen to me and I would feel pretty bad about it like it was the worst thing...Then my Mother would say to me, you know there are people who are far far worse off than you!!! After seeing this and how some people are living in a country so wealthy as America. I live in Australia, and we have down-and-out areas also but nothing like that. Thank you for posting your videos.
I’m a nurse in South Dakota, albeit on the other side of the state. We get patients from the rez at our hospital, and it’s honestly heartbreaking the lack of medical care and resources that our own citizens lack. The level of poverty on pine ridge and the other reservations is surreal.
These people seem to be brainwashed into thinking they are nothing. But in reality, that rez is rich and the food they eat and how they live can be changed. But if you have the leadership to keep these people down and depressed and feel worthless then Pine Ridge will stay that way.
This nation's neglect of our already so terribly harmed indigenous population is heartbreaking. Thank you for your work!
The offices in DC have plush carpeting and leather furniture but the Indigenous people have no running water and live in shambles...check Trail of Broken Treaties.... it's beyond disgusting and heartbreaking... shame on The U.S.
@@margocaldwell8109 I mean I used to work with who was Turtle Mountain Chippewa would always say you can trust the government just ask a Native American.
They are not "our" (US) citizens. Let this be a lesson...do not rely on the government for anything.
West Virginia and Kentucky are absolutely heart-breaking; complete failure on behalf of their state governments to actually provide the services these people need to survive.
And yet, they keep voting Republican 🤦♀️
@@guitrr democrats, republicans theyre all the same
@@guitrr Moscow Mitch is from there.😆😆😆
@@guitrr That is because from the end of the Civil War until a few decades ago, the areas were run by the Democrats. It is going to take a long time to undo the damage done by the Democrats.
@@guitrr they voted democrat with the unions for 80+ years while they were sold out to foreign owners and replaced with automation. Trying to judge everything through a modern tribal view with no understanding of history is ignorant and shows no real empathy to what happens here or WHY they now vote Republican
Being from Kanawha county West Virginia all I can say is..... Thank you! No one ever believes me especially when the topic of poverty comes up and I mention home and everyone gets upset and acuse me of trying to undermine their urban narrative's. Or just straight up lying in an attempt to "fit in"
My family used to drive from Cleveland all the way to Florida to visit relatives because it's cheaper than flying. It's like a 20 hour drive. We always go through West Virginia and I've seen glimpses of small villages and the poverty was super evident. Derelict buildings, dirt roads, and one town had a single restaurant, a McDonalds, that was super super run-down. We stopped for a restroom break in one area at a solitary gas station (I didn't go in) and my mom said that the bathroom was literally a hole in the ground. It honestly breaks my heart that such extreme poverty exists in areas like this and gets completely disregarded. I guess the areas are so rural that very few outsiders even know these places exist, let alone their condition.
Stop trying to steal their misery.
@@moonstruck-swede sorry for the extreme inconvenience you endured.
@@Moose803 You've misinterpreted my whole point. I didn't "endure" any inconvenience and I'm not complaining at all. I was simply validating the fact that people living in that area indeed do face significant poverty that many people elsewhere aren't aware of. It has nothing to do with me.
@@Moose803 😂
Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah have changed to some degree in the past ten years. There is a modern grocery market that welcomes tourists. Residential and tourist-friendly development is springing up to the west, nearer to Hurricane, Utah. There is off-grid, ranch type property, rental cabins, and a tiny house resort as well.
This is truly heartbreaking. I was feeling bummed about not being able to save money for Christmas then I see this and realize how fkn fortunate I am to have a roof over my head and enough food to last until my next paycheck. I’m so glad this video showed up in my feed.
There are resources available to help you with Christmas. Do you have children?
Sometimes things are so tight that I go hungry for a day or two, and I'll set my alarm for 3:30am, when my paycheck shows up in the bank, and I'll go eat.
@@YTsux100pct._of-the-time.Jesus dude, do you have kids?
Yes! It has that effect on a lot of us i suspect.
Thank your President for that.
I been financially poor most of my life run down old house's sometimes to feed my family i'd have to go shoot something or catch something not much money. But it's been a great life swimming in creek's and rivers. Fishing hunting. Being part of nature. It's the simple things that can make life rich
God bless you my friend! You truly are ritch.
Absolutely. I honestly would take that life over a fancy city life any day.
Steven, you sound like a decent man with values, that you are probably passing on. How refreshing. Thank you.
Living in nature is nice. But access to healthcare would be nice as well.
May you always be rich and have a rich and warm heart. May you always have what you need and need for nothing.
My mom always told me, just because were poor doesnt mean we have to live like trash.
Exactly. Like the guy standing there with all those cans on the ground. He can store them better & then take them to be recycled & maybe get a few bucks back. Or don’t. But the cans don’t have to be all over the ground. I shouldn’t talk though...I need to go clean something
😮 Wow, just wow.... These are people who are so poor they are without hope. And you found a way to look down on them. Clap. Clap. Clap.
I don't wana make excuses for laziness but honestly. Are you offering to drive them where they need to go? Are you paying for garbage disposal and dumpster rentals? Can you take the time to teach them the things they need to learn that noone else taught them? Like how to read or cook? Or clean them selves and their homes? Will you lift them up or do you intend to just talk down to them on the internet?
@@evanjuleen you dont need to be able to drive to live in a city
or even a bigger town the only place you need a car is if you live in the mountains or near farm land otherwise you can walk
second if you dont have shit why would you need a dumpster sure a trash can but even that can be burned
there is no excuse to be poor when this country has every freedom you need to become a middle class or even rich person
Your mom always told me don't stop until I scream.
Pine Ridge is the first area that came to mind when I saw the title of this video. I was a delivery driver for almost 30 years and P.R. was my route for several of those. The first time I went there, it was a huge shock. I had been to inner city ghettos and crime ridden cities but I thought I was in a 3rd world country when I went through Pine Ridge, Manderson, Wanbli, Oglala and Porcupine.
This video is proof that no matter how bad you may think your life is, someone, somewhere else has it worst off than you. It's also motivation to work harder, and smarter to improve your life.
damn rights man
I see it as one proof that our political leaders (many of whom are millionaires) have no interest in serving the people they supposedly represent
How about working to improve others lives instead. The me society greated this.
@@Delusionalcry
People also have an obligation to improve their own circumstances, not just cry and blame others.
Thank you for mentioning Pine Ridge. I wish I could say it is the only impoverished Indian reservation, but sadly it is not. Most people are in the habit of not even acknowledging Indian reservations, or if they do, they conjure up these tropes about casino-rich tribes run by The Mob.
Btw, I am proud to say that a few years back I helped a few refugees from Warren Jeffs's cult (including two of his children) enter college after they left Colorado City.
They are blessed to have you in their corner
When I drove through the Navajo Nation, it was spooky. I was heartbroken at the state of the homes, the places the people still lived. I don’t remember seeing a grocery store. It was such a sad place.
@@tracylovingood8696 I've been to the Navajo nation 2x, where my girlfriend lived and idk where you were, but Gallup definitely has grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, movie theatres, Walmart etc.
Well, if you think about it, it is a logical line from a sordid aspect of America's history. The formal genocide of the Native American populations began after the Civil War, and it was active and bloody and incredibly violent. The INFORMAL genocide began after the surrender of the last great chiefs (think Quanah Parker or Sitting Bull). At which point, the US government began officially HELPING these native populations by making them completely dependent on said government, utterly destroying any vestiges of their traditions and depriving them of any of the value of their ancestral lands that they might have been able to take advantage of. THEY DON'T OWN THE LAND THEY LIVE ON, EVEN NOMINALLY. So.... they can't do much. If you think about it.... the Native American population was the first demographic of the US that became dependent on government. That is why they are so advanced in their degeneration and extinction. The American people never see them and wouldn't give a shit even if they knew about it. Out of sight, out of mind. The question is: which demographic is next?
Thank you for helping people in distress!! It took me awhile to remember who Jeff is -- he is the one had a major part in the formation of a compound in my country and my part of it, called Bountiful. Which, if I remember right, was the location he was caught shipping his human trafficking victims to and from in arranged 'marriages' between senior citizens and prepubescent girls. So, kudos for helping a couple of refugees escape from Jeff's nightmare.
When my husband and I were dating I mentioned that we didn't have cable t.v. until I was at least 16. He countered with, "Well I didn't see a television until I was 14!" Since then, I stopped feeling sorry for how me and my family lived. We REALLY didn't have much, but clearly there are people that have less! Loved the video! Thanks, man!
We live in Florida and didnt have A/C till I was 14 also when younger I lived with no running water or electricity.......make you appreciate indoor plumbing! We didnt have cable either so when MTV first became popluar I had to go to friends houses to see music videos!
Your brain is better for having no TV. Kids today with phones is crazy.
@markae0 I completely agree.
Back in the early 90s, a buddy of mine from some little hillbilly town in Tennessee brought a newspaper clipping to work (in the Army) from his hometown newspaper one day. It was an article about the town's first red light. We all had a good laugh about it as he read it to us. I won't ever forget one part, as my buddy read it with his distinct accent from the hills of Appalachia......he says "with a red light for stop and a green light for go". I have known people that grew up without indoor plumbing. And I have known people that have never been more than 50 miles from where they were born despite being in their 40s. So, I know what you mean.......lol
My parents never had running water til they were probably in their late teens to 20yrs old. Kinda happens when you spent most of your childhood in a refugee camp in the middle of a third world jungle.
I’ve been to a couple of these places. You certainly didn’t exaggerate on what I can speak to. If anything you didn’t show anything near the worst. It’s heartbreaking. I will say that the people, in the two areas I can speak to, are some of the absolute kindest and generous people in the world. Even those who have resorted to the drug and alcohol issue to cope are not the mean type of folks. They are often gentle and kind without the alcohol. kind. It’s just heartbreaking. The focus on the changes needed are more on the punitive side and not on the loving side of humanity. It is just so heart wrenching. Thank you for bringing it to the light.
I met a southwest Virginia hillbilly in the 90s. His father was a coalminer and he grew up with an outhouse. He charmed the pants off of me, quite literally. RIP Steve. 💔
Literally?he probably never forgot you
@@scoutman yes, I know I never forgot him.
I met one in the early 90’s too! Nate Wade. The Natester!
@@clarkewegener9197 were your pants charmed off of you? ;)
you're keeping his legacy alive by sharing your moments here. now a brazilian guy from a coastal city (me) knows how charming hillbilly steve was. he didnt forget you either, for sure. thank you for sharing this lovely short story 💛
Bombay Beach looks like Sandy Shores from GTA 5
I THINK that’s what sandy shores was based off of but don’t quote me on that
@@austinchampion4041 you are correct, it is
I thought the same exact thing!
It is kinda, Sandy Shores is a compilation of Bombay Beach and this really weird hippy commune that I forget the name of at the moment.
@Grayson DeAscentis yessir, I believe u r correct.
I did traveling home improvement sales for Sears for several years. Part of my territory was West Virginia, Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky. SW West Virginia had towns that were identical to Silent Hill, and at night gave me such a sense of unease as to be beyond description. As countetbalance, as little as those folks possessed, I met some of the warmest and gentle people I've ever met. Even the snake handling preacher, whose house barely kept the elements at bay.
yea we little screwed up here in eastern Ky , ill admit !
i may be responsible for some big foot sightings , i get bored walk around at night ! okay im on meth
@@brianpinion5844 do you smell like rotten eggs? Often I read in big foots sighting the smell of rotten eggs lingers.
WOW
My Dad, as a young man, went to Malawi, Southern Africa.
He said, and others have said on UA-cam, that those Malawians are some of the poorest and also the loveliest people ever.
If I were forced to choose one of these places I would choose WV. Although there are poor areas like you depicted, conversely there are lots of decent areas like Huntington. My late mother was born and raised in WV and anytime we would go to visit her there we noticed that the majority of the people we met or dealt with on a daily basis were very kind and willing to go out of their way to help you or make you feel welcome.
I lived in Huntington myself. Well, Barboursville actually. Not a lot of "rich" (ostentatious) people there, but rich in heart and patient with newcomers is the norm. Didn't want to leave.
This is the first time I haven’t seen Baltimore on an worst places in US video.
I really like Baltimore. I just revisited Baltimore after 27 years.
Well, they have an aquarium...that’s about it.
Definitely have their share of poor communities and abandoned buildings.
@@radorigami It is about the people you meet. The place is secondary.
Me too, and I live in Baltimore. It's two cities, of course. One full of professionals like me -- so many major institutions here -- and the other, well, the other would normally be on a list like this.
Baltimore metro is really nice but when you go outwards...it just
You have done a remarkable job keeping the list to only 8
Yes, the Salton sea stinks, and the "beaches" are covered with the remains of sea life, including the shells of feather dusters which are kind of cool. However, it's a fantastic place for bird watching with magnificent frigatebirds making their way to the inland sea. Also it's not random "pollution" that kills the fish, it's salt from the sea bed itself and fertilizer run-off from surrounding farm lands. Because it was made by an accidental release of water from a Colorado River diversion project and because of the wildlife die-offs associated with it, the Salton Sea is actually an ecological disaster area. There is also the country's only moving mud pot which is a curiosity.
Looks kind of like an amazing place for photography as well.
@@doctorbohr1585 Yes, there is dramatic geology in cliffs above the Salton Sea on the West side as well as all the "art" on the abandoned buildings. I look forward to seeing your photo esssay some day.
There has also been talk of building a canal from the Sea of Cortez, which would allow sea water to flow downhill to it (the surface of it is a couple hundred feet below sea level) in an effort to control the toxic dust storms
They need to fill it w/ sea water, otherwise all those chemicals will become airborne. Great Salt Lake too needs to be replenished...it too has irritants at the bottom of the Lake!! And for the sake of the thousands of migratory birds,they need a place to stop!!
@@devilsadvocacy I measured an 89 mile canal. But wouldn’t that flood the Salton Sea region?
Although the smell in Bombay beach can be horrible, it’s actually a pretty interesting and weird place to visit. A few years ago, some LA artists and musicians had some kind of art/music festival, and they left some really trippy art installations all over the desert. I heard they wanted to continue it, but maybe Covid interfered or something. I can’t remember exact details.
In the same area, you can visit ‘salvation mountain’ and slab city.
Both are worth looking up, there is no end to the weirdness found out in the middle of the desert. A lot of really cool art can be found too
really good take on Appalachia, glad you mentioned us, lots of people really dont understand how low quality some living conditions for people are in that forgotten area of the US. SWVA opioid capital of the western hemisphere.
Very sad
SWVA here. That is very true about the opioids. I've watched so many people I know turn into zombies. Its absolutely terrifying.
I remember when Lebanon VA just 10 min from my home town made the cover of world news and report for being the opiate capitol of the world.
I'm seriously thinking of starting a GoFundMe for the Appalachias. They all deserve the comforts everyone else takes for granted. We, without thought/unconciously, reach up to flip a light switch, open the fridge and pull out xyz and microwave it. We grumble of putting loads into the washer and dryer. We turn the a/c or central air down a degree or so and the heat up. We buy new clothing. And so on.
And then there's the Appalachias amd it's people. Fellow Human Beings. No one in 2022 should be living that way. I blame the State Govt for prioritizing The Best for cities that already have the Best. If we care for (and that means CARE for: not just basic needs but also COMFORT and contentment and no worries - the unconscious flip of a light switch, etc) those who have the least and help them build up, it only helps the ones above them and the ones above THEM and so on.
Y'all are strong folk. You're survivors. I could never do it. I'll admit that right now. I could never do it. I'd pussy out and trot back to my (low income but - unfairly - better) home and life in my town here. I'm poor, but I'll gladly start a GoFundMe with what money I can spare each paycheck, and hope others will donate as well;. We all need to help others. It's what Being Human is all about.
It’s horrible and so so sad. The series “Dopesick” opened my eyes to all of it.
Appreciate you showin support and shining light on reservations. My family is from the turtle mountain reservation in North Dakota and just like pine ridge it’s just fucked so they moved to Montana, the state with the most reservations. But here it’s not great either, the Rez(es) is so much poorer than the rest of the state, some allowing non natives to buy land on them so that helps with Gentrification, even Mexican Cartels have set up shop on them cuz they know there’s less police and the people there have a 99% chance of getting hooked on whatever they’re selling. I could go on forever, so thank you for bringing awareness to the brothers and sisters of Pine Ridge and their struggles
Drugs, alcohol, & corrupt Tribal Councils, what could go wrong?
It’s disgusting how the government has mistreated indigenous people. And poverty, intoxicants, lack of opportunities, are spokes in a viscous cycle. The shame is not on the individuals trying to live on the reservations, but in the corrupt a-holes who contrived them and perpetuate them
I've had two or three periods in my life when I lived without electricity, running water, or hot water. Really makes person grateful for those luxuries when they can get them again.
We were vacationing in the Death Valley/Joshua Tree area and i told my wife I wanted to check out Bombay Beach. It is exactly as you describe. The beach also had very sharp shell pieces. The stench was, indeed, bad. When we pulled into the community, the rental car's GPS started squawking, telling us we were off the road. Very strange place.
Death Valley is VERY far from Joshua tree. Coachella valley is pretty close tho. Bombay beach is really trippy, as is slab city, which is further out. If you didn’t visit, it’s worth looking up on you tube. As is ‘salvation mountain’.
There’s a LOT of strange sh*t in the middle of the desert!
@@ltraina3353 Heh. We took a vacation that included stops at both places. I considered removing my mention of DV/JT, thinking someone might call out the distances. I guess I should have simply said we checked out Bombay Beach/Salton Sea while on vacation out west.
Nebraskan here. I've been through Pine Ridge a few times. If I absolutely had to choose one of your eight places, it would be here. There is at least some hope for the area and the Native community is actively working to improve educational and living conditions. In other words, there is a more hopeful attitude among the citizens there.
I feel like you should have added Centralia Pennsylvania to this list. Imagine living in a town where there's been a fire underneath you for the last 50 years. At one point they even had their zip code revoked because the government was trying to get everybody out.
That was where the idea for Silent Hill came from iirc.
The town is uninhabited.
@@danrunner84 not completely, theres a few people still living there, i was there 2 years ago. Most of everything is torn down, but a few houses remain. The church is still visible on the upper portion of the mountain from anywhere in town, its really creepy, especially during foggy times, as the fog gets insane there.
I’m from PA, centralia and the area around it (the closest town is ironically called Ashland) are kinda poor and rural but you don’t see too much “crushing poverty.” That’s more like north Philly or especially Allentown and the poconos where so many buildings and factories are just totally abandoned. Centralia now is just two middle class houses, a fire station, a church, and a lot of tourists.
That place is Nothing but Trouble
The fact you know about the impoverished area around salton sea mean you know exactly what you're talking about! So many other youtubers missed this area. Good job!
Thank you!
It's because people outside California can't even imagine any part of California being so destitute. California has always been about "lying to the world about how great they are." So they have always tried to cover-up embarrassments, like the Salton Sea. And until now, unfortunately, they have done so rather successfully.
@@shindari yes California is arrogant with the aspects of this state. To be honest it is a fantastic place to live, California beaches are amazing, the Sierras are absolutely grand. The cities have every amenity that any human would ever want. Also the taxes aren't that crippling as what others may make it out to be. California also has some of the least populated areas in the country. Along with the poorest and richest.
Salton Sea has never been purposely hidden or covered up by its own population. There's just so much other things that it gets glossed over.
Apathy more than a purposeful cover-up is the problem. The Salton Sea has also had major press coverage, and champions like Sonny Bono in the past. And because water rights are the number one political issue at the state capitol, what happens to the Salton sea is always on the tips of their tongues.
My comment was more about UA-camrs not doing proper research and this man doing proper research to give us facts.
California is a amazing place to be. It literally has everything. The bad and the good.
There was a movie set there starring Val Kilmer, a bit strange and sad, but very good.
Speaking of the Salton Sea, there is a place near there called The Slabs that is an abandoned military base. The physical slabs are where houses on the military base once sat. Now it's full of lazy people who found a place to live.
What's crazy is that the US allows any citizens to live like this
I ways wondered why being poor meant you couldn't throw your trash away. My aunt lived on 12k a year. And her house was spotless.
Cause money has nothing to do with it
⁹
@@AnthonyD0311 No , but they could burn what is burnable for heat , recycle the recyclables for a little cash (probably for meth instead of food) .
Don't cost a lot to be clean
Some of it I'm sure is just people being trashy but you have to imagine there is a lot of mental illness in communities like this that isnt addressed as well.
My dad had built a house out in Bombay Beach and during the my summer vacations from school in the 70's we would go and spend a week or to out at the house in Bombay Beach. I hated it. No friends to play with. To freaking hot to go outside. so just stayed inside with the air conditioner on. We stopped going because as more and more people left dad decided it was no longer a cool place to go and he just abandoned the house and property and when asked why are you not selling the house and property???? Son who in the hell is going to buy it? Nobody goes out their and nobody would even know it was for sale. What an experience...
My family was there 65 years! We ran the Bombay Market......I bet We met because you HAD to go there for something!
I'll buy it
@@TheNaturalGamer1 Ok, sold for -$600.
Write a book about it...
@@kerrybiery6360 with spelling and grammar that atrocious I don't think he's writing a book any time soon lol
I lived near Portsmouth, Ohio for a year or two, which is right in the center of the Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia tri-state area. The place I lived was a literal one-light town in the hills, the only store was a gas station and the only restaurant was a pizza place. What struck me the most about living there was the stark difference in living conditions from home to home. I'd say that at least 70% of the homes there were nearly (if not outright) uninhabitable, but there would be these very nice upper-middle-class homes right next to them. It only served to highlight just how bad things were for those people. The drug abuse down there was heartbreaking, you hit the nail on the head when you talked about people walking around like zombies. I grew up very poor, but what I saw down there went beyond poverty; It was this abject, hopeless destitution that you could just see on peoples faces, this resigned understanding that life was horrific and it wasn't ever going to get any better. It honestly changed me as a person, and I feel like it would change anyone who's never seen it first hand.
I bought property next door in Adams County. While the property is vacant, anything not nailed down got stolen. It is a different world there.
A lot of my family are from that corner of Ohio, and as a kid I would stay with them for a few weeks every summer. What you describe pretty much hits the nail on the head for how it was. Neighborhoods with 50% decent houses and the friendliest folks you could ever meet, then a few spots down a house or trailer that's barely standing owned by people I either never saw or was told to not interact with, usually due to the drug problems they had. A lot of this particular town is on a flood plane, and after a really bad year a whole portion got leveled. Had a chance to walk through that area about 15 years later and was amazed to see anyone still living there. Same hodgepodge of fixed up homes and still standing wrecks (some inhabited, some not), only now with a ton of open lots from ones that were cleared and just never rebuilt.
I have seen the same sort of thing in farmland turned to rich estates in a rural area, you could tell what farmers were left were struggling, unpainted houses clearly occupied, the new house next to a house with the roof caved in, no signs of life, but it was not nearly as stark. It still made me sad to drive through.
So hard to believe these places exist in the USA 🇺🇸. Very informative video!
Detroit has changed a lot....I'm 52 years old, grew up in the Detroit area, moved to Chicago (ironically one of the other urban areas you mentioned). Long story short; moved back 20 years ago, looking for the cosmopolitan/urban feeling of Chicago, and it didn't exist then. There are wide swaths of Detroit that are sparsely populated and "ghetto" but there definitely has been a renaissance of the downtown area over the past few years. I will make you a offer: Would be more than happy to take you around, and give you a tour....you pay for your travel to the D' and I will take care of you from there. fly in on a Friday, and we will give you a grand tour of the D' that might change your mind....if it doesn't...well, you will still have a good time!
I literally could not listen to how he spoke on Detroit because clearly he does not know Detroit
Can I recommend that you take him by Coleman A. young intl airport if you conduct a tour of Detroit? I think about that place a lot.
Don't bother wasting a trip just to see a few gentrified blocks of downtown while the rest of the city still smolders like a landfill.
Many people are proud of their hometowns... whether they should be or not.
@@faultymouth and you clearly do not know the definition of "literally".
@@johnd5398 😂 how's that? I skipped to Chicago, buddy
I have a Colorado City story. In 1978, some of my extended family, six of us, were on a big tour bus from Las Vegas to Lee's ferry, to take a raft trip down the Grand Canyon (fabulous trip). The bus blew a rear driver tire right at Colorado City. Since it was going to take a couple hours for the repair, most of us passengers wandered into town. I knew nothing about the place, but I did overhear some of the others commenting. The two level houses, etc. As we straggled in some of the locals starting coming by on their ATV's to check us out. Just men folk and boys, all dressed the same with big cowboy hats. A little weird. In the general store there were a few lady and girl folk, all dress in 19th century frontier attire. I was getting a little self conscious, I'm 23 years old, California surfer dude, shorts, no shirt, feeling really out of place. I came around one aisle and came face to face with a young woman maybe about 30 years old. No words, she gave me a quick look up and down and met my eyes. I can see her face clearly in my memory - I swear, I thought at the time she would have left with me if I had suggested it. One of those haunting memories.
It's because you're Californian
She could smell the liberal stench on you and she wasn't looking AT YOU, she was looking THROUGH YOU. 😂
Dear god why anyone would walk in public without a shirt? In France there is a sign at a promenade that it is forbidden to go in swim wear on a promenade. Civilized country. Signs for visiting californuans
you were in a polygamy town colorado city
@@bambinaforever1402 not everyone is ashamed of their bodies
It's sad how places like this exist in the us. The pine ridge reservation looked worse than any of the parts of Colombia I've been too, and Colombia isn't as rich as America.
It’s sad that everybody sees black or white but if you ask me those kids looked equally sad. I hope we can overcome our problems and start helping out each other.
In 1950 when we moved to Detroit I could leave my bike out front and dad could leave his keys in the car. When I left in 2006 many places you couldn't sit in your front room due to drive-by shootings. There was about 1.1 million population in 1970 and as of 2020 it was down to 590K. I'd go to sleep most every night to the sound of gun fire and sirens. I was even diagnosed with a mild case of PTSD due to the environment I grew up in.
Gotta thank them sub-Saharan peeps !
If White genocide was a city
I wonder why
@@impetiousdoom White eraser.
@Blind Freddy Up yours, Bland Ferdy.
Seems like facing the truth is hard to swallow for y’all.
The one redeeming little thing I experienced in Pine Ridge reservation when I drove throught there a few years ago was that in a gas station in the town of Pine Ridge I overheard a young mother with her two kids, both less than ten years of age, and she spoke lakota with them. For me as a linguist (though I don't know any native american languages) that was heartwarming. But other than that it was mostly a sad experience seeing that place.
While roadtripping the western U.S. we drove through some reservations, even stayed for a bit and hung out with some people there. My conclusion is that apartheid is very real and ongoing in many parts of the country. The U.S. needs to seriously acknowledge and address this issue, now.
I stopped at the gas station there years ago and I was asked what I needed. I said I needed to fill up my tank. The young woman working there had no idea what I was talking about.
We spent two days at Canyon de Chelly, AZ, in Navajo Nation. Such poverty, but such cultural pride and knowledge. It's literally a different country within our country, and it deserves so much more recognition and acknowledgement. Yes, there's gorgeous scenery, but the culture is a huge eye-opener. (Bonus points for listening to the Navajo radio stations that serve the area.)
heart warming ? They would be a lot better off learning to speak English
@@518jimg Almost a year since I wrote that, but fair enough.
You can be pretty sure they do speak english as well; you'd have to look a long time to find anyone in an indian reservation who knew only a native american language, that hasn't been the case since the early 1900s.
Besides it is never a disadvantage to know more than one language. I speak several, and english is not my first language, but that has never been a problem, and I would not have been "better off" (to use your expression) by knowing only my mothers tongue.
Furthermore, to each his own is a good way of looking upon those things, and a mother and a father who themselves speak more than one language are perfectly capable of deciding wether to teach their kids one or both.
I grew up in southwest Virginia (and this was before the internet and we didn’t have tv besides three channels for news) but we weren’t even aware that we were that poor. It wasn’t until I grew up and moved away that I saw how barren parts of my old life were... my wife visited it with me a few times and said “this is like going back in time 40 years”
Thank you for sharing with us. God bless you, and for your Channel updates
I was born right outside of the reservation. Pine ridge is truly astonishing to see. Extremely sad what has become
Imagine watching this and having your home featured on it
I'm from Baltimore and I'm surprised we didn't make this list- we seem to make every other worst list.
Shout out from Detroit
😂😂
New Orleans ⚜
Feels bad man.
“Creepy” is the BEST way to describe Colorado City/Hilldale😂.
seriously. Driving through there you can tell something is wrong.
I got a " creepy" feel while exploring Temple Square in SLC I can imagine that creep factor amplified by a fringe sect .
Seeing the pictures of those women made me think of The Handmaid's Tale. It's like a small piece of Gilead transplanted into the real world.
There's quite a few FLDS folk in and around Richfield, UT, 3 hours north of Hildale. Nothing like this, I just bring it up 'cuz it's real strange running across these people at the Walmart or a restaurant. They're not social, I've tried saying "hello" or "pardon me" whenever I'm by a group of them (they're never alone in public), but they usually look straight down and walk quickly. The men are never with the groups of women it seems. Most groups have a matriarchal woman among them to guide them through the stores and out. They talk amongst themselves, occasionally see them laughing. Real odd folk. And they really do all look alike.
@@christopherwilcox9654 Yep, I used to live in Kanab, and I know what you mean. Some people would ltell me that as they drove past/thru there, they just felt a feeling of dread or something "bad." I just know i always went exactly the speed limit. Last thing i wanted to do was be pulled over there.