I Visited 3rd World Country USA - Where Houses Cost $30,000

Poor in money, rich in character. I was an out of stater that got lost before in West Virginia looking for a coal mine tour. I stopped at a small shop in the middle of nowhere. A customer was listening as I asked for directions and then suddenly says follow him, he knew where it was and could get me there. What he didn’t tell me is that it was 40 minutes of slow backroads driving away. I was totally far away from the mine. Once we got there, he just waved and said enjoy then drove off. Talk about an outstanding person. And everyone I encountered in West Virginia was just as kind and warm. Don’t bash the people by material possessions, they deserve respect.

That Walmart destroyed all of the local businesses, and then, when they couldn't make enough money for the billionaire Walton brats, they closed it. They then moved on to another small town and did the same thing. Yeah, Walmart

It's crazy because that area of the country is gorgeous. Probably one of the most beautiful areas in the eastern US.

The best strangers in the world. Restored my faith in human kind. We broke down in the middle of nowhere WV on a Sunday. Man and his wife ran a towing business. They drove 40 minutes to pick us (and our 5 little kids) up. Fed us dinner with their family. Gave us a place to sleep. Worked until 11pm to fix our car. Such kindness for people they didn't know from Adam. Our vacation didn't turn out the way we planned but I treasure that time in the home of strangers.

Kind of eerie not seeing anyone walking or driving or ANYTHING ANYWHERE in those towns, even though people live there! ⛪️ 🏡 🏠 🏡 🏠 🏥

This is amazing that I turned this on while eating. When you said War,West Virginia I nearly fell over! I was born in War as was my mother and most of my aunts and uncles! My dad worked at the grocery store after serving in the Army and a group of them went to Welch to go to the movies. One Grandpa was a coal miner and one worked for the railroad. We moved to Texas when I was small but I still claim this little town as my own. So sad to see the poverty. 🥺

Older woman outliving males should be typical given many of the men working in the coal mines probably suffered from Black Lung. The surviving senior women probably feel too old to move or have no means to get out of the towns. It was an interesting, but sad ride to see.

I'm in Malaysia and have never been to the US. But from since the 70s, whenever "West Virginia" is mentioned, I'd always remember that song by John Denver: "Take Me Home, Country Roads". [Edited to add "n" for Denver]

Well this popped up in my feed. It hurts my heart 😢😢😢😢. I call this down home and I was born here in WV. My family was all coal miners. I'm a coal miners daughter. We are the butt of lots of jokes.....however you'll never find better folks than those country people that growed up in them hollers. It's heartbreaking 💔 what's happened down. Home. Only babies and old folks around. No jobs so the youth left in search of opportunities. Be kind in your comments. There's a whole lotta pride and pain in these lil towns.❤😢

Damn gimme a remote job of 50k, id live here like a king and love the quiet

Dear Joe and Nic. I just wanted to tell you how much my husband and I have enjoyed your videos. My husband especially watched them during these last few months. He died of cancer in July 2, but your videos helped him to forget about things for a while. Thank you for doing what you do. I live in far east Tn and you missed a great place skipping over us on your recent trip from Asheville going north. Just wanted you to know that your videos were appreciated in my husband’s last days. God bless and safe travels.

The best man I have ever met was in Cameron, WV. I’m a trucker whose load shifted after some straps failed and rolled the truck on its right side coming down Dragon Hwy 250. This man let me use his bathroom, gave me food, let me rest in his RV, gave me headache medicine, helped me get what’s left of my stuff from the truck before the wrecker towed it…DROVE ME to multiple places to get a rental back to my home state, all were closed ( time of day) until we got to Pittsburgh, PA airport. I’ll never forget him and his amazing wife. There are some truly amazing people in there. May GOD continue to bless them.

We're 11 minutes in and we still haven't seen a single person. Not a soul in sight.

The one thing you begin to notice is how quiet these towns are. The woods are slowly reclaiming them.

I wish public schools taught every one of us how to renovate homes and other skills like that, so we could volunteer them and put them to good use in rebuilding these towns and homes. Absolutely beautiful, refreshing videos! Thank you!

That’s my grandfather’s old house in the thumbnail, and my grandmother’s house is also in the video. These places may be poor in money, but there’s a whole lot of character and memories in these old towns

When nature takes over those buildings, it's both beautiful and sad simultaneously 😊😢

We may not have a lot of money and material things. But we are surrounded with what we need to survive. We look out for each other here, we actually know our neighbors by name. There is no other place on this earth that I would want to be. Every morning when drinking my coffee as the mountain fog is lifting. Watching the deer come down into the bottom to feed. Followed by the turkey's and squirrels with the birds singing welcoming a new day. The only sounds you hear are the sounds of nature. No voices no car or truck noise just nature. We are so rich in ways that outsiders don't understand, because they've never experienced these things. Yes, we may have our problems, but our lives are so much better than most. I know of people that have a bunch of money, but money can't buy this commodity we have here, it's priceless.

Poor does not necessarily mean unpleasant.

I hiked the Appalachian trail about 10 years ago. The trail goes through many poor, forgotten communities along with some larger trail towns. These smaller communities taught me some of the biggest lessons the trail had to teach. Most people will give you the shirt off their back in these little towns AND expect nothing in return. You want a place to sleep for the night? You could easily find a spot. Want laundry done and dinner? They were happy to help. Need a ride into town? Yep. It was nuts how kind everyone is. The trail taught me the people with the least have more than many of the richest folks I’ve met. Decent the bones. What a wild time and I miss it every day.