Hey Briggs, good job on this one except for one thing. The map you showed for Mariana, AL was where I am located, in Marianna, FL. Another small town, but yeah, I caught that.
As far as Rosedale, Mississippi goes, I grew up in an even smaller town about 20 minutes from there, going to Rosedale was the equivalent of a common man going to Vegas for the weekend, just some perspective of poverty levels.
Oh wow I wasn't expecting Scotland Neck for NC, but honestly the only reason I've heard of it is there's a bird sanctuary there. Not a lot of money in saving birds unfortunately.
Rosedale MS is a culturally significant town as it is mentioned in a couple blues songs and is purported to be home to the crossroads where Robert Johnson made his deal with the Devil. I went to law school with a girl from Rosedale. When I found out where she was from I naturally asked her what it was like, this mysterious place I had heard mentioned on the radio so many times. Her response: "it's okay."
Jonesville, VA! I have been there a few times when volunteering for animal rescue. Believe me when I tell you the pictures you flashed showed the nicest parts of the town. For every 1 stick built house, there are 10 1970s single wides. And you nailed it when you said the main employer and main draw to the town is the prison. They were so excited when they first built the prison there. There are no restaurants except McDonalds and a Pizza Hut and one other locally owned/non-chain restaurant. There is a Walmart nearby that is also a “main draw.”
Sorry to play name police but it’s Belle Glade. I did my first two years of college at the juco there. That area of Palm Beach County (believe it or not, that’s the county Pahokee and Belle Glade are in) is literally the Third World.
@@rylanprime6176 I agree!! I emailed him about his service of helping me find a state I would happy to live in. He wanted me to pay him $200. Ridiculous!! I was going to ask him if he gave a senior discount.
@Fitz the dragon I remember when Clinton won the election back in the day. I forgot what year. All I know jobs were popping up everywhere. I went from part time to fulltime/permanent . . . at an insurance company. I was working through a temp service.
Jamestown TN... I just moved out of that town. Lived there for about 16 months. Here's some inside information. It broke my heart to leave because I had the best friends I've ever had and met some of the nicest people I've ever met. However...then there's the rest of the people there and the people with legacies and the police force. They don't want new businesses nor do the businesses of long time, generational residents want new customers. The bad people there are literally the laziest and most self centered people I've ever met. They think they're royalty so they don't want competition from outsiders. Anything new threatens to rock their boat. So, you literally can't get most services in town or even the whole county. They'll tell you outright that they aren't taking new customers. The whole county has about 17k people. Then there's the corrupt establishment in the town and county. Police are only there to run cover for the punk kids of the generational residents, push the poor burnouts and shoplifters around, and occasionally harass out of towners. I miss my friends though.
Unfortunately a lot of small towns end up this way. One family or group of families own everything in site and don’t want the competition. The town ends up dying because no new influx of people or ideas..
My parents built a second home between Clark Range and Crossville in '89 on old family property. Last I heard, we still have some family in Jamestown. Now, when I visit them, I don't even see the town part because of the 127 bypass, but I fully understand what you are saying about the older families having a lock on the town/county. It's a shame, because with Pall Mall/Forbus and a lot of good roads around there, it could be a lot more than it is. I always liked the farm on 127 just south of there with the black fence that goes on forever, and the junkyard that no one can see that must have hundreds of cars stacked on each other.
I'm a country kind of guy, but for me I have to worry if it's a Sundown town, and have someone attack me because they think I don't belong there when all I'm doing is enjoying the area.
Small towns use to arise around a business like a mill,energy,manufacturing,mining,seasonal attractions. Many of those manufacturing jobs left in 70s-today. Walmart kept 1000 small towns employed with there 100% USA Made Products,Sam Walton business model.His children changed that policy when they took over the leadership in 90ish.
Quite often the villages were formed around where farmers bought supplies, sent their kids to a one room schoolhouse and went to church in the old days too.
I remember Walmart's USA made program well since their advertising fliers used photos of store employees and their families wearing the clothing and using items. Had a cute neighbor at the time that was an assistant store manager that Walmart used several times to model swimwear and tight clothing. She said that Walmart was trying to increase sales for those companies so they wouldn't go to Mexico or overseas so bought their products in bulk only to see those sit on the shelves and racks due to people buying cheaper products elsewhere. Walmart ended that program after more and more of the companies shifted production out of the country where lower labor costs helped them to match their competitors' lower prices.
I live near and make service calls to Rosedale on the regular. It's main industry is the port where lots of agricultural products get shipped out of and the local tow boat service JanTran. In the peak of harvest season, it turns into a major shipping hub.
Rosedale is also mentioned in Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues". which was covered by many artists including Led Zeppelin. All these towns were supported by agriculture which ran on Mule power.. Mules take a lot of man power to tend to all of them.. Plus weed control, and harvesting supported a lot of people. Houses were everywhere. Until, tractors and cotton pickers made the need for labor and mules obsolete. The exodus of labor really didn't culminate until after WWII. In the 50's and 60's It seems like everyone left for Chicago. All the houses were torn down so the tractors wouldn't have to go around them. and all that was left was little towns.. The people that were left lived on Social Security as they were too old to start over. There are many stories behind all these small towns. You know why there's a small town or place name every five miles or so? That's where a well was so you could water your horses and mules. ...
Hey, love all your videos! What happened to the best small towns in America video’s? Are you going to do every state? Love those! Thinking of moving to a small town but not sure where.
My guesses for this list using some of my own research: Marion, Alabama Selma, Alabama Helena-West Helena, Arkansas Ozark, Arkansas Homer, Louisiana Washington, Louisiana Clarksdale, Mississippi Hazlehurst, Mississippi McComb, Mississippi St. Stephen, South Carolina
Well apparently none of my guesses were quite bad enough to make the list. It’s sad there are 10+ places poorer than all of these places which have poverty rates around 30-40%.
This dude just puts together click bait and expects people to believe everything he says. I can think of 3 towns in one SE Alabama county that is worse off than any town he mentioned. Again, nothing more than click bait. See my post above on other mistakes he made on this video alone. Later!!
Folkston, Georgia is a great place for train watching. There is a place, Folkston Funnel that is popular with rail fans like me. The main artery up and down the Atlantic Seaboard.
I wouldn't have said it if you didn't mention it, but if you're ever in Beaufort/Jasper County in South Carolina, there is a wonderful Brewery called River Dog Brewery that I highly recommend.
I drove through South Carolina and checked out Allendale. Definitely a dying town. Apparently the interstate by passed it back in the 60’s. Paul Theroux visited it and wrote about it.
I live in a rural in the low country of south Carolina and the poverty here can be hear breaking. I do what I can to try to help the elderly and kids that are truly underprivileged I make sandwiches everyday and deliver them to the ones that need them I would love to do more but my husband works on a farm and we're barely keeping our head above water.
"I do what I can to try to help the elderly and kids that are truly underprivileged I make sandwiches everyday and deliver them to the ones that need them" And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what a walking, talking SAINT is like. Not being sarcastic or snide, Ms. Lilly. When you're working to keep your head above water, and you're still giving what you have to people in need -- that is sainthood in action!
@@CH3CH2OCH2CH3net I'm no Saint, I'm just a simple person that can't stand the thought of someone going to bed hungry. Even though I do struggle to get things paid,etc. I know someone out there is having harder than me. I know you said you weren't being snide, but unfortunately what you said did come off sounding a little snide and almost to the point of saying I was not being truthful.
Especially with poorest and cheapest towns to live it would be good to know if there is rail or bus transportation to other larger towns. Those might be attractive towns to retired, disabled and other poor if they can at least once a month get to larger cities foe medical and shopping if not drivers. Some of those places with just $15 05 16k average income could be very attractive and new people bring up that average income and improve the communities.
Why would young people want to move to communities that are a 1-2 hour drive, one way, to the nearest economic zone that provide gainful employment such as Medical? Most of these rural communities are obsolete because they were founded when mechanization of farming wasn't a thing. Today farmers need a fraction of the rural labor that they previously used. The Federal & state governments need to shutter these poor rural communities like how US military bases are scheduled for closure when they're no longer needed.
Moved my family from Sonoma County Ca to Northwest Arkansas in 2020. Best Decision Ever. If you've not already done it, how about best areas in each state?
As a European I would love to move to a poorer town in the US, buy a house and just spend my entire retirement fund there. But not allowed. Portugal with this reapect is much smarter, they allow everyone to come and spent their 7 figure retirement fund there, helping the local economy. Importing money in the form of rich retirees is also a business model.
I’m Australian born and lived in the United States 3/4 of my life & I’ve lived in a number of big cities here - Los Angeles/ Detroit / Atlanta & now I live in a small town in the Deep South ( Alabama) extremely cheap - great people - it’s a time warp - still like the 70s very safe - wouldn’t live anywhere else - can buy nice house $100,000 US
@@larazeesk7080 i would love to live like that, have enough funds to sustain such a lifestyle till I am dead, but immigration law prevents this. I would easily put a million in the local economy over a 30 year span just by my day to day spending, without needing a job or handouts from the government. Like I said, importing rich retirees is also a business model.
You take one in 100 chances of not being alive for to long, U.S poor towns have a 55/100K homicide rate while Italy has 0.5/100K, USA is 100x time deadlier in some areas. Move to Dali China and you get a really nice place for $500 a month and no crime.
Bro, I'm from Knoxville (just north). Jamestown is an incredible little place. You could get a comfortable little coal mine house for prob 50k. Also, Mark Twain's father is a very small thing compared to Alvin C York. Medal of Honor recipient, and a true American hero. Look it up. He's a legend
Yes but then you have to live in TN. There is a reason red states are poor and disadvantaged. Look to your Republican leadership........what are they doing for the poor? NOT A THING.
odd thing it seems about these real poor southern towns is that they seem to be poor, but dont break things and steal everything in response, just keep on keeping on until they die or move away
That’s really what everyone does when it gets right down to it. Money isn’t everything. Some people like their privacy, their land, their garden, their time. They may not want to be in the rat race. On the bill treadmill of life in a bigger city. It takes all kinds of places for all kinds of people.
I’ve been all over the country.. richest and poorest cities.. the poorest are my favorite.. they are the most welcoming and nicest people I’ve ever met. You can keep Aspen and the Hamptons. I’ll take Isola Mississippi.
If you want to know if a Town , County , or City ,is Southern ,Maps are not reliable . The acid test is "Was the State in which they located a member State of "The Confederacy". An argument can be made for West Virginia ..
I wonder if there are towns in the U.S. that have become ghost towns in the last decade or two. I'm in Arizona, where I can visit old ghost towns in almost every county, and I am sure there are old ghost towns all across the U.S., but what about the newest ghost towns?
I like to see a video on central Ohio and the city around capital city I love living here and also live in Newark Ohio thanks and I love your work Briggs
55. Newsflash: Small, poor towns DO NOT have antique shops, therefore one cannot go 'antiquing; there. I know it may be hard to believe, so I encourage you to check it out before you suggest it again.
If Rosedale Mississippi's post apocalyptic town from Walking Dead when it's empty, then Springfield Missouri or Pittsburgh Pennsylvania must look like post apocalyptic Raccoon City from Resident Evil
"I have the humor of a 17-year-old boy" Honestly that's how I've made it over a decade as a high school educator. I even look like a 17 year old boy if I wear a hoodie and no make-up. Looking forward to the New England edition of this video.
I would never have chosen Livingston, Alabama for this list. Many of the professors at the university live there in the town. Maybe the key is in the measure of the 'median" income--the number in in the middle, not the mean-the average of all numbers The poorest towns by far would probably be in Wilcox county or around Boligee (Greene County, I think). Although I believe Wilcox county acquired a major new industry recently. The absolute best part of Mercedes, Inc. moving to Vance, Alabama in the 1990's was the continuing movement of new factories from all over the world into our state. I'm shocked at how much life here has changed because of economic opportunities for all our citizens. Wish the same for other states. And the good news is ending globalism is bringing factories back home fast. I don't usually view this site....often so negative. But I am interested in where all those new factories are springing up. A friend was telling me about a EV batteries plant coming to Kansas. Are there others out there seeing changes in your regions?
Today's News: Honda Motor and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution will spend $4.4 billion to build a new battery plant in the United States, Ohio is a front-runner, and the Japanese firm already has car making plants there.
RU-vidrs still do get togethers with their patron subscribers. At least allot of traveling channels I noticed still do it that way. Or you just pay attention on where the person normally goes every year. Some sort of public event and just go to that with the hopes of saying hi. People should never give up exploring and meeting new people or locations. Always keep life interesting.
The fact boligee Alabama isnt on here means 2 reasons 1. Briggs doesnt know how bad this place is 2. It is so bad it deserves it's own separate episode And this place aside from being poor has no internet, no sanitation, no clean water, no amenities besides the post office and the entire downtown is completely gone. Oh and did I mention the poverty levels are nearly 80%
Your Google Maps overview of Marianna Arkansas was actually Marianna Fl......LOL. Easily distinguished by I-10 running right next to town. How would I know? I live in Marianna Fl. Great little small town America.
I tuned in just to see if Pahokee made the list… I used to drive a truck thru there on the way to the other town you mentioned… Belle Glade… never stop at the red light in Pahokee and don’t shake anyone’s hand or drink the water in Belle Glade… you want prisons? They got several… poverty and crime ridden to the point the police station has bars on the windows for protection…
Briggs mentioned Mexico, MO once. I still have family in MO. One in particular comes to mind. When I mentioned that there was Mexico in Missouri, she got all huffy and went to look it up. I think she must have found it. She hasn't spoken about it since. Which, I of course thinks she's hilarious. 🙄😆
We get it Briggs, you hate the south. You have a video for poor cities in the south, but not the north, east or west, why not? Why just pick on the south?
I don't understand the asking prices of some of these homes, I mean, most of the remaining residents live below the poverty line and the homes are listed for 150-300K? Why? No one is moving there to buy them..
Naw, there are a lot of places in Florida that are much worse off than Marianna. For its location, Marianna Florida isn't bad. That's relative, of course.
the great plains are often called the midwest despite not being closed to minnesota, Wisvomit, iowa, illinois, indiana, michigan, ohio, and or maybe missouri
Hi Briggs. I'd like to suggest New England but to be honest it's a wee bit boring up here. I'd rather be surprised and learn about places I had no idea existed. Thanks and have a great week.
One of the reasons poverty stricken small towns have low crime rates is because if you victimize people in a small town ,and you live there , people in town tend to know who did it and are likely to show up at your house with a bunch of cousins. So the dirtbags tend to drive to a close by city to rob a 7-11, or liquor store , and break into houses. In NYC if a mugger gets caught in Queens ,chances are said mugger is from Brooklyn or Manhattan. . If you Catch a mugger in Brooklyn ,most likely from Manhattan ,or Queens or the Bronx. Nobody goes to the Bronx to rob people ,everybody is poor ,and if you mug somebody's mother , and the residents catch you ,NYPD will show up to collect your remains . Same with Staten Island ,The Mob sets the rules over there ,they will just get you when you go to Rikers.
I know already that you have said that you like Wi. , however , I noticed that you don't say much about the Northern end of our state , where I happen to live . Having been born up here , I believe it to be a very nice place to live , yes , there aren't a lot of "GOOD" jobs up here , we like it none the less ,boating, fishing , sports , a great place to raise a family , so I did , ..... thanks for listening .
CORDELE? CORDELE!? I thought my comment would be about Jonesville VA being the birthplace of A.T. Still, the founder of Osteopathic medicine. But then you drop Cordele on me? I love Cordele. I am from Ohio. Growing up we used to go down to Florida in the summer to visit relatives (no it wasn't Pahokee!). We always stayed in Cordele, at the Ramada Inn. I liked the motel and the town. And Livingstone is the setting for a Jimmy Buffet hit.
@@fredupstairs8234 You are right! I looked it up. I know he had a Montana connection, but he is from Mobile. The song works for both towns lol, and I just always thought.... Oh well, I guess the connection to Alabama and the subject matter fooled me. I often hear it with "The Great Filling Station Holdup," which I am guessing was no set in Massachusetts. And if any one says "Biloxi" is about Minnesota,... Lol.
