Inside Appalachia - First Impressions 🇺🇸

This is the start of my Appalachia series diving into the culture of this beautiful part of America. More Appalachia videos coming over the next few weeks. Enjoy! ► Join our community: www.bit.ly/3HC36EH ► My exclusive content on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeterSantenello

I’m an Arab from Abu Dhabi, and I remember visiting my younger brother for his graduation from Arizona State University, back in 2013, and after his graduation we took a road trip throughout America for two months. I was 25 and he was 23. We visited Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. I couldn’t agree more, people were sure mighty friendly. The irony was that the further north we went, the less friendly people became especially in melting pots like New York, or even wealthy states like Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. I even remember being kicked out of a restaurant in Vermont because I’m assuming they thought we're poor college kids lol. Whereas in the south, in a beautiful small town called Ocean Springs, Mississippi. After a long conversation with two tables and the owners about politics, history, and religion the owners decided that our money was no good, and invited us to spend the night at their home. Just pure friendly southern hospitality. I’ll never forget those people. That’s why I have a soft spot for anyone from the South I run into here in Abu Dhabi or Dubai or anywhere in the world. Plus, that random act of kindness, that happened to Peter, after talking to a local guy, who excused himself before him, only to end up paying for his food. That happened a lot to us. I guess, we were just kids to everyone we interacted with. Kids from a very faraway land. Big Oil country boys, that’s what we were mostly called 😅 for being from Arabia. I think we got at least ten free meals in Kentucky and West Virginia alone. Ironically, we were warned by people in California, that we should avoid those states, as people might be rude to us, or outright violent. Funny enough, the only racism or mild discrimination that we got, was from Californians, or those rich folks up in Vermont, and don’t get me started on the Big Apple. That road trip, exactly a decade ago, was such an eye-opening experience for us, that we ended up donating as much money as we could, during the hight of the pandemic, in 2020-2021, for the people of North and East Kentucky, mostly to churches that run food banks for their local communities and congregations, by donating money, for them to be able to buy food, for people across various small towns. We did that for 6 months straight, and I don’t have to disclose the monthly sum, as that’s between us and God. But, it was all thanks to the wonderful people we ran into back in the day. Honest to God, if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have such a soft spot, after watching a piece on YT about those mining towns, with people struggling to buy everyday groceries. We just had to do something, and I’m glad we did. I just wished we could’ve done more. Thank you Peter for this. Those people are hands down, the best representation of America.

One thing I appreciate is Peter acts the same and treats people the same no matter where he goes. Doesn't speak different when he's in the hood. Doesn't act like a hick when he's in the sticks. Peter is just himself everywhere he goes.

I am 82 was born in Bluefield, lived in Welch, Iaeger, Pineville, Mullens. My parents were school teachers and we moved to Maryland when I was 14. But to this day I still miss Wva and thank you for these videos. They take me back to the place I belong. I plan to have my ashes spread in the river in Pineville.

He is one of the most gracious host I have ever witnessed. No matter where he is, he is never judgmental, just reporting. May God bless this man and his family.

I'm sure this will be a buried comment. But I love the respect you show each community you visit. Mainstream media doesn't touch what you're showing.

As an Appalachian Native, I deeply appreciate you doing this video.

I am from Bluefield and I wanted to say "thank you" for this series. Your series has done a good job portraying West Virginians in a positive light. Losing the Coal Industry devasted us!

My grandfather was a coal miner over here in England until they closed them down in the 80s, the factories soon followed. Lots of people lost their livelihoods. My grandfather was wheelchair bound in his later life due to his work. Hard working, good people. Its nice to see how similar people can be whilst being so far apart. Great content as always Peter

I’m a 75 old West Virginian. My Dad was born to Italian immigrants in 1907 and raised in a dirt floor coal camp. He went to work in the mines in 1919 at the age of 12. He died in 1955 at the age of 47. We struggled the whole time but I became a successful citizen married 50 years and have a wonderful large family.

The dude who gave you the tour, what a fantastic guy. Such a good energy, sense of humor, and he's just happy to be of service to others. He reminds me of a really good boss I used to have. I truly hope this man is doing well, he deserves it

Goodness Peter, you have me transfixed on these Appalachian videos! The people, the history, the scenery, the hospitality and brutal juxtaposition between the blessing of coal and the greed of corporations, and neglect and outright hostilities from US Gvmt. You have me intrigued and I appreciate the gracious candour of the folks you interviewed - I wouldn't want to be prejudged either. They don't deserve that disrespect. As the man said, they powered America's progress. They deserve recognition and respect for that. I'm Canadian and I'm definitely putting West Virginia on my bucket list. ✌

I am from Colombia, South America, born and raised here, and as an English teacher I found this video to be very informative and honest about the Appalachia. I will be showing it to my students so they can have an original first hand source of information about this area of the USA. Kudos from Colombia Peter.

Thanks Peter. That was a ton of fun. Thanks everyone for all of the positive feedback. ❤

this has got to be one of the, if not THE best channel for showing the true colours of communities and societies not only in America but across the world.

The episodes about Appalachia are like a school book that we didn´t know we needed. Watching the clip and then reading the comments is so heartwarming, because people are realising that they had prejudice about places that they´ve never even been to. But through you, Peter, we get to travel there and expand our mind and open our hearts. Unbeknownst to these wonderful people living without proper Internet and amenities, they´re not missing out on ANYTHING. More and more people are realising that real life is growing your own food, staying off social media (unless for educational purposes, such as this clip), getting out in nature, face to face meetings, and living a simple life without too many materialistic needs. Concepts such as "Capsule wardrobe", "No phone dinners", "Swedish Death Cleaning", "Team no filter" and more are becoming popular, because some of the aftermath of the pandemic is actually good. People getting the time to think, to ponder their lives and realise that they no longer need as much as they thought. And then many realising that they don´t want to support fast fashion and slavery in 3rd world countries. The more I see the youth stuck in the influencer world, gaming sphere and celebrity following, the more I realise that things are going downhill...fast. Of course, we also need to remember that this is the generation that probably won´t be able to buy their own place, not get a permanent contract etc. So no wonder that they´re numbed out a little. Where I live, everyday, we get articles about people opting out of marriage and having children (which is understandable in certain ways), not being able to pick up a phone and call people, not being able to make friends outside of social media (like, face to face), suffering from anxiety and not even being able to sit alone at a café. We´re slowly turning into some sort of robots or socially disabled creatures. In Germany, there is now a café, where people go if they want to sit "the old-fashioned way", i.e just talking and no WIFI. Imagine that! The world today isn´t a very nice place, and that is palpable to most people. So to live like this, in Appalachia, on just 200-300 dollars a month, sounds like freedom to a lot of people watching this.

Loving this series so much . As an Australian I have zero knowledge of these regions and feel privileged to get a glimpse into this part of the world via such a kind and respectful presenter. Thank you for bringing this series to us Peter .

I’m Puerto Rican-American. My wife is from the island as well. We heard WV was going to be terrible for us if we purchased a retirement home there. The typical "it's KKK, it's this, it's full of racial insensitivity, etc, etc". We did our due diligence and traveled the area. On June 2021 we purchased a lovely 1920 historical home in Kingwood WV. Every time we visit to spend a few weeks at the house we marvel at how we’re treated. We've lived in California for decades and there is no "let's get to know the neighbors" culture here. California for as lovely as it is, has a cold spirit of personal isolation and competitive materialism. In our town in WV, we know most of the block already. A Trump-loving couple on the left of us and some Libbie-hippie types across the streets and they come over and knock back some beers with us at sunset not caring a damn about politics. I know everybody on my street. These are the kindest people we’ve ever met. This video was re-affirming. Thank you.

I am a state delegate in the WV Legislature. Thank you for visiting our great state! There is so. much to explore here as you just touched one small segment but a very important one to us. West Virginia is the only state in the US to lie totally within the Appalachian Mountains. The rugged topography here meant most settlers went around what is now West Virginia. Scotts-Irish immigrants were the dominant settlers as they were tough people who could handle the conditions. The culture remained intact because few people moved in or out. Coupled with our jagged borders, there are many unique regions that all have their own subcultures. The southern coalfields that are featured in the documentary are the most remote with steep terrain and narrow valleys. The Kanawha and Ohio River valleys are deeply influenced by chemical, glass and steel manufacturing histories. The majority of the population lives along these great rivers. The North-Central region around Morgantown and WVU was older mining areas but now a renaissance in technology and aviation industries. The North and Northern Panhandle are benefiting form Marcellus Shale natural gas. The Eastern Panhandle is the fastest growing region as people migrate there from Washington D.C Then there are the Allegheny Mountains that run along the eastern and southeastern regions. This area is sparsely populated but contain the most natural beauty. The nation's newest national park, The New River Gorge National Park, is located here. There are so many stories to tell just here in West Virginia. The Silver Bridge collapse and "Mothman". The Marshall University football team plane crash. The Buffalo Creek flood. The many mine disasters. Hatfield-McCoys feud. The rebirth of Whitewater and the tourism industry across the state. Then there's road building in Appalachia where it's totally different from any other part of the US. Stop by and see me anytime in Charleston, a city that changed hands five times during the Civil War because of its strategic location close to the salt mines. Salt was important to keeping meat procured before refrigeration. Thus both sides needed it to feed their armies.

This series about the Appalachians should be seen by all Europeans who have a prejudiced opinion of Americans. They are very down-to-earth, don't just chat about small talk, but talk to you in plain language. But they are nice and even though they are among the poorest people in the USA, they are incredibly generous and will pay your bill.