My Journey through Appalachia starts HERE ( Ashland, Kentucky )

In this video, I make my first stop along my Great Appalachian Tour in a small city called Ashland, located in northeastern Kentucky. This small, eastern Kentucky city is famous for producing several country music legends, including Keith Whitley and The Judds (Naomi, Ashley and Wynonna Judd). This city goes back a long way, with early settlers arriving in the late 18th century. Much of the city's local economy was based on steel production, as well as coal mining. In recent years, the coal industry has really started to died down and the steel mills of Ashland closed in 2019, leaving the city in a tough predicament - NO JOBS. Nowadays, Ashland, while still thriving in terms of good local bluegrass and country music and having a very travel-friendly historic downtown area, faces a situation of economic decline and very limited opportunity for most locals. That said, over 20,000 people still call Ashland home and have no plans of leaving anytime soon. The natural beauty there is priceless, there are plenty of restaurants and shops around, and many locals are still holding out hope for a brighter future for Ashland. If you visit, please make sure to check out: Kentucky Bluebird Grill and Pub: 6938 US-60, Ashland, KY 41102 J and J Family Restaurant: https://jjrestaurant.top/ Shelby Lore Music: ‪@ShelbyLoreMusic‬ Be sure and check out the other videos in my Eastern Kentucky Appalachia Series: SANDY HOOK, KENTUCKY:    • This little Appalachian town will be forev...   JACKSON, BREATHITT, KY:    • Exploring the DEADLIEST town in Appalachia...   BEATTYVILLE, KENTUCKY:    • I went to the POOREST WHITE town in Americ...   BOONEVILLE, KENTUCKY:    • Shocked by the POOREST place in America (O...   HAZARD, KENTUCKY:    • People warned me about this Appalachian to...   HARLAN, KENTUCKY:    • I (barely) survived Appalachia's most DANG...   PIKEVILLE, KENTUCKY:    • They told me there was nothing but poor hi...   INEZ, KENTUCKY:    • The War on Poverty started in THIS Appalac...   #kentucky #travel #appalachia If you enjoyed this video please don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE! Also, if you'd like to go the extra mile in supporting me, you can do so by checking me out on Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee. Links below: SUPPORT me on Patreon:   / chopsticksandtrains   SUPPORT me on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chopstic... Also, Youtube Memberships for the channel are NOW AVAILABLE! #kentucky #travel #appalachia