Forgotten America: Ep. 062: Overlooked and Underloved

Ep. 062: Overlooked and Underloved

Oct 3, 2023

Aaron Renn is a writer and consultant based in Indianapolis and is a co-founder and Senior Fellow at American Reformer. He had a first career in management and technology consulting advising major corporations as a Partner at Accenture and a second career in urban policy as a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Today his focus is on helping conservatives and the American church rise to the challenge of finding success in the 21st century.

Appalachia is the last physically beautiful land in America that does not have extreme climate and is affordable. The same sorts of people who are buying up land in the West will soon, and already are, turning their sights east toward Appalachia. In this episode of Forgotten America, Aaron and Garrett tackle difficult questions like the role climate plays in economic growth, how migration is impacting local communities in the region, and the major divide Aaron sees between the North and South Appalachian regions.

Garrett asks what kind of progress should we want for our region and should we look to growing mountain state regions in the West for ideas to grow economically in Appalachia? Listen in to hear what Aaron thinks about the present and future of Appalachia and his citizen-centric strategy for prosperity.

Stats & Terms Mentioned

Idaho is the 2nd fastest growing state in the country. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/idaho-population-change-between-census-decade.html

Appalachian Regional Commission's discussion of subregions in Appalachia. https://www.arc.gov/map/subregions-in-appalachia/

Sunbelt vs. Frostbelt https://www.jrank.org/encyclopedia/pages/cm7kzpwgun/Sunbelt-Frostbelt.html

Brookings Institution’s Exurbia Info

CentralApp https://www.centralapp.us/

Oktana https://oktana.com/

Nate Phipp’s article about these remote companies https://cardinalinstitute.com/a-west-virginia-miracle-in-remote-work-innovation/

SOAR https://soar-ky.org/

Governing.com article on relocation incentives https://www.governing.com/work/pay-people-to-move-to-your-state-or-region-maybe-its-not-such-a-bad-idea

You can keep up with Aaron Renn by subscribing to his Substack.

Twitter: @Aaron_Renn