As a truck driver, who has been through all of these areas I can tell you there's more than enough people living there already

Geoff should have also mentioned that Atlanta is an airline hub because its far enough south that it doesn't experience snow storms and far enough inland that it doesn't get hit by hurricanes, which makes it a perfect place for airlines to never worry about the weather affecting there airport schedules.

As someone who grew up in the Carolinas the population has been growing a great amount. Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington are all growing. Even the Outer Banks have grown. Florida hasn't hurt much from hurricanes. Myrtle Beach was very small when i was a kid in the 1960's and Wilmington was about 60,000 when i was in high school in the '70's. Both have grw tremendously in my opinion.

As a SC resident, I wish it was still empty. Please move back up north.

We keep it empty so we can hide our F-35's there.

I live in Charleston SC, smack in the middle of the "empty coast" if you had to drive to work in morning traffic, you would not think this place was "empty"

I was born in South Carolina and now live in North Carolina. It's not a secret why more people don't settle in the coastal areas !! It's the hurricanes !! They are SO unpredictable ! I live just west of Charlotte, NC when Hurricane Hugo hit the coast. I knew we'd get some rain but I was shocked when Hugo got as far as Charlotte and west of Charlotte about 20 miles where I live. I had a clump of pines in my front yard. As I sat downstairs in our sitting room in the basement I could hear trees falling all around us. I ended up with no pines left out front, but thank God my 3 giant oak trees, one on one side of the yard, and 2 on the other side were spared. I love my trees ! That was in 1989 and I was holding our first grandbaby, just about a month old. I also prayed the whole time this was going on. I am an RN and I was supposed to be at work at Gaston Memorial Hospital at 7 am. Needless to say I didn't get there on time. Not until around 9 am. I coudn't get out of our carport and driveway. Trees were down blocking many streets and if you drove by some woods, you'd see many of the trees down. One of my pines on one side of my house broke off and went down into my neighbor's bedroom. One lady up the street had 17 pine trees fall on her house. My other next-door neighbor had his new AC unit outside crushed. Our only damage on the house was the gutter over the carport was slightly bent. God was watching over us for sure !

This region is got alot of things going for it, but the humidity is downright ridiculous.

As someone who's lived in both Georgia and North Carolina at different times, I can tell you that one of the big reasons not a lot of people in those states live near the coast is because it can get ungodly humid there, especially in the summer. EDIT: 9 months later and this is my most reviewed and most replied-to comment. Thank you everyone!

As a Geography degree holder, I have my own opinion on this video. The areas of NC, SC and GA focused here are coastal plains of these three states. Meaning they tend to be closer to the ocean, lower in altitude, the soil tends to be poor... oftentimes sandy or red clay mud soil. It goes back to the days when the British colonized the eastern seaboard of North America. The British sought out the premium regions for farming, seafaring and also tried to avoid the basically subtropical climates of the southern most states. Back then, air conditioning did not exist, malaria actually existed in these areas because of so many swamp, canals, etc. Alligators existed and still do. The vegetation was much thicker, nastier and jungle like than northern and even mid Atlantic colonies. Colonists in the south did not have freezers with ice machines to keep their meat, eggs and milk cold. Cold beer did not exist. Add to this, these areas along with Florida (then Spanish), took the brunt of frequent hurricanes and their was no NOAA, no weather satellites, no radio to warn of brewing hurricanes in the Caribbean. The British focused the core colonies further North, from around Virginia on up to New England because the climate, terrain was more like Europe (normal). And once you get to the Virginia coastline and above, the hurricanes usually peter out to Nor easters. Water moccassins, coral snakes and alligators did not exist in the colonies north of these areas. The British were expert geographers and oceanographers and they decided early on these areas would be where theyd be growing tropical crops like rice, cotton, some tobacco in. These colonies were primarily colonized by Irish and African American slaves forced to come here from Ireland and central Africa. The African slaves were already used to extremely hot humid climates. And had some natural resistance to malaria. The Irish came from Cold climates and had no resistance to malaria. Many of the Irish settlers turned into hill billys and "white trash."

I live here. And this is bulogna. So many northerners are moving here it’s unreal!!! (Coastal South Carolina)

I was stationed at Fort Stewart outside of Savannah. I really enjoyed the culture, access to beaches (Tybee Island + Hilton Head), and low cost of living. Like many places with low costs of living, jobs typically don't pay as much as similar jobs do elsewhere. And there aren't as many jobs available.

I've lived in this area for 15 years. It definitely does not seem empty. You described an area that includes Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, etc. I used to live in the dead area of Nevada between Reno and Vegas. Now that's empty space.

Anyone who grew up on the East Coast knows why many major cities are inland. They are at or above the 'fall line,' where the flat coastal plan, as you call it (known locally at the Tidewater) borders the Piedmont. This was as far as vessels could go before needing locks. Building cities at or above the fall line was safer during the rainy/flood seasons.

I live in Inman, SC, and lived on Hilton Head for 8 years. HHI is a resort area, expensive as far as real estate. Inman is just north of Spartanburg, and Tryon, NC is just 15 miles away, and is where the mountains begin, to the north. This area is the foothills just to the south of the mountains. The climate here can be hot, but generally not jungle hot, like along the coast. This area is growing fast, houses popping into existence in development after development. I've got 3 acres, surrounded by trees, and they're not pines, for the most part. A creek forms the south border of the property, and no houses can locate next to me. I love it here.

Come visit the Columbia Metro during rush hour traffic. The I-77 @ I-20 interchange/ Clemson Rd corridor and the I-20, I-126, I-26 battleground we locally call Malfunction Junction are both a headache every day and a nightmare during bad weather.

I’m from a town just southeast of Atlanta on the edge of the “empty coast” region you outlined. Growing up, the term “fall line” was everywhere. It’s the transition from the coastal plain to the rolling hills and it’s where all the rivers (Savannah, Ocoee, Ocmulgee) all drop in elevation. This led to mills, factories and dams being built which brought jobs, people and cities. The fall line is the defining geographic feature in my hometown and I believe the reason the town of Milledgeville exists today. Thanks for all your great videos.

What’s interesting is the Savannah-Charleston region is now growing like crazy all of a sudden. The Gulfstream corporate HQ and the ports have traditionally been the biggest employers over the last 20-30 years, but now Hyundai is making a several billion dollar plant in between the two cities, and people are moving there in droves. Savannah has also become the second largest port by tonnage on the east coast (not including the Gulf of Mexico) only behind NY. And Charleston isn’t too far behind.

My Grandma lives in Beaufort, SC that's on that coast and its far from empty. In fact, every time we go visit, the traffic is keeps getting worse.

BRUNSWICK, GA has a large automotive import of overseas shipments. Especially when that bridge in Boston got damaged more shipments were being pushed downwards. Also Hyundai plans to open their largest battery production plant in Savannah. Most people are relocating from Atlanta to St Simons/Savannah/Brunswick due to affordable housing and remote work opportunities.

You realize that the Port of Savannah is the 4th busiest port in the country and the largest single container terminal in the North American continent. If you combine that with the Port of Brunswick and the Port of Columbus (which are the other 2 ports in GA that make up the Georgia Port Authority) pushes the GPA to a solid second place. They are also currently the most technologically advanced port in the country and once the Savannah Jasper Ocean Terminal is complete will actually be the largest port in the country.

I worked for the Port of Charleston for the 25 years and for that entire time we were the 2nd largest port as far as tonnage moved on the east and gulf coast. That’s a pretty major port.

You completely forgot to mention Greenville, SC, two hours from both Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA, and has made the top fastest growing cities and best places to visit, live, vacation, etc. for the last two years. While our current projected city population is 74,548, we’ve been growing annually by 2% YOY and our population has increased by 5% since 2020! 🎉

Empty? Not even close to empty here in N. Georgia. And the humid days are very temporary. Most of the time the weather is great.

My family originates from this region. They are Gullah Geechee. My great grandparents left this area for DC in the 1930s. Many Africans Americans who lived in the low country/coastal Carolinas ended up migrating during the great migration period to larger cities like DC, Philly, and NYC. My family used to farm and had their own land. I have a few family members living in this area still but most of the family is in DC, NYC, or Atlanta.

It’s the same reason that Southern New Jersey, mostly the Pine Barrens, is empty compared to the rest of the state. It’s part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and it’s all sand and flat. There is no bedrock to build on. It’s the same geography and environment as the sand plains of the Carolina’s. The flora of Southern NJ is far more similar to that of the Carolina’s, and many southern species like Loblolly pine, wax myrtle, water oak, bald cypress/Atlantic white cypress swamps, and sweet bay magnolia can be found there.

I live in South Georgia and I love the fact that there is not millions upon millions of people here, it adds to the environment and culture of our small towns

I feel like a lot people are really missing the point. If you actually watched the whole video you'd see he says that "A LOT" of people live on the coast, but those coastal cities should've been more comparable to New York and Boston but the geography prevented it. The point is to show how geography is a BIG reason why more people live in Atlanta and Charlotte instead of Savanah and Charleston . It's not just that they don't have "big business" there because that wasn't the case in the past. The geography is a consistent limiting factor that hinders transportation and growth.

FUN FACT: Charleston, SC was a big city even during the first years of US independence.

In colonial times, Charleston was one of the largest, and certainly the wealthiest cites in the colonies. And it's still a significant port today, as is Savannah and Wilmington. I know for absolutely certain that huge amounts of cargo goes through Charleston because it rolls rolls by my house on ridiculously long trains about five times a day.

First of all, we were NOT enslaved Africans! Never came from Africa and never been to Africa! We are Indigenous Americans! Always have been!

My parents live in Eastern NC, and it is a beautiful and unique place. The Outer Banks serve as a slight extreme weather buffer, but they are still fairly hurricane-prone up there. The breeze out there actually makes it less humid than where I live in Atlanta in my opinion. Now Eastern SC on the other hand... Woah I am melting.

One major factor that keeps large populations from moving into these states might be the extreme humidity during the Summer months. If you have a career that requires you to work outdoors between May and September you will be constantly sweating from dawn to dusk. If you enjoy the feeling of having perpetual swamp ass and steamy hot weather each year then the Carolinas are the place for you!

Big issue also is the great dismal swamp on the NC VA border. That along with barrier islands made it very difficult to initially settle NC. George Washington gave up on a plan to drain the swamp. Many Native Americans and escaped slaves formed isolated and protected communities in the great dismal swamp.

Read this if you say the port of Charleston is so small. 8. Port of Charleston. Situated in South Carolina, the Port of Charleston is the 8th busiest container facility in the U.S. It handled the highest number of containers among all South Carolina ports in 2022. It handled 2,792,313 TEUs in 2022, making it one of the largest and busiest container ports in the country.

The fact that we get free videos on KZfaq by Geoff is truly a gift.., keeping the education and knowledge alive 👏👏👏

Atlanta has definitely had a “winner take all” effect on Georgia in terms of college graduates as well. Most college graduates from small and mid sized Georgia cities relocate to Atlanta because of the much greater career opportunities that are less available in the rest of the state. This further hinders other cities from becoming more economically prosperous, unfortunately

Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah are some of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to. I’d live in the area if it wasn’t so hurricane prone and expensive!

I'm from the Atlanta area and lived on the SC coast for 15 years. This makes zero sense. It's getting very congested here.

Disease also prevented the growth of cities on the southeast coast in the past, such as Charleston. Many died from diseases like malaria back in the day, which limited their growth.

I'm a 6th generation SE Georgian and on behalf of my fellow SE Coastal families, we are perfectly happy not having a ton of people flock to our little corner of humid paradise 😂😂

"Empty states" are states like Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana. Not those in the video. 26 million people is hardly what you'd call "few people."

I was surprised to not hear any mention of the Civil War and Sherman's March to the Sea. General Sherman's Union troops were some of the first practitioners of total war, meaning industry, farmland, and especially railroads were valid targets for destruction. This devastated the Confederacy's already-diminished ability to wage the Civil War, but also made it impossible for much of the South to be economically viable for arguably over a century.

I’m a longshoreman at the savannah port and imma just say the way you talk about the savannah port like it ain’t shit is so amusing. Look at the tonnage we move compared with the WORLD we ain’t no joke for where we come from

Fun fact: Wilmington was the largest city in North Carolina until the first decade of the 20th century. As the state continued industrializing, most of the growth occurred in the central part of the state (the piedmont). Money and political power shifted inland after the Civil War.

Nice video. As someone that live in Fayetteville N.C. I never really noticed how big population game was between this side of the state and the western side.

You didn't mention the Fall Line. I was born in N.C., grew up and lived in all three states, N.C., S.C., and GA. I remember a man was jogging with his German Shepherd around a lake near Greensboro, N.C. northwest of the Fall Line, his dog was eaten whole by a 12 foot gator. The gator was studied and believed because of its size was able to cross over the Fall Line as the Deep River runs into the Cape Fear river below the Fall Line. My point is the Fall Line inhibits any migration or naval transportation. That wouldn't be an issue where there are no major rises in elevations like the Fall Line that separates the Coastal Plain from the Piedmonts of N.C., S.C. and GA.

I love North and South Carolina.... I'm from Maryland but when i go to the Carolinas... i love how nice the people are... the hospitality is on point and people are so nice. Its almost unreal

I lived in Wilmington, NC, and Charleston, SC, and I can tell you unequivocally that cities on the Carolina coast are flat bursting at the seams with more transplanted Yankees than you can imagine! Now, things do get a lot less crowded when you get away from the coast, say 40-50 miles or more. But living in the 2 cities I have for nearly 40 years, I can tell you they're inundated with more people than the infrastructure can ever handle. And more are coming every day!

Charleston is such a cool city. I lived outside of Charleston in the southern part of the county. Beautiful rivers, islands, and coastlines. I miss jet skiing down little known back creeks with the dolphins and gators.

Here in Wilmington NC, we have the busiest port in our state and it's the 10th busiest on the East Coast yet both of our main ports are ranked #4 in efficiency in the US. Our area growth has been considerable over the last 30 years but what hurts us is lack of high volume road/freeways. to allow easier heavy volume access in and out of the area. are county only has 10% land left to develop but that is mostly residential. Honestly, most of us living in these regions want to see growth limited to preserve what is left of our nature here and not turn it all into a cesspool like the North.

The older cities of the Southeast --- Montgomery, Macon, Augusta, Columbia, Raleigh, and Richmond, are located on what is called The Fall Line. That is the line that divides the Piedmont region from the coastal plains. the fall line where the waterfalls blocked navigation any further inland, so ships had to stop at those cities about midway into Georgia and the Carolinas. Also where falling water powered mills. It's also known as the "gnat line." South of that line, disease-carrying gnats and mosquitoes ae ubiquitous. Before the invention of antibodies, life expectancy was lower on the Gulf Coast than the Piedmont, so only farming communities and a few ports of modest size like Charleston developed. Atlanta is an artificial city in the sense that it is not positioned in or near any navigable body of water. It has no nearby natural resources and the land around it is poor for farming. It exists only because a couple railroads were connected at a certain point in the 1840s and a city of very modest size grew up around them. During the Civil War, Atlanta was strategically important as a rail hub, but not as a population center. Columbus, Macon, Augusta, and Savannah were larger. After the war, General Sherman was invited to speak to a surprisingly friendly Chamber of Commerce of former Confederates. Sherman gave them a happy pep talk: "By the time I got here during the war, the Confederacy was like the fingers of your hand, and Atlanta was its palm. The same reasons that induced me to burn the city will cause it to become a great metropolis in the future." And it did. Railroads and highways made it a transportation center, despite having no river or recoverable natural resources in the vicinity.

As a native South Carolinian and GA resident, I think it's also worth mentioning South Carolina moving the capital from Charleston to Columbia in the 1780s so it would be more central and have a more even travel time for governmental reps. The local economies would have been impacted by that and this move inland could have eventually helped with Atlanta's population growth a year later

Not sure why you are saying the region had zero participation in maritime trade. Booming inland textile industries would freight their output by train to the coast for trade abroad. Not as significant as the larger ports in the north, but still significant in context up until the middle of the 20th century until that mill system all but collapsed. Today the same ports in the lowcountry export a large number of vehicles produced in the upstate of SC.

I'm sure that the folks in Augusta, Savanah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington, and the Outer Banks will be surprised to learn that nobody lives there.

I was born and raised in Charleston, SC and have been living here for almost 25 years now. The population growth has exploded over the past decade. I took note of the agricultural and tourist industries that exist in the region, but what wasn’t mentioned here is that Charleston is home to major players in the manufacturing industry such as Boeing, Bosch, and Volvo. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has its main production plant located here, and tech is also big where Blackbaud has its world headquarters and Google has a data center. We’re also home to a Navy and Air Force Base making for a big military presence. Sure, tourism is a huge industry here, but there’s way more to it than just that and there’s a very diverse job market in Charleston. No wonder rent is crazy high anywhere you go in the Charleston area.

I am from Ohio but I have a lot of relatives in the Atlanta area. This spring I drove through Atlanta and I’m used to the massive amount of people there. It’s really interesting because I did drive down to Savannah for the first time and like outside of Macon most of Georgia was eerily empty. Like Ohio can be pretty rural but your bound to run into a small town off the highway. There was nothing and it just really surprised me

Historically Atlanta was a exception to the Largely Agrarian south. It was not only a major Transportation hub, it was also a Major Manufacturing center in the south. Its one of the major reasons why the Union planned the March to the Sea, which completely leveled the city to the ground. Also Savannah is one of the Largest Ports in the Country being ranked at 4th place. And Charleston being ranked at 8th respectfully. I think he, downplays these important aspects. Also thanks to the Georgian Barrier Islands and the angle of the geography, they hardly get hit by Hurricanes. This is for three important reasons one, is the angle of the coastline of the Georgia coast which enables it to avoid most hurricane weather. Second is the Barrier Islands that act as a dampener to storms. And lastly because of the Coastal Atlantic shelf. The shelves elevation, it saps the energy from major storms. This is why hurricanes veer either towards north Carolina or south towards Florida.

As someone who lives in the middle of that coastal area. We have no more room in the inn. Yup, its all full up. We have alligators, snakes, giant orange cockroach's and mosquitos as big as your head. You really really would not like it.

I am a sixth generation Atlantan. The name Terminus was a nickname that was never a legal name for Atlanta. The name for Atlanta was previously Marthasville. The railroad company used Terminus in their record keeping because Marthasville would not easily fit in the space provided on the bills of lading. BTW: East Point which is on the West side of Atlanta is where the railroad terminated. ~3K

Savannah has become a bustling port city. The volume there has really grown in the last 10 years.

Two things: 1) It’s a swamp 2) locals are not welcoming to outsiders moving in

In 1830, Charleston was the second largest port in North America, just behind Boston. In 1859 it was still the second largest port, behind NYC (NYC grew and Boston declined because of the Erie Canal). Saying there are no national harbors in the Tidewater region isn't just hyperbole, it's BS. Today Charleston and Savannah remain important second tier port cities. Not as large as NYC, Houston/Gavelston, or Miami, but still vital to the national economy. It's far more important to focus on where agriculture could be the most profitable. Further inland, the water table never got tainted with salt water like it often does in the low marshy areas near the coast. Stuff was rarely destroyed by hurricanes. Then after the civil war, internal domestic trade was far more important for agriculture than international trade. So railroads through inland cities were at least as cost effective as maritime shipping. During reconstruction, proximity to government was far more profitable than proximity to trade, none of these states have their capitals on the coast. After reconstruction, the railroads were in place, mitigating the need for all economic activity to be near the coast, as mentioned, and the regions incredibly slow industrialization meant that there was never enough of a surge of economic migration to shift where the population centered.

I Think its just because Southern USA was rural for a very long time and not many metropolitan areas developed like New York, Philadelphia and Boston etc

Lived in this region almost all my life, but you brought up some things that I had never thought about in quite that manner. I would point out that textile industries were huge here when I was a kid, but it all went overseas, causing a big recession in the upper reaches of the states.

Another thing that hurts that area compared to Atlanta, Raleigh, and Greensboro is the universities nearby. Universities provide well educated graduates to work at higher tech companies. This area is lacking that in comparison.

How on gods green earth did I find an entire well made video about the exact question I randomly had at 3AM. Earned my sub, that’s for sure!

Not one mention of the fall-line in a video about the geography of the South-East? This geographic feature is quite fascinating and shouldn't be overlooked. The fall-line is the dividing line between the piedmont hills and the alluvial plains. Many old cities were founded along this line for a variety of reasons. Many old foot-paths follow the fall-line as the rivers could often be crossed on foot at a rapids. Downstream the rivers widen and occupy huge wide floodplains that would flood every year and made the flood plains inhospitable to settle in. The fall line is the furthest you can bring boats up-river, too. The huge floodplains can easily be seen in satellite photos of the area. When the railroads came along they inevitably would bridge at the fall-line. Augusta, GA (metro population ~600,000 (dunno why it was left out of the list of metro areas)) is a good example of a fall-line city. Before the railroad the vast cotton industry was supported by boat traffic to Savannah, GA on the Savannah River. After the railroad showed up it was moved by railroad. On the 200 mile stretch between Augusta and Savannah, there is only a single bridge crossing the Savannah, and a pinch-point in the flood plain about halfway down the river. These wide floodplains are found along most of the rivers in the flat plains of these states are really limit movement and development. The fall-line can actually be seen clearly in the 1860 map seen 2:11 as most of the slave-owning plantations were settled along the fall-line. You can see it curving through the middle of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Even in modern times, the fall-line can be seen in voting pattern maps: brilliantmaps.com/2020-county-election-map/ The fall-line continues all the way up the coast of the US, but in the north it is much closer to the coast. Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Trenton are all fall-line cities

Wilmington's metro population is actuality over 400,000. The census moved Brunswick county, NC to the Myrtle Beach metro 10 years ago, but earlier this year, they rightfully added it back to Wilmington.

Born/raised here in Charleston, SC...and sir, we are entirely way too crowded lol.

"Under populated" more like normally populated or slightly over populated still because that's more than enough people in an area. Other places are over populated. Still interesting to find out why however. Thanks for the vid!

While this video is spitting facts about the Southeast Coast above central Florida. This is changing rapidly somewhat. The coastal cities are growing rapidly. Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville Florida are all growing at a fast clip. Savannah is now one of the 3 largest commercial ports in the country. And all of the associated development is coming with it. Between Savannah and Hilton Head, SC as one metro there will be a million people there soon. Charleston is growing rapidly and will reach a metro of 1 million in a few years. And the Myrtle Beach/Conway, SC area is growing rapidly as well which is creeping north to Wilmington. For some reason Augusta, Columbia, and Fayetteville were left out. But these are 3 relatively large metros that are also growing. But maybe they are kinda im a transition zone between coastal cities and the Piedmont. Also I expect that the GA coast between Savannah and Jacksonville including the city of Brunswick, GA will be a high growth area for retirees and othe folk wanting the Florida lifestyle and weather without the "FLORIDA". There is already development happening there. I am not saying that these areas will suddenly become the most densely populated area of the Southeast. But they will grow to have a population that is significantly larger than what it is now. I expect that in the next 20 years Savannah (with Hilton Head, SC) will become the second Big City in GA/SC, Charleston will become the largest metro in SC, and Myrtle Beach \Conway, SC metro will approach 1 million people. I live in the Atlanta metro!! Almost 7 million people here with an expected 2.5 to 3 million people added in the next 20 years! 🙄🙄🙄🙄

Another reason why this area is "underpopulated", esp. SC and GA is the appalling weather, not referring to hurricanes. Heat and humidity are absolutely suffocating for great portions of the year. This in turn encourages more people who are "moving south" to live in the hills further inland. I speak from experience here.

I currently live in Fayetteville. After being an Army brat and spending years in Atlanta I’m very satisfied with not living in an overcrowded city lol. I will enjoy the air and beautiful landscapes of NC while it last lol

Thank you for speaking candidly on our nation’s history

Athens and Decatur Georgia are also much older than Atlanta. Atlanta was bigger than Charleston, before Hartsfield was built. One of the reasons people moved to Atlanta is because it is the last flat space coming up from the Macon area, before you start getting up into the mountains, so it probably has more to do with climate than transportation even though now it's transportation.

If you look at most major coastal cities, they usually are not built directly on the coast, they are usually built on bays or further inland. This is because the ocean is a very destructive force, and not good for trade if there is not a proper harbor which Bays usually provide. Also there needs to be access to fresh water, as humans cannot drink salt water, so if there is no river or lake nearby, a large city likely wont develop

I've lived in the "down east" section of North Carolina in the late 90's - early 2000s...the coastal plains of NC are low, swampy and flood prone. I've rode out a hurricane "Down East" once...it was dumb luck that I didn't lose everything I owned, since then, I try to stay west of the fall line and away from flood zones.

Within the first two minutes, I could tell that you researched everything you said. How do you mention tobacco and you don't include North Carolina? Tobacco Road is a term used in college sports, mainly basketball, for the four rival universities of North Carolina that play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

To be fair, many of these coastal areas like Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington have been growing in population faster than the overall US for a while. North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia did locate their capitals and major universities well inland a long time ago, which impacted economic development patterns for generations to come.

Should have mentioned the Fall Line, the transition from the Piedmont to the coastal plain, where shipping coming up the rivers from the coast have to halt. Richmond VA is another example: coming inland, you could have mills available, that weren’t as feasible on the flatter land east of the Fall Line.

11:18 I’m actually from the area where that line would be drawn, I.E. where Hampton Roads in Virginia meets North Eastern North Carolina. And let me tell you the line is so much more obvious in person.

Calling this an empty area is like calling New York City a sparsely populated city.

You said Appalachain, right! Also, the "fall line" defines the nature of the Southeast city and rural divide and cultures. Look it up. Charleston is also limited by the city's zoning. No building can be higher than a specific church downtown (you showed it at 11 minutes in). That limits building size, thus business opportunities. Climate issues are a modern thing. I don't think the pioneers, or even business people of the 1960's, were worried about sea level.

Savannah in the last decade has exploded and now that the city is planning to expand the Port of Savannah to the other side of the Savannah River and dredging the river 5 ft. The city is also planning to raise the Talmadge Memorial Bridge so they can get the mega ships into the port. The city is finally expanding I-16 to 6 lanes instead of 4 and is almost complete with the I-95 and I-16 interchange from its deadly butterfly design. Hyundai is building a massive EV plant in Ellabell. With the mass migration of yanks from the northeast to Florida and with how expensive and cramped Florida is Savannah has started to attract people and business in the last 10 years.

Any explanation of population distribution in this region is incomplete without discussing the "Fall Line".

Whoever the road engineers were that drew the line on the map for I-95 and planned that out made a remarkable and indelible notation on the geography and culture of NC. There is a REMARKABLE difference in weather and culture which all of us locals immediately pickup on when going from one side of I-95 to the other. REMARKABLE. Yes, the weather is different. In the winter, when you cross from the east of I-95 to the west of I-95, the chance of snow or ice in a cold weather event becomes increases exponentially. This is from the south and to the north. The geography of the east to the west changes on I-95 from basically flat to Piedmont style rolling hills. It's amazing how they drew that line on the map for I-95 the way they did, because it's a legit change in the state. It's been sort of a barrier for northern implants for years, but that barrier is going away. They are pushing east from Raleigh now that they've saturated north and south of Raleigh. They are coming in droves to the east.

Something that should also be noted is that Atlanta and Charlotte are relatively close to the 1828 gold rush in North Georgia and Western North Carolina. Both states had US Mints until the Civil War. Also "gold in them thar hills" does not refer to California but the area around Dahlonega, GA.

The Fall Line where the Appalachian foothills meet the Piedmont was where the largest population centers developed early on, especially when water power was so important. Also the Coastal Plain is limited in agricultural potential compared to the Black Belt or Mississippi and Red River Deltas. And there really isn't much industry in the empty area described in this video.

Geography was not the biggest issue for Charleston. During the Civil War, Charleston was almost completely flattened and destroyed, essentially making the city restart from the beginning.

Swampland. Really close to sea levels. Also lots of military training areas. No good for farming lots of bugs. Very hot and dry in summer. Cold and very wet in winter.

The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia is an extension of this phenomenon. Chickens vastly outnumber people. Baltimore benefited from being up the protected Chesapeake Bay and the natural harbor of the Patapsco River and not on the Atlantic which is only useful to summer tourists. Although Baltimore is struggling, the Baltimore/Annapolis/D.C./Northern Virginia region is one of the most prosperous in the country.

I wish you would have brought up how malaria in the 18th and 19th century also impacted the growth of these areas. Let alone hook worm parasites due to "night soil" that was still an issue even in the early 1900's.

This was a great video. I loved the subject’s analysis and how you tied it in with history of the region. Could you do a similar analysis for European cities?

I’ve lived in Savannah for nearly 3 years. It’s not empty at all. Traffic is bad all the time. Evening rush hour is from 3-7pm. Especially when the universities here are on their semesters or quarters. You barely move faster than a glacial pace.

You forgot to mention the blistering heat and humidity and huge bugs that make it nearly intolerable to live there.

You didn't take into account the position of the fall line, and just how very low much of the "low country" is. The climate is another issue. If you have ever spent part of your summer at Fort Jackson you will understand. Florida may be hotter on average, but they never experience the extremes of heat and humidity of this area. Geographically, this area extends well into Virginia, so you really need to include Newport News and Norfolk to get the full picture.

It is the hottest, most humid, most unpleasant place in the country. Yearly hurricanes and torrential rains. Ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, cottonmouths and more ticks. The only thing I miss about coastal NC is the barbecue.

This area, especially the near the cost has horrible biting insects most of the year. And the summer heat and humidity is also bad. If you are a boater the 8ft tides keep the water running in and out of the muddy estuaries keeping the water muddy.

I was born and raised in SC, and my mother was born on an island about 40 miles from Charleston. People in the lowcountry always have said "Charleston is 300 years of history without progress."