The author lives in California; while he makes some sense, that also explains his attitude.
Myself, I moved from Florida to Kentucky last May, and I can say that this state, if anything, is underpopulated. Because not much seems to have happened here since the Civil War ended, sometimes I call Kentucky "the state the rest of America forgot." For a start, most Kentucky counties only have one town or city in them. The other places that look like "towns" on road maps usually turn out to be intersections with a few houses and a gas station/general store. I think Louisville and Cincinnati are the only cities with any suburbs at all; I'm in Lexington, which is surrounded by horse farms instead of residential communities. Perhaps Mr. Pitts should come here for a visit?
It's also mountainous. :')