An Appalachian builder's case for why the next great tech hub is hiding in plain sight There's a thing that happens in Eastern Kentucky. You grow up sharp. You figure things out. You see patterns other people miss, build things from nothing, solve problems with whatever's in reach. And then, if you're ambitious enough, you leave. You have to. Because the message this place has sent for generations is that the good stuff happens somewhere else. Silicon Valley. Austin. Boston. Seattle. The coasts are where you go if you want to matter. That's the brain drain. It's not a news story or a policy problem or an abstraction. It's personal. It's the smartest people in your county packing up and leaving because the county doesn't have anything for them. And the data backs it up. The Appalachian Regional Commission found the region grew just 4.0% from 2010 to 2023, compared to 7.8% nationally.…