YouTuber visits hidden US town that forbids cell phones or cameras — leaves amazed by their daily routine
Workers communicate using walkie-talkies on approved frequencies. Some homes operate with no wireless devices at all.
A YouTuber recently documented a trip to one of the most unusual towns in the United States, where cell phones do not work, Wi-Fi is tightly controlled, and even everyday electronics are regulated. The visit was documented in a video by YouTube channel RocaNews, which followed the creators as they traveled to Green Bank and shared how residents structure their days in the "quietest town in America."
"This right here is America’s quietest town, Green Bank, West Virginia," the host said at the start of the video. "Here, you can’t get cell service, listen to the radio, or even operate a microwave without approval." The trip began in Falls Church, Virginia, an area known for its dense concentration of data centers. As the drive continued through West Virginia’s mountains, connectivity dropped completely. "The audiobook just stopped playing. We’re getting SOS, and we are still 53 miles from Green Bank."
The restrictions are tied to the National Radio Quiet Zone, which houses the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. That’s because radio telescopes are trying to detect radio waves from space that are astronomically faint compared with everyday human noise. According to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, even tiny amounts of interference from outside sources can completely overwhelm the faint cosmic signals that astronomers want to measure, rendering the data unusable. That’s why radio telescopes are often located in designated radio quiet zones.
Those limits shape even the most basic routines. Residents told RocaNews that living under those rules becomes second nature, where even appliances are chosen carefully. One man explained that microwaves are allowed only if they meet strict standards. "If it emits bad signals, they’ll come up and give you one better," he said. He added that Wi-Fi is possible only with permission. "You’ve got to have a certain code. Otherwise, they’ll come pick up what you got." Many unplug appliances when they are not in use and avoid certain electronics altogether. "Something happens, you do it yourself," the local explained, adding, "We don’t have much here, but we sleep good."
CNN has also described how residents adapt without mobile phones. Workers communicate using walkie-talkies on approved frequencies. Some homes operate with no wireless devices at all. Jay Lockman, a senior scientist at the observatory, told CNN, "If you want to hear quiet noises, you need to keep the noise down." Hanna Sizemore, who grew up in Green Bank, told CNN she once relied heavily on her phone before leaving for college and later working in Silicon Valley. After returning to Green Bank, she no longer keeps a cell phone in her home. She said the town feels like "a little bubble of the past," adding that being required to disconnect has changed how she thinks about using technology.
Churches function the same way. CrimeReads noted that Pocahontas County has roughly one church for every 230 residents, far above the national average. Many lack telephones or modern upgrades because congregants never saw a need for them. Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, located a few miles from the observatory, has no phone, no plumbing, and keeps its lights off during services to accommodate members who avoid electronic exposure. CrimeReads also reported that this enforced quiet carries into ordinary moments. In one account, a resident named Bob Sheets was described as starting his morning in pajamas, cooking blueberry pancakes while discussing life in the quiet zone. Without phones or background noise, kitchens and porches become places for long conversations without digital interruptions.
According to the New York Times, some teenagers use phones mainly as clocks or calculators, rely on landlines to make plans, and share a single desktop computer with slow internet access, which can take minutes to load basic webpages or videos. Laughing about the lack of cellphone usage, Lockman said, "For the last 5,000 years, human beings have managed to flourish without this, so to me it seems a little odd that people now find the absence of cell phones something worth discussing."
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