What The Hell Happened to Los Angeles, California?? 

Here is my entire California playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLq-_cmf3H6yomU5rB6yOC5C9hr0Qnkf1l

The guy in the plaid shirt who turned his life around: someone gave him a second chance, he took it and made good on it. Proud of him.

I’m from LA, born and raised, and so glad I left. It’s an absolute sh*thole

I visited LA in 2015 for a job interview at SpaceX. I took a day trip to downtown, and I had no idea what I walked into. I went to The Last Bookstore on foot and wandered until I ended up at the Cecil. I was shocked at the homelessnesses issue and it was so sad. I decided against moving to LA, as I didn’t feel safe at all.

Watching this for a second time, I have to shout out that life doesn't have to be like this. Inverness, Florida is paradise. Please don't tell too many people, though. I love my town. Absolutely love it. Left CA 3 yrs ago and never looked back with regret. Thanks for your work, Nick. You can change the world one person at a time.

I’m born and raised in Los Angeles and I’ve had friends and family in Los Angeles since the 1940s, the city has taken such a massive nose dive it’s actually embarrassing to have family and friends come in from out of town and visit because driving through LA is beyond embarrassing and it’s actually really unsafe

LA residents spend the highest percentage of take-home income on housing costs. LA has the lowest percentage of homeownership. LA was once the realization of the American Dream for a working person. Not anymore.

As a Black Man that was born here in Los Angeles the fall of 1967 life is sad and unappealing. When most of the people around you are sad, broken and desperate you must be strong otherwise you'd become the negative.

Wow. What a powerful conversation. I’m born and raised in California. Inherited my childhood home and I’m ready to leave California but I don’t know where I’d like to live. I’ve researched so many places and not many appeal to me. I’m single, have a pension and work a job and it’s still hard to make it here! Plus I feel as if the government doesn’t care about the working class! I owe every year when I file taxes. Student loans are too high! It’s becoming very depressing here and I’m miserable. I think about selling my home every month. I’m so confused, disgusted and unhappy!

I lived in L.A. for 10 years, & that was 10 years too long. With each passing decade, Los Angeles looks more & more like its opening scene in the sci-fi dystopia _Blade Runner._

I've been living in Southern California for 37 years and i've seen LA go from bad to worst and now to no solution.

I live in the UK but LA has always been the dream go to place for me since the 70's because of all those great shows they used to put on TV. Sad to hear of its demise.

Appreciate your interviewing style, and what your interviewees shared.

When a country doesn't have laws anymore or their laws cater to those who who are lawless, this is what you get.

California, where you're either rich or you're poor. Like a 3rd world country

Left LA back in 1996 and don't miss it.

Thank you for making this video. I grew up in LA and still live here. I spent many years working in homeless services and recently quit because of the chaos. So much of what is said in this video is true. Please continue to make these videos to shed light on what is really going on.

Me in 2002- “I’m going to do anything I can to live in Los Angeles” Me in 2021- “I’m going to do anything I can to live far away from Los Angeles.

My experience homeless Cali 2014-15 was horrific. My financial problems started in '08 until I finally lost my home. My van was stolen so I was literally on the street, alone. I never knew a homeless person and was totally naive. With God's grace and mercy I've been able to reestablish every material thing I had lost and more. In looking back I'm grateful to have endured the experience which brought me to a deep understanding of hope and faith.

Whoever would have thought it would be okay to shoplift under a certain amount... Insane.

Lived around Los Angeles for 33 years. In the 1990s you could rent a 3 bedroom apartment for $800 and buy a home for $200,000. Politics were moderate, homeless were just isolated to skid row and Santa Monica, roads were in good shape and it was livable. Fast forward 25 years, and now it's turned into San Francisco.

You can't blame people for 'giving up' Working a regular job is an absolute con. You work 5 days a week to own a home - which is empty most of the week! The 2 days off are mostly spent doing chores to maintain the home - for the 5 days when you are back at work! You also spend a good percentage of your wages just to up-keep a vehicle so you can travel to work! Then (if you're lucky) you retire at 65 to die at the average life expectancy age of 78. How this blatant con has been ' kept alive ' for so long completely baffles me....??

California looks horrible! I can't believe what is going on !

Nick your videos are getting really good! You’re hitting on factual points and exposing the truth. Great guest’s on the show!

L.A. might be the worst place in the state for out of control homelessness, but northern CA has its share. Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and smaller cities up and down the Interstates. The natural beauty of CA is blocked by blight. The on-ramps and off-ramps form concrete "shelters" where people live like trolls and beg for $$ when traffic is brought to a stop at red lights. No sanitation, rat-infested, trash-filled encampments inhabited by people that have lost their way in life - lost jobs, lost minds, lost health.

We left L.A. a few years ago for Portugal. We sold or gave away everything, house car, every single thing Our rent is one third of what it was and it’s furnished. We can walk to the beach and the grocery store, so no need of a car. We also don’t need a gun, the crime rate is so low, it’s almost boring. But best of all, people here are civilized. Get a passport while you still can, it’s a start. Good luck all.❤️

As a kid, my mom drove me through skid row to show me what a life of drug addiction would lead to. It freaked the crap out of me, and this homeless dude ran up to our car window and was trying to unlock the door.

I moved out of Los Angeles in 2018 to England, I loved it here, I have a stable job with very civilized colleagues, good income, much less on housing, free healthcare and more importantly safe and secure. I gave up everything I built in Los Angeles for good and now I live with peace of mind away from toxic fake Los Angeles culture. Instead of paying for 12 bills, I only pay 1 bill here. Thank God🙏

Yep, born and raised in L.A. My family has been here 4 generations. It's really become unlivable. And the sad part is, no one really sees it as a product of their voting habits and liberal policies. We are so used to the homeless, the traffic, the insane cost of living and it's become "normal", not realizing that it actually is not.

Democrats… that what happened

I was born and raised in California….I’m leaving after 57 years here and nothing will bring me back

Thanks for the great video. It's really helpful.

Drove by a fire station and saw across the street a burning trash pile in the middle of the side walk with a homeless person sticking a needle in their foot injecting something. I was dropping my four year old off at daycare and he asked me why was he putting a needle in his foot....It was then I made it my priority to leave this hell hole.

Downtown LA is absolutely disgusting. If I was the mayor of LA, I’d be embarrassed

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CALIFORNIA HAPPENED

Born in LA grew up in the valley and west LA in the 80’s and it was awesome! The 90’s after high school is when things got bad for me. I left LA in 2003 for Las Vegas and have been back to take care of my mom in Northridge until she died in 2020. I couldn’t believe the changes I saw. Homeless all over the place blocking sidewalks etc. so glad I left but sad that my home town has turned into a mad max world.

I used to live LA and my husband income was low so it was difficult to find 2 beds apartment because we have 2 kids. So we tried to apply low income apartment. They said you need to wait about 5-10 years. Yes that is the time we decide to leave LA. And that was great decision:)

I grew up in LA in the 50's and 60's, went to school, went into the service, worked for the City of LA for 30 years, retired and left. First it was so beautiful. Yes there were homeless people but they were near downtown by the bus station and were not in the thousands. It so sad what LA and the entire state has become. I miss the clean streets and the ability to go out and visit different parts of LA without looking over your shoulder. This was thirty or forty years ago if you were wondering.

I need to take a break from these videos. The hopelessness and despair become not mentally healthy after a few hours of binge-watching lol. We can talk about all day long everyday but until we start smartening up and changing who is running our country - I just don't see an end.

There’s homeless in Chicago but it’s not like la for one there are no tents. What you see is someone on a corner or the street with a sign. However it’s mostly because it gets too cold in the winter and way too hot in the summer for the homeless

I laugh when Americans make fun of 3rd world countires now HONEY look at your backyard

Nailed it! Moved from Los Angeles to the mountains and will eventually move out of California. Sad thing is that people are moving to the mountains and bringing "Los Angeles" with them.

"What The Hell Happened to Los Angeles, California??" DEMOCRATS!!

Does anyone know what YT channel that guy mentioned about LA? I am born and raised in LA and I remember how beautiful it was so my heart is broken seeing this although I live in Victorville which really isn't much better tbh 😭😭

Friend of mine was a contractor out there. He left for Florida two years ago and doing much better. Reason for leaving was certain people bid on jobs lower than he could because they dont pay taxes or pay liability or workers comp. I asked him how they get permits and he said he didnt know but thought they were paying off inspectors.

The one guy mentions Austin, TX as a city doing something right with the homeless. I live in Austin, TX and the only reason we have removed the homeless camping is because the citizens voted against our City Council and Mayor to overturn their disastrous homeless policy of "camp wherever you want". The state recently passed a "no camping" law as well. Many of our homeless left the town/state after that. We are still fighting the City Council and our DA to get things in order. Nothing changes with these politicians unless the people force them through their votes. Until then, they will just grandstand and use the latest slogan (i.e. homes not handcuffs) fed to them by their political party.

Not sure why if “everyone is leaving” rents continue to go up every single year. Seriously, I’d love to know why.

Democrats took over and hell broke loose in LA. I left where I grew up and I loved it 30 years ago

Nick you have NAILED it, California has changed, extremely, over the years. I'm moving out of CA by next summer. I can't wait, everything in this video is SO TRUE!

It's pretty sad. This same thing is happening in Seattle. I left Seattle and moved to Redmond to the East. It is so different and way better. All the money Seattle spends on the homeless problem is doing nothing and it shows.

I really appreciate that you got people with a variety of opinions to speak on the subject. And while I definitely don't agree with some, it was very helpful to see that.

Excellent coverage Nick. Salute to you. I live in Australia and I find it very hard understand such facts from horses' mouths,.,.! God bless you Nick

Dang Nick, you're crankin these vids out lately.

Glad I found your channel. Really insightful analysis with on-the-ground reporting and first-person narratives from actual people. Good stuff!

"What the hell happened the Los Angeles?" THE DEMOCRATS

Left LA about 8 months ago due to a job transfer after living there for 10 years. These pictures of how much the tent cities have extended across the city are shocking. Don’t remember it being that wide spread before I left. When I started noticing more tent setups in the Valley, literally miles away from Calabasas under the overpass, I knew it was getting out of hand. Not controlled at all. LA is beautiful, offers great employment options (imo), and an overall different quality of life…..if you can afford it. Rent, mortgage, property taxes, state income tax, and gas prices are crazy. Oddly enough you get used to it, until you start to realize your income will go further somewhere else. But it comes with a lot of adjustment if you’re not originally from there. It’s not a place for the weak by any means.

I moved here right after 2010 and its crazy the decline since i have moved here. Its ashame because california is beautiful but the homeless everywhere is super disheartening. But with homeless comes the crime and there are not enough police for the population.

LA is a sprawling metropolis. If you live in a nice area, you can isolate yourself from most of the depravity. Some people rarely leave their area.

The illegal immigration in La is bad.

I never understood the appeal of L.A. You can ignore the crime, cost of living, bad air quality, traffic and it still isn't a nice city to live in. It's one of the ugliest cities I've ever lived in.

Many props to the dude who got saved and turned his life around. God is there for those who seek him.

As long as homelessness is big money for those who manage the money, nothing will change. We have also returned to the easy on crime, activist judge mentality of the 1970's. It sounds great to our, "Touchy Feely" crowd until the wolf is at their door. Its defund the police, support the homeless an 911 when the problem hits their door. I'm 66, you can't begin to imagine what California was like before its current condition. So much has been lost. It truly was the Golden State.

Drug addiction and mental illness - until the city gets serious about these two root issues, the homeless issue will NEVER be solved.

Keep voting for the same people, California.

2 days ago, I watched an LA Utube family make decisions on how to donate $100 per child to charities. They chose American charities which support African/Asian families. I was shocked that they didn't look at the 3rd world conditions on their own doorstep.

50 years ago, every young person in the whole country when starting out in life dreamed of going to LA. Now it's a shithole. Thank you Nancy and Gavin.

A homeless person makes more than me love your videos!

I live in Los Angeles, and it is an embarrassing mess. I don't think it will ever be fixed. What a shame. If you remember the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s, then today's L.A. makes you cry. So glad I lived when I did.

I left Los Angeles and California for good in 2011. I'll always miss the mountains and desert, but will never go back. When I sold my home in LA, I purchased a 10-unit apartment, a 3-unit apartment, and a modest home for myself with the proceeds in a nice midwest city. Almost all of my closest friends and acquaintances, about 30 people total, have all left California as well.

I was born and grew up during the 50's, 60's and 70's in the LA suburb of Inglewood. In the area of LA there were very few homeless, unless you were driving past McArthur Park and down by skid-row. It was a safe place to live. Our backdoor was never locked even. But in the early 70's I moved to Palmdale, then to Utah. Now I live in NC. I am so glad I got out of California when I did. But when I did live there, it wasn't a bad place to live. It really started to fall apart, I think during the 80's. I'm so glad my parents have passed on so they don't have to see what has become of LA and California now. Even the majority of friends and family have moved away from California. So sad, it truly was a nice place at one time. 😪

It is interesting that you don’t see this in Republican run cities, only in Democrat cities. People say Republicans are heartless, but no, they basically say you need to get in a program to address your mental problems (be it drugs or mental issues) or you go to jail. The ONLY solution is to force these people to address their problems.

The Homeless Industrial Complex. California has $24 Billion thay is unaccounted for. The political corruption and taxation is out of control.

Last time I was this early, there was Roof Koreans stationed in K-town

I lived in LA for 6 years and I left 2 months ago. Best decision I ever made. I’m in TX and don’t have to deal with LA bs that was going on. The girl at the beginning was right; fights on the bus and metro and you just learn to ignore things around you. You learn to turn a blind eye to the amount of homeless people. It’s really sad.

Fighting poverty has no profit for the politicians, war does!

I moved to Australia 10 years ago from America, its amazing how much better off people are here, very few homeless and those that do choose that lifestyle still have full healthcare...

Sadly, the homeless have little to look forward to .That might explain why 3 weeks surviving on the street followed by a week in a hotel might seem pretty sweet..

Plus, the stock market has not even crashed yet. Look at all these bigshots in the last 2 months selling all their holdings. Rats fleeing a sinking ship. Wait 'til that crashes, and another 1 million nationwide go into the streets. Your analysis is correct for the current state of affairs, and still, it doesn't include a market crash, which is 2 years overdue. Every day, I stop and reflect for 1 full minute, that I have a paid-off home and a modest, but solid income. In the next 2-3 years, if you even have a roof over your head, be thankful. People don't like my saying this, but be prepared.

There was a guy trying to built small hut for the homeless people but the local government shot him down.

Inability to pay rent is pretty much Nationwide. My cousins in Lake Charles Louisiana are having a tough time finding a better apartment to dwell in because the nicer ones are just way too expensive. Prices went up even more after Hurricane Laura. My cousin once joked almost in a depressed angry way that he would be better off with a RV and living in some RV friendly park or area.

My brother moved from Rancho Cucamonga to Arizona 2 years ago. He moved due to the crime/homeless problems, his 2 hour commute each way to work 5 days a week, and because he could sell his place for a 1.1 million and buy one here from 400 thousand. It was not a hard decision to make. I moved from the bay area to Arizona for the same reason. I sold my place in Castro Valley for over a million dollars and paid cash for a house here in Mesa. Now, we have thousands of people coming to this area from CA which is driving up housing prices, which is great for me, but awful for young people who now are getting priced out of the Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe markets. Rents are also skyrocketing. What was renting one year ago for 1 thousand (1 bedroom) is now renting for 1800.00. In a few more years people will start leaving this area as it will be too expensive for most people. I am lucky to be in my 50's. I do not know what I would do if I was a young person who needed to find housing here.

Man this is a great video, voices from the street, and I'll bet none of L.A's "leaders" heard a word of it. California is clearly an aristocracy, a class society for those who can afford it or else you're in the sub class. I'm glad these people got out, sounds like it turned their lives around.

All the problems LA is experiencing are directly related to politics. They pick and choose what laws they want to enforce. It's never going to change because LA citizens keep voting the same way over and over. All I can say is ,No federal bail out! That's coming soon.

All I hear from officials in California are excuses.

As the economy collapses, expect way more homeless in California. Sad but true.

German In Venice has a video where he interviews a guy living on the sidewalk in Venice, who gets $1,300/month in SSI benefits. There are certainly places in the country where a guy could live on that money but this guy would prefer to live in the sunshine in a tent on the sidewalk.

Los Angels streets look like a flea market. Cars double parked at night and even during the day. Beggars out side markets, restaurants freeway exits/entrances Taco /st Tacos and fruits stands all over. Homeless camps in evey single neighborhood. COL is so high. Rent is extremely high. Homes unaffordable for most. Schools overcrowded. Some of the parks parking lots are now use for the tiny homes that were given to homeless. They're renting large trash cans to the homeless to store their property...smh. But residents keep voting for corrupt and good for nothing Politicians like the Governor, Congress Representatives, Senators and Mayor's I don't understand

My moms family has lived in the LA area for generations and my dad's family moved there from the Midwest when he was a kid in the 60s. It was their American dream to live in California. By the 90s my parents moved us out of the area to the suburbs because it was getting so bad, they didn't feel safe raising a family there. Fast forward 25 years and it has become unrecognizable. I still have a lot of family who live in the more expensive areas of LA, but I have to drive through neighborhoods that look like a 3rd world country to get to them, so I rarely take the drive to even visit them anymore. It's so sad. Even living in a suburb, I'm over living in California. A lot of my family is looking to move out of California, in search of our new American dream. To afford to live in a home in a safe neighborhood where people are friendly.

When I was a bartender I got big tips from homeless. I tried to refuse once and offend guy who said he was equally able to give to others like people just gave to him.

I lived in Los Angeles from 1984 through 2005. I left in 2005 because I saw this entire mess coming years ago. I could go on and on about all of the reasons why, what I can tell you is that it was once paradise. During those years the state was run by republican's I just don't see how any clear thinking person doesn't or can't admit that the demise of the state is directly attributable to leftists' policies. I don't like to call the Democratic because they aren't this is leftists' policy. I think what would make up some great and very interesting videos would be if you interviewed the folks who are complaining about the situation but continue to support democrats in elections? They just got all the signatures required for a recall election and put the same party in charge which has destroyed the state? Somebody is voting for democrats, I would love to know why you continue to place the same people in charge year after year after year that are destroying the state. Even if you are a hard core democrat I just don't how you could vote democratic after seeing what has taken place in Los Angeles it's mind numbing.

I was a public school kid in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley in the 50s and 60s, It was great then. We finally moved to Texas.

The mayor of Los Angeles should be voted out. She did not do her job.

Us average people are sinking FAST. It's ALL getting unsustainable

the "unhoused" industrial complex is a money maker for the state. CA wants to keep that federal income stream coming!

Until the problem can be completely solved, build a building on a one level basis wide enough to house hundreds of homeless, equipped with showers and a laundry room and bathrooms, just to get them off the streets and stay clean and sanitary. Let it have a kitchen for hotels or other organizations to donate food. This would help a lot 9f them to get back on their feet. There would be no rent for them to pay. Call it a rehabilitate center.

My cousin who used to live in Santa Monica (she's in Dallas, Texas right now) precisely had the same experiences as many of the people who got interviewed here. Glad they were able to move out recently to Texas.

At 31:00, the young lady talks about her family owning a cement company. My advice is: be careful around cement workers, because they get away with "mortar!" (nyuk-nyuk-nyuk) Seriously, I moved from NYC to Ecuador. I bought 5 acres of farmland for $55,000, and put a house worth $70K on the land. 2,300 sq ft. Take your California home profits (NY and other areas, too), and get out while you can. Moving overseas may seem extreme, but when you're put in a vise grip, consider it.

Born and raised in Los Angeles proper, Melrose, Bancroft, Fairfax. It has changed a lot and it sure isn't the same at all anymore. It is really sad now.

Interviewing residents who left, of course they are dissatisfied with los angeles and that is why they left. Not saying LA has no problems but there are problems everywhere. The advantages out weight the disadvantages. There is no perfect place in the world.

Stop feeding them and the problem will mostly disappear! Personally I hope they keep doing what their doing. It’s good for the rest of the nation. Ditto for Oregon and Washington!