I feel for you, Yaelle. I’m a 63 year old born and raised Californian, but by 2005, I’d had enough. I took a huge risk and moved the family and our little business to Texas, where we hardly knew a soul.
The first few years of re-establishing our lives here were rough, but having come through it, I’d do it all again without hesitation. Our life here is that much better than it was in Cali. By miles.
I know. You are missing NOTHING here. I used to feel like this place was the center of the universe, because it is a very self important city, but if you came back today you would be shocked. Life quality is so much better elsewhere.
Homeless where you NEVER saw homeless before. Cops can do NOTHING unless the tent is over x feet long or some STUPID camping violation!!! Defacating on streets is NO BIG DEAL apparently. Why are diseases rampant in third world places where there are no sewers?? Hm...
And the south central gangs wised up. In a bad way. I know you once lived there. Well, they figured out that having territory where they live was not much. To pick from. So they have chosen territories in other neighborhoods in the valleys and hills, and they just come through in nice cars and rob and burgle. They don’t care if you are home. They just come in, grab quick money and jewelry etc, and go. They drive nice cars, they walk the streets here pretending to be jogging or walking dogs etc.
Worst is by the freeway areas where there is brush: these areas are FILLED with homeless encampments. There used to be one or two guys in there, fairly well hidden. Not any more.
Yet certain southlamd towns that aren’t run by LA still are clean and beautiful. Manhattan Beach for instance. You can live there if you have $2 million to buy a 1950s 2 bedroom wooden teardown. They have a great school district, a strong police dept that has everything, and the best weather in LA. But the house we used to live in was worth $1m5, now it’s worth $3 mil. In 5 years.