Hello Nick, Excellent channel I subscribed of course ironically I have family that have lived in The San Bernardino area since the early 70s It was nice then (Little Mountain Road) we used to skateboard down it (bomb it) it is now a hell hole...as you are aware. Ty for kind the words. Best in 2023. 🤙🏿🌊
The Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, calculated by comparing household income to a locally-adjusted poverty threshold, reports that 20.7% of California's population has income insufficient for their basic needs, as compared to 12.9% for the U.S. as a whole.
30 years ago my mom used to "rant" about how "they" were trying to get rid of the middle class. She was right. When earning $2,500 a month won't even get you a studio apartment,... something is seriously wrong.
This is not just a California problem it is a West Coast problem and it is moving East along with the trend of Sky High rent! It started in the 90s in Southern Cal as a way to move people out of the ghetto in places like San Bernardino but it simply backfired and people doubled up in these houses. Then it just became too much and people started spilling out into the street with no options!
It does have a middle class outside of LA or deep bay area…. Ik so many middle class people all over the Northern and Southern valley, and outskirt cities off the Bay like Antioch its full of more affordable suburban big homes
It's getting bad in the mountain west too. I live in northern Colorado and am in the process of having to move (landlady is selling the property). I checked the price of an apartment I lived in five years ago, when I was paying $880/mo for a two bedroom. That same apartment is going for $1450 now. Median home prices are up almost $200k over that same five year period. I'm hoping this real estate correction will bring prices back down to reality but I'm not holding my breath. Even if it does, interest rates are about triple what they used to be so you're servicing so much more debt every month. No guarantee that interest rates will fall again shortly so it's a gamble if you'd be able to refinance anytime soon. I'm gutted that I didn't have the capital to make even a 10% down payment five years ago. I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel where, despite having a solid income, home ownership never seems to get closer. The only people my age (early 30s) that own homes, a very small percentage of people, had some kind of help from their parents. If you don't have that resource available you're essentially SOL.
In the big CA cities, homelessness is mostly comprised of addicts in an open drug market, where laws are not enforced due to the leftist political class and their backward agenda. As long as they're not the ones who have to step over the homeless, on the way to work, and as long as they're not held accountable, they don't care.
I lived in CA for a few years and have visited a few more times and it absolutely pains me to see how badly the state has turned. Such a beautiful place
I lived in Cali for 55 yrs and witnessed it's evolution from a beautiful paradise to an untenable craphole until I finally couldn't take it any longer. I sold my business and moved to Idaho in 2004. Unfortunately, Idaho has become inundated with Cali migrants who brought the same misguided ideology that ruined Cali with them to Idaho.
We were having a laugh about the Flintstones. Like, they have a Christmas special this time of year, but, how would Fred, Wilma, and Barney and Betty know about the birth of Christ when they live in the Stone age in Bedrock 8 milleniums before Jesus was born.
There are places in America where the middle class is still thriving....for now. Most of those places are run by the other team, but I do wonder how much longer the other team will continue to do the right thing. How much longer before they too become completely corrupt. They must see the kind of money and power the blue team is obtaining. It must be quite tempting.
I moved to California expecting paradise. It was very exciting for the first few years, not easy but manageable with good access to services. It all went downhill when I got divorced. Neither of us could afford the apartment on our own due to constant raising of rent and laughable wages, so I had to leave and live in my car for months on end and shower at a gym while working full time. Got into an accident and lost the car, had to flee to a homeless shelter before moving in with a friend. Mix all that with the emotional turmoil and heartbreak… I didn’t care if I lived or died for nearly two years. Next month I will have enough saved to get out of this place. So much for ‘the big dream’ here. Gonna try the Midwest or central US.
Come to kalamazoo michigan chica!! best city in the midwest, cheap living, kids who attend highschool get free college at ANY michigan university and it's a college town.. God bless you, hope you find the strength to stay on your grind!
The loss of population is because so many homes are bought as second homes, and, as you mentioned, children growing up here often can't afford to stay. leaving parents as empty nesters. Once you've lived here, especially if it's been near the ocean, it's very tough to live anywhere else. There are about 50 homeless people living in Monterey. Service people often have to live in Salinas and commute. There is a critical lack of affordable housing (and primary care physicians). Rents are increasingly unaffordable. A tiny studio rents for more than $2,000 and there are few jobs that would pay enough to support even the tiniest apartment.
I've lived in California my whole life. Hopefully soon that'll change. But I've never seen the big draw. It's beautiful for sure. But after a while won't it get old?
@@RogerWareInc Not just the beauty, the weather. No snow and along the coastal areas, no heat. Also, it depends on where in CA. Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and of course San Francisco are swamped with homeless, and crime. (San Francisco went from being one of the loveliest cities in the world to being filthy and so dangerous you can't even walk around in the daytime in many once vibrant areas.)
I live in a small farming type town called Santa Paula and they're like three families living in every two bedroom shack, because the rent is absolutely outrageous! What cost $800 10 years ago, now cost $2,400 Has nothing to do with wages, you'd have to work 5 jobs a day to have enough money to have a roof over your head, without having 20 people to share that room with ! And what? Hello, there's not that many hours in a day. Oh and when they evict you because you can't pay double the rent. It costs you a lot of money to move... money you don't already have!! it's ridiculous
@@AngelicoCiudad yes my ancestors had been farmers in the Oxnard plane since 1860, but since all of them died from cancer by 1960 it wasn't such a great place to be. Actually the Oxnard plane has the highest rate of cancer in the world among the Farm Workers if that don't tell you something, I don't know what to say.
To the extent that CA does still have a middle class, they are mostly public employees. These people live in places like Elk Grove and Roseville, outside of Sacramento. Many of them will not leave because they believe they will receive a pension someday, and won’t walk away from that.
Very true! My spouse and I are retired from a bay area county. We had really good jobs and still couldn't afford homes in the area we worked. We had to commute an hour away like everyone else.
You really hit the nail on the head concerning the homeless- "Do these people really know what happiness is anymore" and "do these people look forward to anything anymore." Must be beyond tough for them, really, a veritable nightmare.
If you were in their shoes I'm sure your words would be different and you would look forward to your next fix aka the escape from reality which is a prison you build yourself and then it's your own personal hell. Something huge is wrong and going on in this country. It's like the powerful (rich & politicians) want the lower classes to be on fentanyl and meth. Easier to rule and use and abuse.
You'll be surprised by the amount of people aged 18-25 that simply said they couldn't afford school or rent with the homies and packed it in the car or elsewhere in the street
I made $136K living in Marina Del Rey and just lived in a $2K efficiency apt on the beach and saved my money till I left for Las Vegas after 8 yrs and bought a house with cash.
I worked in Midwestern states $60k for 25 years my company pay for my gas, food, hotel, phone as a field electronics technician,so I bought a house in San Diego by cash.
The same thing is happening in Australia, the middle-class is dying. If you don't earn ($150-200k) you can't live in our two most populous cities comfortably.
Same here in London UK. All the empty house brought as a second home for the rich Russians and Chinese. For all those that don't have a mortgage, were lucky really. No negative equity, and hopefully we will come out better off when the bubble bursts. At least in the USA you have space to move to another state, cant relly do that in the UK.
@@musikundaground9935 here in Australia you can still get a property, but it has be in a smaller city. Although we are in a bad shape and most people have to rent these days due to the interest rate hikes. Hard times for sure.
@@NickJohnson I like Southern California it feels like home and I'm not from there. I love the weather in the Summer and time zone but the homeless crisis can improve I would volunteer in LA or Fremont
@@NickJohnson I was in Skid row and down town LA last yr what really sucked is I didn't get into a shelter. But it was worse living in San Francisco with other homeless folks
My husband and I lived in Pacific Grove for one year from 1983 to 1984. He managed what was then the Casa Maria restaurant that sat right over the water on Cannery Row. It was such a beautiful place to live. Again, your video has brought back many good memories for me. Thanks.
My parents and I lived in Pacific Grove in the late 1960s. Even though I was just a little kid, I remember it well--because it was so worth remembering. That beautiful ocean, the charming old houses, the lovely weather. I wish we'd never left, to be honest. But my mother missed Berkeley, unfortunately, and her mother was still there. So we went back to the east bay. Definitely the wrong decision. OH WELL.
My husband worked for a California water district and had a job interview in Carmel about 15 years ago...They wouldn't pay a living wage or step him up in the pay scale due to his experience...he asked, "How do you expect me to afford to live here?" And the answer was...."live in Salinas and commute...that's what everyone does. Needless to say...we didn't take the job...we were renting at the time...
Opinion From a Former Judge I am a student of law whose age is 85. My first year of college was 68 years ago. One class I took was political science. A half-page of my textbook es- sentially outlined a few steps to overturn a democracy: 1) Divide the nation philosoph- ically. 2) Foment racial strife. 3) Cause distrust of police authority. 4) Swarm the nation's borders indiscriminately and uncon- stitutionally. 5) Engender military strength to weaken it. 6) Overburden citizens with more unfair taxation. 7) Encourage civil rioting and discourage accountability for all crime. 8) Control all balloting. 9) Control all media. What was printed in 1954 as a possible diabolic nightmare has become an emerging real- ity. I hope that Americans will unite enough to pen a good finish-Go dwelling. KEITH M. ALBER CALIFORNIA
@@billynomates920 A lot of people saw this coming. It was obvious to those with working brain cells. But like the commenter above said, it's hard to get out. Now more than ever with the cost of everything, especially housing. The covid lockdown was the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the WORLD.
Reduce taxes on the rich (job creators and risk takers), ban abortion and sex before marriage, ban divorce, zero capital gains tax, increase prisons - boom the country is fixed We need honest leaders like Reagan and Bush.
@@ValeaBarcaului I thought that too, 20 years ago. But then came the neoliberal Schröder gov, then for an eternity neoliberal Merkel, and now we have the worst clowns possible around O'Laugh Scholzi Corrupti. And it gets worse and worse and worse. You have no idea how this once excellent soci net gets ripped apart piece by piece.
In the Sixties my Reverend Father brought home a Taiwanese refugee. Peter Wang went on to college. He decided some sort of famous math equation and made oodles of dough. He now has a home in Carmel and has a nice Restaurant. Couldn't speak the language or read the road signs yet didn't let that stop him.
All our politicians and the entire government local and federal are corrupt af. Both sides. Everyone likes to blame one or the other. They're all working for and get funded by big biz. The end. The "voters" are the last thing our system gives a shit about
I grew up in Louisiana/New Orleans area and now in south gulf coast Mississippi and I can promise you that it won't spread here, the people won't let it happen. It's decently quite down here, well the people's minds. I live in the country for real now in Mississippi and I have traveled to California as well and other states and I see the different cultures and how it influences and mold our realities and it's not going to happen well at least not in our life
I lived in Long Beach for about the year of 1985. CA has always had its problems (I remember seeing a homeless guy at the McDonald's every morning when I boarded the bus to go to the L.A. Times telemarketing office...his pants had no legs from the knees down, and his legs were absolutely black with filth, and my heart went out to him). Where CA is today is even more heartbreaking, so sad.
Saw a video on another channel, a guy committed multiple crimes and got set free, over and over again, until he reached a point of killing and maiming many people. If someone is telling you "I don't belong in society anymore!" and we don't listen, this is the result.
Salinas is the gang capitol of California, even more than Oakland or LA. I once knew a guy who was born and raised there. He was Latino, and his friends were all in the gangs. He was too. He hated it, and managed to actually leave "the life"--it took years and a ton of cautious maneuvering, but he managed it. He had a developmentally disabled son. His boy was such a sweet, gentle kid. He never got into the gangs, just lived with his Dad and grandparents. One day he went with his cousin to help move a couch for an older relative. Some gang kids murdered him for their initiation. The Salinas cops were so upset that they actually made the unusual move of publicly announcing that my friend's son was an innocent victim, not a gang member himself. They didn't want him to be misjudged. I went to the funeral. It was beyond tragic seeing him laid out in his coffin, just 15 years old. Unbelievably, the asshole gang tried to haze the funeral. Police voluntarily stood guard. My friend's life was destroyed. He took care of his parents until they passed and then left CA, never to return. He lives in Wisconsin now and says he wishes he had left decades before. His son would still be alive. "I love this cheese-eating, beer-chugging, nice white people culture" he says without a trace of sarcasm. "This is heaven to me."
Thing is that when you have millions of hispanics flooding into a place you're going to get hispanic culture, and gang culture is basically a part of all hispanic lives.... Bring in the turd world, get the turd world.
I live in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles to be exact. I am lucky that my parents let me stay with them and pay a small rent. I would never be able to afford the absurd rent around here the average is over $2,000 a month. The average home price is $733,000. Edit: it was 733,000 not 500,000. I've lived here since I was born, so 20 years. The only reason we could afford to live here is because we've been here so long.
@X are you upset because you didn't get that from your parents?? Calm down buddy lol. We don't have a choice what we are born into but we can change it if you have the mind capacity to break it down and explain to your parents instead just go off everything they tell you to do and when something doesn't go their way they want to kick you out to the street
Same with my husband. He used to own a home in Santa Barbara, where he grew up. But his wife got the house when she divorced him, and he couldn't afford to purchase another. By the time he met me, property was so expensive there that even if we sold my mother's old home in Berkeley, which I'd inherited, we still could barely have afforded an outhouse in Santa Barbara. My parents bought in the 1980s, thank God. Berkeley isn't my favorite place, but at least Mom's house has accrued enough value that when I do leave, I'll be able to live decently elsewhere. It's all so unfair to younger people coming up now. There's nothing affordable for most of them, even in far crappier places than Berzerkeley.
I can explain why many have left. As a Home Inspector, I inspected more houses for people from Cali in the last year, than all the time I have been a Home Inspector. There comes a point, where the cost of living is effecting the ones who had a lot of money.
@@James-nv1wf even in NY you can rent a room for 500 dollars a month with utilties included. Take a look at craiglist for hudson valley NY and look at rooms/shared section. Burger king pays 15 an hour in NY which in my opinion is liveable. I make around 100k but try and keep my monthly budget around 1700 a month. Just rent a room
@@JJason406 Renting a room is horrible. 90% usually want a female (even if they don't post it), you can't have anyone stay the night, no music, no smoking..etc etc. and to round it out you have to get up to work at a place like Burger King where you can barely save any money. Anyone having to do this should be someone with no education or experience.
That’s the one thing I really feel jipped out off. The life style I grew up on. My family was middle class, our parents had regular jobs and moved us out of the hood just buy saving up. We grew up in nice suburban neighborhoods. But once my cousins and I tried to take the same route as our parents to stability we just find it does not work. We truly are not living in the standards that were set for us. That was the biggest adjustment for me in my twenties. Having your parents move you out of the hood, talk bad about those people, but now you only make enough to go back to that same hood and become one of the people your parents talked bad about. (I’m not calling people from the hood bad, but that is what I heard growing up)
“The Democrats had abandoned their working-class base to chase what they pretended was a racial group when what they were actually chasing was the momentum of unlimited migration”. DANIEL GREENFIELD
The thing is most people only care about their personal surroundings that's why you can have rich/poor and no middle class the Rich will be ok as long as their personal surroundings stay the same and the poor have no choice.. the middle class are in between and they are the ones who are usually forced out
Everyone can make their own choices regarding what they deem acceptable for their surroundings. If you don’t like it, you work hard and improve your position. This country has opportunities for anyone who is willing to put in the effort.
@@jpjp3873 i don’t think so. The minimum wage shld be $50-60 / hr. Majority of the people have like what $15-20/ hr only 8 hrs. These people studied and works so hard. Eventhough i will work fir 24 hrs no sleep still i can’t buy a big house etc. with such kind of salary. Government shld take actions bec. most people nowadays are lazy to work and have a shortage of workers. Others kerp on moving out and stay in other countries.
@@ermarios4281 Wait, what?? First of all 50-60 minimum wage? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard! As for the rest of your comment, I’m just going to assume it’s a language barrier.
@@Attmay The last time I was parked in Carmel a pair of sole proprietor maids were cleaning a boutique office storefront that had just been vacated, and it was very obvious they couldn’t do the most basic of light duty office chores quickly, thoroughly, and efficiently So, while I commend them for owning their own business, there’s still a concept known as ‘talent pool’ and it’s often lacking
FINALLY someone said it. I've always said there is NO middle class anymore in general. There are 2 types of rich people and 2 types of poor people. There is the filthy rich people that are born to a family that runs a major business (Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobile, Hershey's, Etc...). And rich people that have to actually WORK to be rich (Doctor, lawyer, small business owner, etc...) Then poor people that work full time min wage jobs, and then the homeless/underclass that work or on benefits but are straight up HOMELESS. I ASSUME they call the middle class the people that are Doctors and Lawyers. You can't all people who are 1 paycheck away from being homeless middle class!!!!
I always assumed middle class as a career skill trade workers who then gain experience to build up their own business from there. Like a starter level mid to then high income. People who have multiple cars and can get paid vacations from time to time. That's what I always had in my mind. I would be considered a low income earner, but that's how I always viewed it as from my perspective. What is middle class exactly?
@@marcusmaynard1526 And that creature has spawned several generations of valueless, mindless and pretentious zombies that no longer relate to working people.
Monterey lost it's population because there is no place to work that is not tourism or service related. I was stationed at the Coast Guard small boat station and between Carmel, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Monterey there is no affordable housing to rent if you are just starting out in life and people rent out rooms in their home for the cost of a 2-bedroom apartment in most places with 1st and last months rent plus deposit due immediately.
Take a note from someone who grew up in the Detroit metro my entire life. If you ever find your self in a rough area after dark in California. Don't stop at the red lights even and that's for your own safety sir. Just keep driving pedal to the metal till you end up in a safer neighborhood. Thanks for your videos!
I think the population decline in Monterey and Carmel is due to their older population stats and that the area doesn't attract young families for obvious reasons.
@@davidfranson9786buildings of Fort Ord were built in the 50s and 60s using lead paint and some construction materials that are banned today. It is very expensive to demolish those buildings due to environmental concerns and regulations. Not to mention the pollution in the ground. Certain parts of the field are not cleared from grenades or other firing devices which cost a lot of money to clean up as well.
@@ew10662 yes I agree with you! Don't go near a place called Fresno either, you stop for gas- two cars will follow you- trap you on the highway and you'll never be seen again
@@brendamartin7280 Don’t stop anywhere along Highway 99 in Fresno. If you must get gas, connect to 168 from the 99 (it will take you towards Clovis) or 41 (anywhere Shaw Avenue and North) for gas. Highway 99 in Fresno is the outskirts of the city full of hookers, drug traffickers and shady people. The rest of the city away from 99 is not that bad actually.
The more I deal with homeless, they more I am convinced they dont want to work even if you HANDPICK jobs for them. If they say they want food, they really want CASH for drugs. I've seen people buy food for the homeless and most literally throw it on the ground, upset that you didn't give them the MONEY. The large majority are able-bodied and can work, but dont. There are so many entry level jobs that dont require experience but they wont do those. Even moving companies pay 200 bucks cash a day for day labor moving furniture, most wont do the work. They wont even help FEED THEMSELVES and volunteer at the Catholic Church I volunteer at giving out food to the homeless, not a single one volunteers to help and we ask for it all the time just moving and sorting food. CA has made it so easy to be homeless that nobody wants to get the f*ck up and work anymore and pandering to them has made it far worse. Yes there are legit decent homeless, but the more I work with them, the more I see the truth.
That's exactly what needs to change. They shouldn't be allowed to abuse food and complain. A lot are probably alcoholics, drug addicts, or mentally ill and like their 'lifestyle' too much. The big-wigs in city management have just given up on such people and/or criminals.
@@GlassOnion602 Given up on them? I get the impression those homeless are doing exactly what the politicians want and they will happily keep voting for them for sake of the benefits they get.
Well, given up on kicking them out, given up on enforcing the law, not wanting to deal with the problem. I agree that politicians want votes as you said. From my chair here it looks like what happens when no law enforcement exists either.
The homeless problem in California will never be fixed. There are too many of them and it keeps getting worse. It is so sad. Decades ago, when the first tent went up, it should have been taken down. Instead, we allowed it to get worse and worse and here we are.
What's especially frustrating is that most of them are irredeemable druggies or severely mentally ill who would, in a proper society, be hospitalized for their own safety. The relatively few homeless who are just normal people temporarily down on their luck usually pull their lives together and get off the streets pretty quickly. Most of our homeless are permanent. Nobody will help the crazies, and, probably understandably, nobody cares about the druggies because they're filthy and dangerous and everyone's fed up with them.
@George Vreeland Hill. They could cure the homeless problem tomorrow, but choose not to. The homeless industrial complex has become yet another revenue stream for politicians and their cronies. Los Angeles City Council has perfected the art.
Frankly, I doubt there is a cure. Housing is just one issue. The drug use and mental health problems compound the problem. Also, the courts are no help. As long as people have the 'freedom' to live on the streets, it won't end. People don't want to live by anyone else's rules, so they stay on the street. Also, you can offer help for the drug and mental health problems but if they aren't ready to change, they won't.
I wish I could have shown you all the homeless encampments in the woods and along the bike trail in Monterey. It’s like Oakland but in the woods. Right under everyone’s noses
@@billturner8377 there’s huge shortage of workers. Agencies keep on calling and sending me email. Work is hard and wage is low. Cali workers needs $50-60/ hr minimum wage. I find it very hard to live in a $15-20/ hr. If that’s the minimum wage i will think if i will work and stay here . I might go back and ask my daughter to transfer in other state or i might retire earlier.
@@ermarios4281 youre right in mississippi theres alot of jobs but mostly fast food. Dont pay alot. Im retired now I could get a job. "Welcome to Wal-Mart"😃
The boomers like my parents were able to own multiple homes in the Bay Area in the 80’s. This was before the high tech boom hit. Life was affordable and comfortable then. I finally left the bay 3 years ago due to being priced out. I moved an hour away to a small town. We found a semi fixer upper and pay less than 2k for our mortgage. I’m glad we were able to leave and still manage to stay in the state. But, it’s getting harder to live with the cost of everything going up.
When I was young in the 60s. Everybody had their houses and new cars everything was good. Good jobs everywhere but now you cant have anything unless youre rich so our great country continues to spiral downhill 😢😢😢
Fun fact: Cain Velasquez was born in Salinas but raised in Yuma County. Caesar Chavez was born in Yuma County but spent a lot of time in Salinas. Cains parents worked in the same lettuce and agricultural fields as Caesar Chavez in both Salinas and Yuma where workers often migrate to and from depending on the season. Free Cain Velasquez.
Fun Fact My Father in Law Irving Rosenfeld was a Lawler for Caesar Chavez and helped organize the grape boycott .All they wanted was bathrooms and some safe housing while working the crops.
Cain Velasquez shot the wrong guy, because he was a bad shot and the California courts would not put a child molester in jail. But they will always throw the book at a man seeking justice by his own hands. Bad situation, but it is good to read that he is out on bail. If any guilty man deserves mercy it would be him
@@vernerobirds9115 well he shot the guy that employed the chomo at his daycare and let the chomo live at the daycare…and was driving the chomo around on bail and wouldn’t stop for Cain to probably just use his hands on said chomo. It’s a horrible situation…I was good friends with Cains brother who passed away along with their mom in the previous year. Cain went to same junior high and high school I did and has been nothing but a pillar to the communities he has lived in and represented. I believe it was temporary insanity as he has never had nothing but a great reputation and never has had any criminal record. He is a legend to the Yuma community, the Mexican-American community, the Salinas community, the wrestling community and the MMA community. Hope the Justice system prevails as it let him down by releasing the chomo thus giving Cain a horrible choice to make. Prayers to Cains family…RIP Efrain Velasquez. Free Cain.
@@sanmarcosSD We can only hope his jury will not convict a man who was defending family from a child molester. A jury has the right to acquit if they see a conviction as unjust. The judge always says different, but there is nothing he can do when they do it but set him free
You will never "work" your way from Salinas to Carmel. There just aren't any wages out there to make that possible. And I get that you are making that point. I really enjoy your videos and commentary, I've been watching your content for awhile now.
They use to say that in the US 90% of the people made 50% of the money . Now they say 1% of the people make 50% of the money . They say this is what has led to the shrinking middle class. Would you do a video on this idea? Like your video.
The homeless crisis should be elevated to a national emergency crisis. Too much funds being sent to Ukraine in the billions of dollars. Mental health, crime and housing are some of the reasons for the increase in the homeless population.
And do you notice the US is such a sucker for giving more money to causes like Ukraine than other countries? Those other countries have it right. Take care of their own first!
I lived in Anaheim and then Riverside. The best decision I ever made was to move out of California 20 years ago. Its now totally insane. And don't get me started on their politics.
Yup. I was very wealthy with lots of investments but became severely ill and now living in a van. I literally jumped from one extreme to the other. Living the California nightmare
Bro do Hollywood next. That place went to trash so quick, I never ever want to go there if I have a choice. I was born and raised in LA county and slowly seen Hollywood, DTLA and many other areas in LA turn to trash besides South LA cuz that place has always been trash.
It's it's what you make of it you're going to sit around and feel sorry for yourself you're not going to get anything you got to get up and make it good
2008 had a lot of foreclosures, and those with liquid cash bought them up and turned them into rental properties. That's probably why they dropped 13%.
I live a few cities away and I've always wanted to visit Monterey because of the beach view. It's nice to have other cities mentioned, it's always LA and SF that get all the attention.
So sad but going on all across the country. We need politicians in WASHINGTON DC to take a road trip and camp outside since this is how many working class families are living today. Wall Street scammers need to join them on this trip. Use to go to Santa Cruz and loved it. Hope life gets better soon.
Nope, can't have them getting a dose of reality. They'll find a way to make reality illegal and have people harassed by the alphabet agencies for pointing out the obvious.
You can't be serious. Politicians do nothing but make things worse! Only people working together can help this crisis. It will be a long, long road and Americans are used to instant gratification.
They need to cut taxes so we can keep the money we actually make. Otherwise, why bother working when you have to hand over your paycheck to the government, no thanks.
The bit about 'getting ahead if working hard' is largely bs, no offense. Mass immigration and wholesale importation if a servant underclass of agricultural laborers and urban service workers have drastically increased housing costs and cost of living along with insane taxes and zoning regulations.
It’s not bs. There is just willingness to do what is necessary. Maybe you need to relocate. Maybe a change of career. I’m not saying it’s easy, just that it’s possible.
@@jpjp3873 , The entire country is effed in the long run, not just California. There are places cheaper for housing and cost of living but also lower wages. There are advantages and disadvantages to living anywhere but the disadvantages are mounting for California. Unless one is 2o years old and can throw all their belongings in the back of a car and drive to North Dakota or Tennessee it is impossible for someone with a home and family, parents, a community, a social network of friends, a church, etc to just pick up and move somewhere else 'to follow opportunity ' Furthermore, instead of running away, we should try to improve conditions where we live now.
@@jpjp3873 It is BS. There are women who sell their bathwater online and make more in a week doing it than you will ever see, while mexicans do slave labor for pennies in California. I guess those farm workers should just work a little harder, right? Surely one day the farm owners will start paying 40 bucks an hour.
@@willytodd2750 Nobody says they have to remain farm workers forever! Everyone has opportunities. Maybe learn a trade? Start a business, invent something, become a TH-camr! With your kind of attitude, you’re right, they’ll get nowhere.
@@Interlocutor67 Nothing is impossible. You can make a move if you really want to. It’s all about choices. I hope California can change its path, but I gave up. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful state. The political landscape is just too cancerous.
I grew up in Pacific Grove ( most of your opening shots were taken there). Unless your grandparents/ parents gave you a house you can’t afford it. I had to move to Washington
I had the good fortune to live in Monterey in the mid-90’s. I attended classes and lived at the Presidio of Monterey when I was in the USAF. It truly looks like it hasn’t changed in almost three decades. I miss it and wish I could afford to live there again.
This gap between rich and poor reminds me of Greenwich, Connecticut vs Bridgeport, Connecticut in Fairfield county. Also Carmel-By-The-Sea looks like a different country! Literally looks like paradise!
Carmel IS paradise! You should visit! Incredible food, wine, art galleries, restaurants, inns, shops, and always gorgeous cars around, old, and brand new!
Bridgeport was much worse 40 plus years ago. Compared to the wealthiest towns in FFC, there is a stark contrast. As you probably know, there are areas that make Bridgeport look like El Dorado. I have lived in the Midwest and the Southwest USA for most of my life, and I have not visited FFC and B port proper since 2017, but the latter looked not too bad. There are areas both urban and rural in CA, AZ, and NM that are way more dangerous. There are rural areas that are comparable to the Hills Have Eyes. There are cities in the Midwest that remind me of a more extreme version of what Bridgeport once was. Not sure, but I am going to guess, there are probably no extensive tent cities in the poorest parts of FFC.
For how bad it's getting in California I refuse to give up and leave. A few good places still exist, but it should be all of California and not just selected spots.
I'm with you! There are still people voting against these democrats. Why should we tuck tail and run. For those that have...... WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE COLORS DONT RUN... AND LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND..... Bunch of sissys ....They talk crap about the snowflakes but don't realize they are snowflakes. Left us to continue the battle.
True but as long as you realize that at this point it can never change.. what's done is done and if you're ok with the fact that it will most likely get worse then so be it ..
Great video Nick! It was a narrative of my life. My parents were okies that built a home in east salinas “the Alisal” and I grew up there and watched it turn to shit until 1985 when I joined the Air Force. I came back and worked my way up through the food chain until I was able to buy a home on hwy 68. What a world of difference 5 miles makes! As a sheet meal worker I laid hands on buildings from the ghettos you showed, to the mansions in pebble beach. California does have great weather but has terminal cancer. We cashed out and moved to Tennessee and couldn’t be happier. Maybe someday California will return to glory, but probably not in my lifetime. Not as long as the leftists are running the show.
Smart move! Good for you! You got out just in time, it costs a lot of money to leave California, I think it's running around $10,000 right now if you want to take your possessions with you, not sure how far that would get you.
@@jpjp3873 yes! I totally believe that, I've tried to get out of here for three decades, I don't have enough money to get away, Get out of Dodge, so to speak. It's more like the Alamo... actually between the constant gunshots at night and the drug addicts, this place is hell! Thank you for update on $ cost of escape. Have a great new year ♡
@@brendamartin7280 Word to the wise. Choose a local moving company and don’t use the brokers. They are super shifty. They under bid the volume of stuff and have you by the short hairs to complete the job for more money. I know how to figure cubic footage and gave them the exact volume. There is NO RECOURSE for them giving you less volume in their trucks. I measured the truck and showed the driver the math! He threatened to unload everything in the yard. House was sold, so we had to just pay! By far the most stressful event of our lives! The truck driver that delivered our stuff was just a contractor for them and had his own business. He said he would have delivered our stuff for around 5000. The hard part would be getting connected with someone like that. Just beware and do lots of research.
You should check out the homeless situation in Santa Cruz. Probably worse than Salinas actually. Equally divided between the wealthy and poor. I live in Salinas. Work all over the peninsula. Including Santa Cruz, Carmel, elite gated communities in Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, etc...sucks to see the difference between the filthy rich and the poor.
I see this class divide every day with my job as well. What's worse is seeing how many children are morbidly obese. Monterey County's obesity rate is 45%, and their solution is to ignore it and turn it into just another string of bedroom communities for San Jose.
@Nick Johnson put it on your list for a future episode. It's fun to watch your channel. California is messed up in a lot of ways and beautiful with a lot to offer in a lot of ways too. If people can get beyond the dumb politics and appreciate the land and some areas that are less corrupt it's pretty amazing and diverse in climates and topography.
4:10 bro anywhere nice in the developed world; a detached home is gonna be over $1M.... This is no longer 2002, or the 90's....no matter where you look, ANY WHERE you want to live, it's gonna be $1m+ This is not exclusive to California...I'm in Canada and I've seen the same thing for the last 30 years
My 1975 Buick Riviera that I purchased for $305 (a charity auction on eBay) came from Carmel. It was owned by a public city librarian who passed away the same day as my father, in 2005. It is now being restored back to showroom condition.
Salinas is just an extension of Mexico now. Did you see the famous butterfly house in Carmel? It's going for $40 million. The ocean is just yards away. Not only are the homes super expensive, it cost a fortune to maintain them because exposure to the salt air corrodes everything. Did you mention that Clint Eastwood was once the mayor of Carmel? I lived for 30 years in Northern California, in Marin county and worked in San Francisco. As an east coast transplant, I had never seen a homeless person until I went to downtown San Fran. The problem has only gotten 200% worse over the years. I left last year and moved to North Carolina. Compared to California, it's boring, and uneventful, but that's fine by me now. I think California is the greatest state in the country as far as geography goes. The land is beyond spectacular! But for me, that just wasn't enough anymore. The Dems. have destroyed the place. It most likely will never get better. Thanks for the video.
I am a native Californian and there has not been a middle class here for a very long time. When I was born in the 50s my parents were true middle class.
I was in this very same area, just three months ago, while visiting a friend who owns a Hotel in Carmel. It was so great it made my mouth drop open, and then we went to the tragedy of Salinas, and it dropped open again It is like the middle ages in Europe, the Very wealthy, and the surfs, right next to each other, separated By five million dollars a year in income...
I lived in Salinas in 72 and there was always a bit of a problem especially with car parts being stolen off of newer cars and stuff but this is horrendous this is just unbelievably awful..
@@muziklvr7776 yeah the early 60s was scary --the LA riots, they burnt down Watts, well it was already out of control! I can't believe it's lasted this long
The early 2000's migration out of Monterey was the big real estate (Cash Out) (retirement) for most home owners. Anyway cheers from Newport Beach, CA. 🤙🏿🌊🍾
The pre-boomer generations got old, retired, and died, and the boomers who inherited their stuff passed every rule and regulation in the book to keep post-boomer generations from accumulating wealth.
Fun fact Monterey puts homeless people on local buses (MST) and takes them to Salinas. It’s very messed up because we don’t want them in Salinas either.
Most of the Monterey peninsula is old money. You’re right about Salinas…it’s a dump. The town has changed dramatically with the influx of the migrant population. Salinas has terrible schools and a major gang problem. The homeless are everywhere in the city limits. The cost of living in Salinas is insane because it’s sandwiched between the Monterey Peninsula and San Jose.
Why has the population dropped? They closed Ft Ord in 1991. So fewer military and civil service retirees. My dad was stationed there in the 50s. I was 4-6 years old. I remember playing on the grounds of the Presidio when we lived next door. The MPs would catch me and take me home. For a while we lived in Seaside. I was in kindergarten at Manzanita elementary. It was called Seaside Elementary back then. Now closed. In the early 2000s, Salinas didn’t have those homeless tents. They have appeared like mushrooms all over the more temperate parts of country, along with the addiction epidemic. Thanks China. This is what you get with poor governing and left wing policies.
Sorry but I grew up and went to Seaside elementary down on lower Elm Street in the late 50s, early 60s. My mom still lives in the same house. Manzanita elementary was on Yosemite Street in upper Seaside. Now it's a charter school.
Look at the population of Commiefornia as a whole. Now look at demographics. Legal and illegal immigration from the third world has overpopulated the state. This is happening all over America now. We need to STOP dumping so many foreigners onto the existing population and give us time to heal!
It must be sad for Nick to go back to California and see how so many areas have declined so dramatically in recent years. I have been watching these videos since last spring seen a change in the way the videos are produce and the comments about the causes of the decline in so many areas.
I get pretty frustrated knowing that one family may have more resources than 10 thousand families combined. These rich people live in another universe.
I had a great uncle who lived in Seaside, and he and I went to Carmel in the summer of 1982. I bought a velcro watchband for my LCD watch (remember those, and velcro wallets?) from a shoe store called the Shoe Box. In 1985 I was working at a bicycle shop in Goleta California called Murdoch's Bike Shop, and I had a co-worker who was going to school at UCSB; he asked me about the watchband, and I told him where I had purchased it - he got a surprised look on his face and told me that his uncle owned that shoe store! My great uncle passed away a few years ago, not long after his wife did, and his son now lives in his house in Seaside. It's a very modest (but nice) home, and my great uncle was able to afford it with his salary from being in the US Navy (he enlisted because of WW-2), but I'm sure it's worth over a million dollars now. My immediate family could have amassed a great deal of intergenerational wealth if they had been able to keep their homes, but one by one they were all lost because of alcoholism and hard times. My grandmother sold her Victorian style home in Alameda for a modest sum in 1978; last time I checked it was worth about 1.5 million. I just checked and according to Yelp the Shoe Box was at Dolores and Ocean Avenue and has been sold or gone out of business.
Voting has nothing to do with this........................duh. Too many people now days have souls of ICE....No compassion. I love the way so many look down on the unfortunate....THE AMERICAN WAY. 🤮 Doesn't seem to be working well.
Yeah it’s just the voting. Has nothing to do with with how fucked the economy is right now. This is happening in Florida too btw. These past 2 years we have the most homeless that I’ve ever seen here
Those murders you mentioned that happened in Salinas this past year devastated the community. The cop's wife was pregnant if I’m not mistaken and the couple that was gunned down near Santa Maria church was not even gang-related. The guy was a boxer while the lady was about to graduate soon from I believe CSUMB. Wish I saw this video sooner to give my comments on Salinas and Monterey county as a native.
Hey, so what are the Republicans going to do ? Nothing, cater to the rich and ignore the problems. No room for correction in that party If it’s not MY problem, it’s not a problem. So things are allowed to fester
Hey!! You forgot the Monterey Bay Aquarium!! It is kind of like a town project. So many people in Monterey volunteer there. They are extremely proud of it. It is an amazing day trip! Maybe next time, you can include it in your video.
Ah yes finally my hometown. (Monterey) I still go down there to ride and go to the beach and it’s still certainly nice. It’s too far from the metro and too rugged for massive homeless encampments in my opinion, but California has ruined plenty of things already.
I used to be a resident in Monterey County. I wished you filmed the rich part of Salinas, the smaller towns in the south of the county & also Pinnacles National Park is nearby. The only thing that has gotten worse is the homelessness & how overcrowded it is now. When I was a kid they're was very little homelessness. Gang violence was way worse over a decade ago. It averaged over 100 murders per year. Now that number dropped tremendously. But Salinas isn't all bad. I moved out because of lack of job opportunities. Salinas also has one of the best community college in the nation Hartnell Community college.
Thank you for your comment. I mentioned the same thing in my post. I got my AA from Hartnell before transfering to University. Best Jr college and professors. Grew up in Spreckles & south Salinas near Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. Nick focused on the really bad side which is Soledad St and Alisal area.
He only ever shows the bad parts every city in the us has bad parts some have huge areas that used to be nice in the 70s 80s 90s are crap now jobs going overseas white flight ect walmart pushing others stores out ect
I own multiple rental properties in SoCal. I can tell you the increase in rents is not because of greedy landlords. Fire insurance, HOA fees, and taxes have shot through the roof. Municipal permit fees for simple things like replacing a water heater are now ridiculous. Also, darn near every tenant now leaves the home in shambles when they move out, and welch out on the rent. It used to be only every once in awhile that it is left in bad shape, now it is more often than not. Everything is expensive, flooring, cabinets, paint, labor, etc. etc. Landlords have no choice but to raise rents.
So glad we only stuck to seaside Monterey area during our summer 2021 roadtrip. Lake Tahoe & central coastal cities were the only places we felt like we transported OUTSIDE of Cali. It was refreshing to not see trash, tents, & zombies everywhere. We're from the OC btw.
I worked with someone who’s sister moved to California to work back in the 80’s. Now she’s retiring and getting a nice pension, social security, and selling her now million dollar house. She moved back to the Midwest, where the cost of living is a lot less. Big house, nice new car, plenty of money to visit friends back in CA. But there’s other places she Ike’s to go in the winter, like Florida.
I migrated to USA 40 years ago. The first two years I lived in Carmel. I was young without a car therefore I didn’t go anywhere. Everyday I walked to school and then walked to Thunderbird Cafe to study before going back home for dinner. Imagine my disbelief when I moved to Atlanta. It felt like living in a dream to living on the street (figuratively speaking).
Here's my entire California Road Trip playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLq-_cmf3H6yoGM0mmbTCTmMa9zMFvvDeG.html
Hello Nick,
Excellent channel I subscribed of course ironically I have family that have lived in The San Bernardino area since the early 70s It was nice then (Little Mountain Road) we used to skateboard down it (bomb it) it is now a hell hole...as you are aware. Ty for kind the words. Best in 2023. 🤙🏿🌊
The Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, calculated by comparing household income to a locally-adjusted poverty threshold, reports that 20.7% of California's population has income insufficient for their basic needs, as compared to 12.9% for the U.S. as a whole.
To the creator. I just unsubbed. Take a look you just lost about 15 subs. Enjoy it
I live in Monterey nor a great place to be single. It gets cold here, even in summer. I moved here from Santa Monica in 1974.
I went to school with Kathy and Karen Johnson my Grandmother was born Johnson County Texas.
30 years ago my mom used to "rant" about how "they" were trying to get rid of the middle class. She was right. When earning $2,500 a month won't even get you a studio apartment,... something is seriously wrong.
Your mom was right!!!
Many of the rants 30,40,50,60,70 years ago were correct
Let alone educated people who have to live in their cars! Something is terribly wrong indeed. Having a decent roof is a BASIC human right.
I agree; I believe the rich feel the same way.
Target the rich and destroy their lives. Chase them out of the state.
This is not just a California problem it is a West Coast problem and it is moving East along with the trend of Sky High rent! It started in the 90s in Southern Cal as a way to move people out of the ghetto in places like San Bernardino but it simply backfired and people doubled up in these houses. Then it just became too much and people started spilling out into the street with no options!
It does have a middle class outside of LA or deep bay area…. Ik so many middle class people all over the Northern and Southern valley, and outskirt cities off the Bay like Antioch its full of more affordable suburban big homes
It's getting bad in the mountain west too. I live in northern Colorado and am in the process of having to move (landlady is selling the property). I checked the price of an apartment I lived in five years ago, when I was paying $880/mo for a two bedroom. That same apartment is going for $1450 now. Median home prices are up almost $200k over that same five year period.
I'm hoping this real estate correction will bring prices back down to reality but I'm not holding my breath. Even if it does, interest rates are about triple what they used to be so you're servicing so much more debt every month. No guarantee that interest rates will fall again shortly so it's a gamble if you'd be able to refinance anytime soon. I'm gutted that I didn't have the capital to make even a 10% down payment five years ago. I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel where, despite having a solid income, home ownership never seems to get closer. The only people my age (early 30s) that own homes, a very small percentage of people, had some kind of help from their parents. If you don't have that resource available you're essentially SOL.
In the big CA cities, homelessness is mostly comprised of addicts in an open drug market, where laws are not enforced due to the leftist political class and their backward agenda. As long as they're not the ones who have to step over the homeless, on the way to work, and as long as they're not held accountable, they don't care.
Plenty of room at Slab city.
The homeless can spill over to Slab City.were sick of bums.
I lived in CA for a few years and have visited a few more times and it absolutely pains me to see how badly the state has turned. Such a beautiful place
@Wilma Flintstone. Couldn't agree more. Think I will be joining you in Bedrock real soon.
I lived in Cali for 55 yrs and witnessed it's evolution from a beautiful paradise to an untenable craphole until I finally couldn't take it any longer. I sold my business and moved to Idaho in 2004. Unfortunately, Idaho has become inundated with Cali migrants who brought the same misguided ideology that ruined Cali with them to Idaho.
@@russellmcelveny1014 You should have seen that coming when YOU moved to Idaho. Hahaha!
We were having a laugh about the Flintstones. Like, they have a Christmas special this time of year, but, how would Fred, Wilma, and Barney and Betty know about the birth of Christ when they live in the Stone age in Bedrock 8 milleniums before Jesus was born.
@@andybrown6981 What the hell does that have to do with anything?
News flash, It’s not just in California that the middle class has disappeared it’s the whole damn country
True
Wrong!
No its not the middle class is still here
It’s not the whole country, sorry. Middle class is still banging in Florida 🤷♀️
There are places in America where the middle class is still thriving....for now. Most of those places are run by the other team, but I do wonder how much longer the other team will continue to do the right thing. How much longer before they too become completely corrupt. They must see the kind of money and power the blue team is obtaining. It must be quite tempting.
I moved to California expecting paradise. It was very exciting for the first few years, not easy but manageable with good access to services. It all went downhill when I got divorced. Neither of us could afford the apartment on our own due to constant raising of rent and laughable wages, so I had to leave and live in my car for months on end and shower at a gym while working full time. Got into an accident and lost the car, had to flee to a homeless shelter before moving in with a friend. Mix all that with the emotional turmoil and heartbreak… I didn’t care if I lived or died for nearly two years. Next month I will have enough saved to get out of this place. So much for ‘the big dream’ here. Gonna try the Midwest or central US.
Come to kalamazoo michigan chica!! best city in the midwest, cheap living, kids who attend highschool get free college at ANY michigan university and it's a college town.. God bless you, hope you find the strength to stay on your grind!
You look so young, wonder if is it impossible to go move back to your parents. Hope the best for you, all is well💪
Come to Georgia or go to Florida you will love it here.
Prepare to pay your Govender the farewell tax.
Come to Georgia.
The loss of population is because so many homes are bought as second homes, and, as you mentioned, children growing up here often can't afford to stay. leaving parents as empty nesters. Once you've lived here, especially if it's been near the ocean, it's very tough to live anywhere else. There are about 50 homeless people living in Monterey. Service people often have to live in Salinas and commute. There is a critical lack of affordable housing (and primary care physicians). Rents are increasingly unaffordable. A tiny studio rents for more than $2,000 and there are few jobs that would pay enough to support even the tiniest apartment.
I've lived in California my whole life. Hopefully soon that'll change. But I've never seen the big draw. It's beautiful for sure. But after a while won't it get old?
@@RogerWareInc Not just the beauty, the weather. No snow and along the coastal areas, no heat. Also, it depends on where in CA. Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and of course San Francisco are swamped with homeless, and crime. (San Francisco went from being one of the loveliest cities in the world to being filthy and so dangerous you can't even walk around in the daytime in many once vibrant areas.)
I live in a small farming type town called Santa Paula and they're like three families living in every two bedroom shack, because the rent is absolutely outrageous! What cost $800 10 years ago, now cost $2,400 Has nothing to do with wages, you'd have to work 5 jobs a day to have enough money to have a roof over your head, without having 20 people to share that room with ! And what? Hello, there's not that many hours in a day. Oh and when they evict you because you can't pay double the rent. It costs you a lot of money to move... money you don't already have!! it's ridiculous
I was born and raised in CA. When I was over 21, I left, and it wasn't hard to do at all.
@@AngelicoCiudad yes my ancestors had been farmers in the Oxnard plane since 1860, but since all of them died from cancer by 1960 it wasn't such a great place to be. Actually the Oxnard plane has the highest rate of cancer in the world among the Farm Workers if that don't tell you something, I don't know what to say.
California has a "vibe," and when it's good, it's fabulous. When it's bad, it's unfathomable.
Yup. When it’s bad, it’s… Tijuana with homeless people
True
Voting Democrat/regressive is a mental disorder.
It’s the same in Europe. Only tourists don’t see the real Europe
The vibe has been gone for years
To the extent that CA does still have a middle class, they are mostly public employees. These people live in places like Elk Grove and Roseville, outside of Sacramento. Many of them will not leave because they believe they will receive a pension someday, and won’t walk away from that.
Very true! My spouse and I are retired from a bay area county. We had really good jobs and still couldn't afford homes in the area we worked. We had to commute an hour away like everyone else.
True. Wish I'd known about that racket when I was younger!
@@denverdubois5835 "racket" 😆
@@denverdubois5835 maybe you dodged a bullet.
Not for long...
You really hit the nail on the head concerning the homeless- "Do these people really know what happiness is anymore" and "do these people look forward to anything anymore." Must be beyond tough for them, really, a veritable nightmare.
Yeah, they have something to "look forward" to. Drugs. The answer you're looking for is hard drugs, bro
Getting addicted to drugs or alcohol is probably my worst nightmare.
@@jawarholol4651 I was gonna say the same but you beat me to it.
If you were in their shoes I'm sure your words would be different and you would look forward to your next fix aka the escape from reality which is a prison you build yourself and then it's your own personal hell. Something huge is wrong and going on in this country. It's like the powerful (rich & politicians) want the lower classes to be on fentanyl and meth. Easier to rule and use and abuse.
You'll be surprised by the amount of people aged 18-25 that simply said they couldn't afford school or rent with the homies and packed it in the car or elsewhere in the street
I made $136K living in Marina Del Rey and just lived in a $2K efficiency apt on the beach and saved my money till I left for Las Vegas after 8 yrs and bought a house with cash.
That's how you do it!
I worked in Midwestern states $60k for 25 years my company pay for my gas, food, hotel, phone as a field electronics technician,so I bought a house in San Diego by cash.
In California, the upper-class (120k-200k) is now the new middle-class living in average houses and standard qualities.
The same thing is happening in Australia, the middle-class is dying. If you don't earn ($150-200k) you can't live in our two most populous cities comfortably.
Same here in London UK.
All the empty house brought as a second home for the rich Russians and Chinese.
For all those that don't have a mortgage, were lucky really. No negative equity, and hopefully we will come out better off when the bubble bursts.
At least in the USA you have space to move to another state, cant relly do that in the UK.
@@musikundaground9935 here in Australia you can still get a property, but it has be in a smaller city. Although we are in a bad shape and most people have to rent these days due to the interest rate hikes. Hard times for sure.
Yep that’s me
“We built this city, we built this city and now it sucks.” Nick Johnson
oh man so old school.
Lol. Good one ☝🏽
“All my favorite places . . . my city, I see, had been mowed down . . . reduced to . . . parking . . . spaces . . . “ The Pretenders
@@NickJohnson I like Southern California it feels like home and I'm not from there. I love the weather in the Summer and time zone but the homeless crisis can improve I would volunteer in LA or Fremont
@@NickJohnson I was in Skid row and down town LA last yr what really sucked is I didn't get into a shelter. But it was worse living in San Francisco with other homeless folks
My husband and I lived in Pacific Grove for one year from 1983 to 1984. He managed what was then the Casa Maria restaurant that sat right over the water on Cannery Row. It was such a beautiful place to live. Again, your video has brought back many good memories for me. Thanks.
My parents and I lived in Pacific Grove in the late 1960s. Even though I was just a little kid, I remember it well--because it was so worth remembering. That beautiful ocean, the charming old houses, the lovely weather. I wish we'd never left, to be honest. But my mother missed Berkeley, unfortunately, and her mother was still there. So we went back to the east bay. Definitely the wrong decision. OH WELL.
My husband worked for a California water district and had a job interview in Carmel about 15 years ago...They wouldn't pay a living wage or step him up in the pay scale due to his experience...he asked, "How do you expect me to afford to live here?" And the answer was...."live in Salinas and commute...that's what everyone does. Needless to say...we didn't take the job...we were renting at the time...
Barely making it off 4000 a month, with a baby infant of family of 3.
Was it CalAm? Those people are a bunch of crooks.
I think Dirty Harry's there
Opinion From a Former Judge
I am a student of law whose age is 85. My first year of college was 68 years ago. One class I took was political science. A half-page of my textbook es- sentially outlined a few steps to overturn a democracy:
1) Divide the nation philosoph- ically.
2) Foment racial strife.
3) Cause distrust of police authority.
4) Swarm the nation's borders indiscriminately and uncon- stitutionally.
5) Engender military strength to weaken it.
6) Overburden citizens with more unfair taxation.
7) Encourage civil rioting and discourage accountability for all crime.
8) Control all balloting. 9) Control all media.
What was printed in 1954 as a possible diabolic nightmare has become an emerging real- ity. I hope that Americans will unite enough to pen a good finish-Go dwelling.
KEITH M. ALBER CALIFORNIA
My Dad said this would happen. He said so in the 80s
What did he say would happen?
@@billynomates920 A lot of people saw this coming. It was obvious to those with working brain cells. But like the commenter above said, it's hard to get out. Now more than ever with the cost of everything, especially housing. The covid lockdown was the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the WORLD.
@@billynomates920 lol
Reduce taxes on the rich (job creators and risk takers), ban abortion and sex before marriage, ban divorce, zero capital gains tax, increase prisons - boom the country is fixed
We need honest leaders like Reagan and Bush.
As a German, this is all too interesting facing the fact our politicians want to move us into something like this too.... RIP western "values"
Germany has an excellent soci safety net, this is not possible in Germany
The same is happening in Australia.
@@clazza65 Why cant i put a thumbs up on this .... Resist!
@@PeterBalssuweitwe're trying but its the old adage of "you get what you vote for in politics". All snakes just different skins.
@@ValeaBarcaului I thought that too, 20 years ago. But then came the neoliberal Schröder gov, then for an eternity neoliberal Merkel, and now we have the worst clowns possible around O'Laugh Scholzi Corrupti.
And it gets worse and worse and worse. You have no idea how this once excellent soci net gets ripped apart piece by piece.
In the Sixties my Reverend Father brought home a Taiwanese refugee.
Peter Wang went on to college. He decided some sort of famous math equation and made oodles of dough. He now has a home in Carmel and has a nice Restaurant.
Couldn't speak the language or read the road signs yet didn't let that stop him.
Whatever happens here in California will probably happen to the rest of country. We need our politicians to realize this before it’s too late 😢
Politicians are causing this! Who do you think they work for?
They do realize it, they created it. The bottom line is they don't care abt anyone but themselves.
All our politicians and the entire government local and federal are corrupt af. Both sides. Everyone likes to blame one or the other. They're all working for and get funded by big biz. The end. The "voters" are the last thing our system gives a shit about
I grew up in Louisiana/New Orleans area and now in south gulf coast Mississippi and I can promise you that it won't spread here, the people won't let it happen. It's decently quite down here, well the people's minds. I live in the country for real now in Mississippi and I have traveled to California as well and other states and I see the different cultures and how it influences and mold our realities and it's not going to happen well at least not in our life
They make a crap ton of money in the homeless game.
I was the victim of credit card fraud while staying in Salinas, CA, and that was 20 years ago.
Interesting.
I lived in Long Beach for about the year of 1985. CA has always had its problems (I remember seeing a homeless guy at the McDonald's every morning when I boarded the bus to go to the L.A. Times telemarketing office...his pants had no legs from the knees down, and his legs were absolutely black with filth, and my heart went out to him). Where CA is today is even more heartbreaking, so sad.
Woah, my cousins name is swiger. He’s never met another
I live in Long Beach. He is still here.
Whole USA is 1. rich, 2. working, 3. refuse to work/Welfare/stoner junkies...
Did you help the POOR guy
@@ashdobbs the state of CA today.
Saw a video on another channel, a guy committed multiple crimes and got set free, over and over again, until he reached a point of killing and maiming many people. If someone is telling you "I don't belong in society anymore!" and we don't listen, this is the result.
Love the commentary. It is not just about the real estate, it is about life.
Salinas is the gang capitol of California, even more than Oakland or LA. I once knew a guy who was born and raised there. He was Latino, and his friends were all in the gangs. He was too. He hated it, and managed to actually leave "the life"--it took years and a ton of cautious maneuvering, but he managed it. He had a developmentally disabled son. His boy was such a sweet, gentle kid. He never got into the gangs, just lived with his Dad and grandparents. One day he went with his cousin to help move a couch for an older relative. Some gang kids murdered him for their initiation. The Salinas cops were so upset that they actually made the unusual move of publicly announcing that my friend's son was an innocent victim, not a gang member himself. They didn't want him to be misjudged. I went to the funeral. It was beyond tragic seeing him laid out in his coffin, just 15 years old. Unbelievably, the asshole gang tried to haze the funeral. Police voluntarily stood guard. My friend's life was destroyed. He took care of his parents until they passed and then left CA, never to return. He lives in Wisconsin now and says he wishes he had left decades before. His son would still be alive. "I love this cheese-eating, beer-chugging, nice white people culture" he says without a trace of sarcasm. "This is heaven to me."
One person? One story? That is like saying Idaho is a bad place to live because four students were killed there.
Thing is that when you have millions of hispanics flooding into a place you're going to get hispanic culture, and gang culture is basically a part of all hispanic lives....
Bring in the turd world, get the turd world.
I live in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles to be exact. I am lucky that my parents let me stay with them and pay a small rent. I would never be able to afford the absurd rent around here the average is over $2,000 a month. The average home price is $733,000.
Edit: it was 733,000 not 500,000. I've lived here since I was born, so 20 years. The only reason we could afford to live here is because we've been here so long.
I've been to SLO recently. It is a beautiful area but, yes, unaffordable.
I feel the same, I’m so grateful for my parents. They always remind me this is my home too 🙏🏽
@X are you upset because you didn't get that from your parents?? Calm down buddy lol. We don't have a choice what we are born into but we can change it if you have the mind capacity to break it down and explain to your parents instead just go off everything they tell you to do and when something doesn't go their way they want to kick you out to the street
Same with my husband. He used to own a home in Santa Barbara, where he grew up. But his wife got the house when she divorced him, and he couldn't afford to purchase another. By the time he met me, property was so expensive there that even if we sold my mother's old home in Berkeley, which I'd inherited, we still could barely have afforded an outhouse in Santa Barbara. My parents bought in the 1980s, thank God. Berkeley isn't my favorite place, but at least Mom's house has accrued enough value that when I do leave, I'll be able to live decently elsewhere. It's all so unfair to younger people coming up now. There's nothing affordable for most of them, even in far crappier places than Berzerkeley.
@X the wineries are draining out water supply
I can explain why many have left. As a Home Inspector, I inspected more houses for people from Cali in the last year, than all the time I have been a Home Inspector. There comes a point, where the cost of living is effecting the ones who had a lot of money.
“Had” a lot of money..as in, they don’t have any now?
I’m a home claims adjuster. Can confirm people buy homes and are now “house poor.”
"many have left"
but if people "sell" their house in CA that assumes a "buyer" for that house in CA, no?
@@bellinghammond or an ibuyer (Redfin, Zillow, etc), investors, foreclosure homes, eminent domain..
@@thobbs4526 all of that is going away...Even Blackstone (amerika's Landlord) has pulled in its horns
It’s actually hard to make a 100k and make it in Cali. I’m a nurse and live in SLO county and it’s tough! Great videos brother
It seems like you can’t live anywhere … I heard even places like Iowa & Kentucky are high
@@Daydreamerr13 yeah it’s even harder when it’s only single income. We are really trying to keep it to where my wife can be with the kids full time
There's thousands of very low paying jobs...where do those people live?
@@James-nv1wf even in NY you can rent a room for 500 dollars a month with utilties included. Take a look at craiglist for hudson valley NY and look at rooms/shared section. Burger king pays 15 an hour in NY which in my opinion is liveable. I make around 100k but try and keep my monthly budget around 1700 a month. Just rent a room
@@JJason406 Renting a room is horrible. 90% usually want a female (even if they don't post it), you can't have anyone stay the night, no music, no smoking..etc etc. and to round it out you have to get up to work at a place like Burger King where you can barely save any money. Anyone having to do this should be someone with no education or experience.
That’s the one thing I really feel jipped out off. The life style I grew up on. My family was middle class, our parents had regular jobs and moved us out of the hood just buy saving up. We grew up in nice suburban neighborhoods. But once my cousins and I tried to take the same route as our parents to stability we just find it does not work. We truly are not living in the standards that were set for us. That was the biggest adjustment for me in my twenties. Having your parents move you out of the hood, talk bad about those people, but now you only make enough to go back to that same hood and become one of the people your parents talked bad about. (I’m not calling people from the hood bad, but that is what I heard growing up)
“The Democrats had abandoned their working-class base to chase what they pretended was a racial group when what they were actually chasing was the momentum of unlimited migration”. DANIEL GREENFIELD
Thank you Gavin for turning a beautiful state into a third world shithole
The thing is most people only care about their personal surroundings that's why you can have rich/poor and no middle class the Rich will be ok as long as their personal surroundings stay the same and the poor have no choice.. the middle class are in between and they are the ones who are usually forced out
Everyone can make their own choices regarding what they deem acceptable for their surroundings. If you don’t like it, you work hard and improve your position. This country has opportunities for anyone who is willing to put in the effort.
@@jpjp3873 very true…
@@jpjp3873 i don’t think so. The minimum wage shld be $50-60 / hr. Majority of the people have like what $15-20/ hr only 8 hrs. These people studied and works so hard. Eventhough i will work fir 24 hrs no sleep still i can’t buy a big house etc. with such kind of salary. Government shld take actions bec. most people nowadays are lazy to work and have a shortage of workers. Others kerp on moving out and stay in other countries.
@@ermarios4281 Wait, what?? First of all 50-60 minimum wage? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard! As for the rest of your comment, I’m just going to assume it’s a language barrier.
Without Salinas, there would be no maids, gardners and handyman to cater to the rich in Carmel and Monterey.
Your wrong, the new workers have been crossing the border, 2,000,000 + in the last two years. Here they come.
How can a city full of maids have so much trash in the streets?
@@Attmay
The last time I was parked in Carmel a pair of sole proprietor maids were cleaning a boutique office storefront that had just been vacated, and it was very obvious they couldn’t do the most basic of light duty office chores quickly, thoroughly, and efficiently
So, while I commend them for owning their own business, there’s still a concept known as ‘talent pool’ and it’s often lacking
How about without Salinas, there would be no lettuce or produce that would feed the country.
And chefs
FINALLY someone said it. I've always said there is NO middle class anymore in general. There are 2 types of rich people and 2 types of poor people.
There is the filthy rich people that are born to a family that runs a major business (Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobile, Hershey's, Etc...). And rich people that have to actually WORK to be rich (Doctor, lawyer, small business owner, etc...) Then poor people that work full time min wage jobs, and then the homeless/underclass that work or on benefits but are straight up HOMELESS.
I ASSUME they call the middle class the people that are Doctors and Lawyers. You can't all people who are 1 paycheck away from being homeless middle class!!!!
All intentional, by the Creature from Jekyll Island.
I always assumed middle class as a career skill trade workers who then gain experience to build up their own business from there. Like a starter level mid to then high income. People who have multiple cars and can get paid vacations from time to time. That's what I always had in my mind. I would be considered a low income earner, but that's how I always viewed it as from my perspective. What is middle class exactly?
@@thetricksterpill In coastal California, it would be a minimum of $250,000 a year in income.
@@marcusmaynard1526 And that creature has spawned several generations of valueless, mindless and pretentious zombies that no longer relate to working people.
4 classes, of monetary value:
Elites
Rich
Poor
Homeless
Monterey lost it's population because there is no place to work that is not tourism or service related. I was stationed at the Coast Guard small boat station and between Carmel, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Monterey there is no affordable housing to rent if you are just starting out in life and people rent out rooms in their home for the cost of a 2-bedroom apartment in most places with 1st and last months rent plus deposit due immediately.
Take a note from someone who grew up in the Detroit metro my entire life. If you ever find your self in a rough area after dark in California. Don't stop at the red lights even and that's for your own safety sir. Just keep driving pedal to the metal till you end up in a safer neighborhood. Thanks for your videos!
Ok Jason!
I think the population decline in Monterey and Carmel is due to their older population stats and that the area doesn't attract young families for obvious reasons.
Also the closed us army base fort ORD ,has just some homes ,not much industrial warehouses ?
@@davidfranson9786buildings of Fort Ord were built in the 50s and 60s using lead paint and some construction materials that are banned today. It is very expensive to demolish those buildings due to environmental concerns and regulations. Not to mention the pollution in the ground. Certain parts of the field are not cleared from grenades or other firing devices which cost a lot of money to clean up as well.
Correct on both accounts.
I stopped in Salinas at night one night digging back to the bay, and left immediately. It felt so unsafe, like I had driven to Tijuana or something
@@ew10662 yes I agree with you! Don't go near a place called Fresno either, you stop for gas- two cars will follow you- trap you on the highway and you'll never be seen again
Rule no 1, don't stop in Salinas at night. Not like it used to be. I grew up there and need to know the safer roads to take.
@@brendamartin7280 Don’t stop anywhere along Highway 99 in Fresno. If you must get gas, connect to 168 from the 99 (it will take you towards Clovis) or 41 (anywhere Shaw Avenue and North) for gas.
Highway 99 in Fresno is the outskirts of the city full of hookers, drug traffickers and shady people.
The rest of the city away from 99 is not that bad actually.
@@brendamartin7280. Interesting… I’ve lived in Fresno/Clovis for 35 years and never once had that happen to me.
@@brendamartin7280 Hahahaha!
The more I deal with homeless, they more I am convinced they dont want to work even if you HANDPICK jobs for them. If they say they want food, they really want CASH for drugs. I've seen people buy food for the homeless and most literally throw it on the ground, upset that you didn't give them the MONEY. The large majority are able-bodied and can work, but dont. There are so many entry level jobs that dont require experience but they wont do those.
Even moving companies pay 200 bucks cash a day for day labor moving furniture, most wont do the work. They wont even help FEED THEMSELVES and volunteer at the Catholic Church I volunteer at giving out food to the homeless, not a single one volunteers to help and we ask for it all the time just moving and sorting food. CA has made it so easy to be homeless that nobody wants to get the f*ck up and work anymore and pandering to them has made it far worse. Yes there are legit decent homeless, but the more I work with them, the more I see the truth.
Exactly!
That's exactly what needs to change. They shouldn't be allowed to abuse food and complain. A lot are probably alcoholics, drug addicts, or mentally ill and like their 'lifestyle' too much. The big-wigs in city management have just given up on such people and/or criminals.
@@GlassOnion602 They're enablers.
@@GlassOnion602 Given up on them? I get the impression those homeless are doing exactly what the politicians want and they will happily keep voting for them for sake of the benefits they get.
Well, given up on kicking them out, given up on enforcing the law, not wanting to deal with the problem. I agree that politicians want votes as you said. From my chair here it looks like what happens when no law enforcement exists either.
The homeless problem in California will never be fixed. There are too many of them and it keeps getting worse. It is so sad. Decades ago, when the first tent went up, it should have been taken down. Instead, we allowed it to get worse and worse and here we are.
What's especially frustrating is that most of them are irredeemable druggies or severely mentally ill who would, in a proper society, be hospitalized for their own safety. The relatively few homeless who are just normal people temporarily down on their luck usually pull their lives together and get off the streets pretty quickly. Most of our homeless are permanent. Nobody will help the crazies, and, probably understandably, nobody cares about the druggies because they're filthy and dangerous and everyone's fed up with them.
I traveled thru California in the 80's and the only tents In saw were in campgrounds
@George Vreeland Hill. They could cure the homeless problem tomorrow, but choose not to. The homeless industrial complex has become yet another revenue stream for politicians and their cronies. Los Angeles City Council has perfected the art.
America is a dying and decaying nation
Frankly, I doubt there is a cure. Housing is just one issue. The drug use and mental health problems compound the problem. Also, the courts are no help. As long as people have the 'freedom' to live on the streets, it won't end. People don't want to live by anyone else's rules, so they stay on the street. Also, you can offer help for the drug and mental health problems but if they aren't ready to change, they won't.
I wish I could have shown you all the homeless encampments in the woods and along the bike trail in Monterey. It’s like Oakland but in the woods. Right under everyone’s noses
danggggg foo you shoulda show'ed him!!!
Sadly, the middle class is disappearing from every state…great vid Nick!
You're right honey!! ❤️❤️❤️
@@Mufasa7777 yes true
After awhile there will be no workers most people will be homeless. And alot of homeless people dont want or like to work or know how😳 so now what😳😢😢
@@billturner8377 there’s huge shortage of workers. Agencies keep on calling and sending me email. Work is hard and wage is low. Cali workers needs $50-60/ hr minimum wage. I find it very hard to live in a $15-20/ hr. If that’s the minimum wage i will think if i will work and stay here . I might go back and ask my daughter to transfer in other state or i might retire earlier.
@@ermarios4281 youre right in mississippi theres alot of jobs but mostly fast food. Dont pay alot. Im retired now I could get a job. "Welcome to Wal-Mart"😃
The boomers like my parents were able to own multiple homes in the Bay Area in the 80’s. This was before the high tech boom hit. Life was affordable and comfortable then. I finally left the bay 3 years ago due to being priced out. I moved an hour away to a small town. We found a semi fixer upper and pay less than 2k for our mortgage. I’m glad we were able to leave and still manage to stay in the state. But, it’s getting harder to live with the cost of everything going up.
When I was young in the 60s. Everybody had their houses and new cars everything was good. Good jobs everywhere but now you cant have anything unless youre rich so our great country continues to spiral downhill 😢😢😢
There was a major CA housing crash around 1991 or thereabouts.
Fun fact: Cain Velasquez was born in Salinas but raised in Yuma County. Caesar Chavez was born in Yuma County but spent a lot of time in Salinas. Cains parents worked in the same lettuce and agricultural fields as Caesar Chavez in both Salinas and Yuma where workers often migrate to and from depending on the season. Free Cain Velasquez.
Fun Fact My Father in Law Irving Rosenfeld was a Lawler for Caesar Chavez and helped organize the grape boycott .All they wanted was bathrooms and some safe housing while working the crops.
Cain Velasquez shot the wrong guy, because he was a bad shot and the California courts would not put a child molester in jail. But they will always throw the book at a man seeking justice by his own hands. Bad situation, but it is good to read that he is out on bail. If any guilty man deserves mercy it would be him
@@vernerobirds9115 well he shot the guy that employed the chomo at his daycare and let the chomo live at the daycare…and was driving the chomo around on bail and wouldn’t stop for Cain to probably just use his hands on said chomo. It’s a horrible situation…I was good friends with Cains brother who passed away along with their mom in the previous year. Cain went to same junior high and high school I did and has been nothing but a pillar to the communities he has lived in and represented. I believe it was temporary insanity as he has never had nothing but a great reputation and never has had any criminal record. He is a legend to the Yuma community, the Mexican-American community, the Salinas community, the wrestling community and the MMA community. Hope the Justice system prevails as it let him down by releasing the chomo thus giving Cain a horrible choice to make. Prayers to Cains family…RIP Efrain Velasquez. Free Cain.
@@sanmarcosSD We can only hope his jury will not convict a man who was defending family from a child molester. A jury has the right to acquit if they see a conviction as unjust. The judge always says different, but there is nothing he can do when they do it but set him free
Free Cain
You will never "work" your way from Salinas to Carmel. There just aren't any wages out there to make that possible. And I get that you are making that point. I really enjoy your videos and commentary, I've been watching your content for awhile now.
Read the book "Richest Man in Babylon". I did. It is amazing what can happen.
They use to say that in the US 90% of the people made 50% of the money . Now they say 1% of the people make 50% of the money . They say this is what has led to the shrinking middle class. Would you do a video on this idea? Like your video.
Ten people in one bed room all "visiting" with their 15 trucks n cars parked everywhere and shift sleeping... all hours. I lost my sense of humour.
Love your videos on California ! Thank you for showing the real California too.
Thanks for watching!
The homeless crisis should be elevated to a national emergency crisis. Too much funds being sent to Ukraine in the billions of dollars. Mental health, crime and housing are some of the reasons for the increase in the homeless population.
And do you notice the US is such a sucker for giving more money to causes like Ukraine than other countries? Those other countries have it right. Take care of their own first!
I lived in Anaheim and then Riverside. The best decision I ever made was to move out of California 20 years ago. Its now totally insane. And don't get me started on their politics.
On behalf of the nearly 40 million residents of California, you are not missed.
Yup. I was very wealthy with lots of investments but became severely ill and now living in a van. I literally jumped from one extreme to the other. Living the California nightmare
Bro do Hollywood next. That place went to trash so quick, I never ever want to go there if I have a choice. I was born and raised in LA county and slowly seen Hollywood, DTLA and many other areas in LA turn to trash besides South LA cuz that place has always been trash.
There are 3 classes in Cali- the wealthy, the poor, and the soon-to-be-in-FEMA camp classes.
Maybe the entire country will be like this someday.
lol. That is their goal.
Not maybe for sure.
@@jglee6721 That is their goal, but there are still a lot of tough people who won't give in. Lots of gunowners.
What? Lol.
They want a THRID world dynamic. Totalitarianism is the goal.
Moving to Cali was like a fairy tale to me at one point. Now its seems more like a nightmare. Whoa 😢
It's it's what you make of it you're going to sit around and feel sorry for yourself you're not going to get anything you got to get up and make it good
2008 had a lot of foreclosures, and those with liquid cash bought them up and turned them into rental properties. That's probably why they dropped 13%.
I live a few cities away and I've always wanted to visit Monterey because of the beach view. It's nice to have other cities mentioned, it's always LA and SF that get all the attention.
So sad but going on all across the country. We need politicians in WASHINGTON DC to take a road trip and camp outside since this is how many working class families are living today. Wall Street scammers need to join them on this trip. Use to go to Santa Cruz and loved it. Hope life gets better soon.
Nope, can't have them getting a dose of reality. They'll find a way to make reality illegal and have people harassed by the alphabet agencies for pointing out the obvious.
You can't be serious. Politicians do nothing but make things worse! Only people working together can help this crisis. It will be a long, long road and Americans are used to instant gratification.
Yeah, the state of this country is embarrassing
The politicians don't care. In fact, they like it that people are suffering.
They need to cut taxes so we can keep the money we actually make. Otherwise, why bother working when you have to hand over your paycheck to the government, no thanks.
The bit about 'getting ahead if working hard' is largely bs, no offense. Mass immigration and wholesale importation if a servant underclass of agricultural laborers and urban service workers have drastically increased housing costs and cost of living along with insane taxes and zoning regulations.
It’s not bs. There is just willingness to do what is necessary. Maybe you need to relocate. Maybe a change of career. I’m not saying it’s easy, just that it’s possible.
@@jpjp3873 , The entire country is effed in the long run, not just California. There are places cheaper for housing and cost of living but also lower wages. There are advantages and disadvantages to living anywhere but the disadvantages are mounting for California. Unless one is 2o years old and can throw all their belongings in the back of a car and drive to North Dakota or Tennessee it is impossible for someone with a home and family, parents, a community, a social network of friends, a church, etc to just pick up and move somewhere else 'to follow opportunity ' Furthermore, instead of running away, we should try to improve conditions where we live now.
@@jpjp3873 It is BS. There are women who sell their bathwater online and make more in a week doing it than you will ever see, while mexicans do slave labor for pennies in California. I guess those farm workers should just work a little harder, right? Surely one day the farm owners will start paying 40 bucks an hour.
@@willytodd2750 Nobody says they have to remain farm workers forever! Everyone has opportunities. Maybe learn a trade? Start a business, invent something, become a TH-camr! With your kind of attitude, you’re right, they’ll get nowhere.
@@Interlocutor67 Nothing is impossible. You can make a move if you really want to. It’s all about choices. I hope California can change its path, but I gave up. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful state. The political landscape is just too cancerous.
Salinas is a great example of why sanctuary city don't work! Good job Newsome!
I grew up in Pacific Grove ( most of your opening shots were taken there). Unless your grandparents/ parents gave you a house you can’t afford it. I had to move to Washington
I live in Germany and the same happens here too.
I'll bet you don't have the Fruitcakes like they do here or being invaded by freeloaders taking your food.
@@flynnstone3580 /2015: "EU refugee crisis"
Steinbeck's masterpiece "East of Eden" is set in Salinas. His book "Cannery Row" is set in Monterey.
At the Steinbeck museum in Salinas you can watch the movie Lifeboat
We really enjoy watching your videos, Nick!
Glad you like them!
I had the good fortune to live in Monterey in the mid-90’s. I attended classes and lived at the Presidio of Monterey when I was in the USAF. It truly looks like it hasn’t changed in almost three decades. I miss it and wish I could afford to live there again.
This gap between rich and poor reminds me of Greenwich, Connecticut vs Bridgeport, Connecticut in Fairfield county. Also Carmel-By-The-Sea looks like a different country! Literally looks like paradise!
Carmel IS paradise! You should visit! Incredible food, wine, art galleries, restaurants, inns, shops, and always gorgeous cars around, old, and brand new!
Bridgeport was much worse 40 plus years ago. Compared to the wealthiest towns in FFC, there is a stark contrast.
As you probably know, there are areas that make Bridgeport look like El Dorado. I have lived in the Midwest and the Southwest USA for most of my life, and I have not visited FFC and B port proper since 2017, but the latter looked not too bad.
There are areas both urban and rural in CA, AZ, and NM that are way more dangerous. There are rural areas that are comparable to the Hills Have Eyes.
There are cities in the Midwest that remind me of a more extreme version of what Bridgeport once was.
Not sure, but I am going to guess, there are probably no extensive tent cities in the poorest parts of FFC.
Monterey also reminds me of Connecticut. It’s like driving from the nicest part of Greenwich to the shittiest part of Waterbury.
For how bad it's getting in California I refuse to give up and leave. A few good places still exist, but it should be all of California and not just selected spots.
I'm with you! There are still people voting against these democrats. Why should we tuck tail and run. For those that have...... WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE COLORS DONT RUN... AND LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND..... Bunch of sissys ....They talk crap about the snowflakes but don't realize they are snowflakes. Left us to continue the battle.
Fool.
True but as long as you realize that at this point it can never change.. what's done is done and if you're ok with the fact that it will most likely get worse then so be it ..
@@dickhead_brian tuck tail and run.....
FR! California is no different than 3rd world country except for coastal areas.
Great video Nick! It was a narrative of my life. My parents were okies that built a home in east salinas “the Alisal” and I grew up there and watched it turn to shit until 1985 when I joined the Air Force. I came back and worked my way up through the food chain until I was able to buy a home on hwy 68. What a world of difference 5 miles makes! As a sheet meal worker I laid hands on buildings from the ghettos you showed, to the mansions in pebble beach. California does have great weather but has terminal cancer. We cashed out and moved to Tennessee and couldn’t be happier. Maybe someday California will return to glory, but probably not in my lifetime. Not as long as the leftists are running the show.
Smart move! Good for you! You got out just in time, it costs a lot of money to leave California, I think it's running around $10,000 right now if you want to take your possessions with you, not sure how far that would get you.
@@brendamartin7280 I wish! We were reamed for $18,000 to Tennessee……still worth it!
@@jpjp3873 yes! I totally believe that, I've tried to get out of here for three decades, I don't have enough money to get away, Get out of Dodge, so to speak. It's more like the Alamo... actually between the constant gunshots at night and the drug addicts, this place is hell!
Thank you for update on $ cost of escape. Have a great new year ♡
@@elultimo102 oh you're so lucky you got out♡♡ yep it cost at least that much and that was when gas was cheap! Fuel proce has tripled!
@@brendamartin7280 Word to the wise. Choose a local moving company and don’t use the brokers. They are super shifty. They under bid the volume of stuff and have you by the short hairs to complete the job for more money. I know how to figure cubic footage and gave them the exact volume. There is NO RECOURSE for them giving you less volume in their trucks. I measured the truck and showed the driver the math! He threatened to unload everything in the yard. House was sold, so we had to just pay! By far the most stressful event of our lives! The truck driver that delivered our stuff was just a contractor for them and had his own business. He said he would have delivered our stuff for around 5000. The hard part would be getting connected with someone like that. Just beware and do lots of research.
You should check out the homeless situation in Santa Cruz. Probably worse than Salinas actually. Equally divided between the wealthy and poor. I live in Salinas. Work all over the peninsula. Including Santa Cruz, Carmel, elite gated communities in Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, etc...sucks to see the difference between the filthy rich and the poor.
I see this class divide every day with my job as well. What's worse is seeing how many children are morbidly obese. Monterey County's obesity rate is 45%, and their solution is to ignore it and turn it into just another string of bedroom communities for San Jose.
I was going the other way :(
@Nick Johnson put it on your list for a future episode. It's fun to watch your channel. California is messed up in a lot of ways and beautiful with a lot to offer in a lot of ways too. If people can get beyond the dumb politics and appreciate the land and some areas that are less corrupt it's pretty amazing and diverse in climates and topography.
4:10 bro anywhere nice in the developed world; a detached home is gonna be over $1M....
This is no longer 2002, or the 90's....no matter where you look, ANY WHERE you want to live, it's gonna be $1m+
This is not exclusive to California...I'm in Canada and I've seen the same thing for the last 30 years
My 1975 Buick Riviera that I purchased for $305 (a charity auction on eBay) came from Carmel. It was owned by a public city librarian who passed away the same day as my father, in 2005. It is now being restored back to showroom condition.
Salinas is just an extension of Mexico now. Did you see the famous butterfly house in Carmel? It's going for $40 million. The ocean is just yards away. Not only are the homes super expensive, it cost a fortune to maintain them because exposure to the salt air corrodes everything. Did you mention that Clint Eastwood was once the mayor of Carmel? I lived for 30 years in Northern California, in Marin county and worked in San Francisco. As an east coast transplant, I had never seen a homeless person until I went to downtown San Fran. The problem has only gotten 200% worse over the years. I left last year and moved to North Carolina. Compared to California, it's boring, and uneventful, but that's fine by me now. I think California is the greatest state in the country as far as geography goes. The land is beyond spectacular! But for me, that just wasn't enough anymore. The Dems. have destroyed the place. It most likely will never get better. Thanks for the video.
How do the 'agricultural workers' afford $500,000k homes?
I am a native Californian and there has not been a middle class here for a very long time.
When I was born in the 50s my parents were true middle class.
which tribe ?
3 years ago us middle class was here.
@@fwefhwe4232
Native Californian as in born, raised and lived here my whole life
I was in this very same area, just three months ago, while visiting a friend who owns a Hotel in Carmel. It was so great it made my mouth drop open, and then we went to the tragedy of Salinas, and it dropped open again It is like the middle ages in Europe, the Very wealthy, and the surfs, right next to each other, separated By five million dollars a year in income...
I lived in Salinas in 72 and there was always a bit of a problem especially with car parts being stolen off of newer cars and stuff but this is horrendous this is just unbelievably awful..
My great grandmother lived there and my mother said it was sketchy in the early 60's. There were certain areas to avoid way back then.
Yeah then the price of gas tripled and people was stealing gas out of everybody's gas tank, so they invented the Locking gas cap!
@@muziklvr7776 yeah the early 60s was scary --the LA riots, they burnt down Watts, well it was already out of control! I can't believe it's lasted this long
I left that hell hole 30 plus years ago and thank God everyday I did
The early 2000's migration out of Monterey was the big real estate (Cash Out) (retirement) for most home owners. Anyway cheers from Newport Beach, CA. 🤙🏿🌊🍾
The pre-boomer generations got old, retired, and died, and the boomers who inherited their stuff passed every rule and regulation in the book to keep post-boomer generations from accumulating wealth.
Fun fact Monterey puts homeless people on local buses (MST) and takes them to Salinas. It’s very messed up because we don’t want them in Salinas either.
Most of the Monterey peninsula is old money. You’re right about Salinas…it’s a dump. The town has changed dramatically with the influx of the migrant population. Salinas has terrible schools and a major gang problem. The homeless are everywhere in the city limits. The cost of living in Salinas is insane because it’s sandwiched between the Monterey Peninsula and San Jose.
Austrian here: yeah, at 7:50, the word "Märchen" is German for "fairy tale".
Why has the population dropped? They closed Ft Ord in 1991. So fewer military and civil service retirees.
My dad was stationed there in the 50s. I was 4-6 years old. I remember playing on the grounds of the Presidio when we lived next door. The MPs would catch me and take me home.
For a while we lived in Seaside. I was in kindergarten at Manzanita elementary. It was called Seaside Elementary back then. Now closed.
In the early 2000s, Salinas didn’t have those homeless tents. They have appeared like mushrooms all over the more temperate parts of country, along with the addiction epidemic. Thanks China.
This is what you get with poor governing and left wing policies.
Thank Mexico , Central America , and who can forget the united states government who refuses to secure the border or deport illegals.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for the people who pushed these policies.
Sorry but I grew up and went to Seaside elementary down on lower Elm Street in the late 50s, early 60s. My mom still lives in the same house. Manzanita elementary was on Yosemite Street in upper Seaside. Now it's a charter school.
Look at the population of Commiefornia as a whole. Now look at demographics. Legal and illegal immigration from the third world has overpopulated the state. This is happening all over America now. We need to STOP dumping so many foreigners onto the existing population and give us time to heal!
It must be sad for Nick to go back to California and see how so many areas have declined so dramatically in recent years. I have been watching these videos since last spring seen a change in the way the videos are produce and the comments about the causes of the decline in so many areas.
It's sad for people that were born and raised in Cali to see what it's like now.The newbies don't know the difference.
That's Socialism for you.
Bro, been here for 45 years, it was more dangerous in the 80’s and 90’s, the big difference, the homelessness now.
Much sadder for us old people who saw it 50 yrs or more ago ......
@@davidlafleche1142 Society has changed ,and to many people moved there and ruined it And politics
"people being hit in the head by bullets while in their living room.." Sounds like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I get pretty frustrated knowing that one family may have more resources than 10 thousand families combined. These rich people live in another universe.
And don't ever think they care...............
@@matildagreene1744 yeah I know they don't. People get used to the lifestyle.
What do you mean by "resources"? If you have electricity, heating/air, transportation, etc. you live better than a king did 500 years ago....
@@pandemicofvaxxedholes yeah the key thing you just said is "500 years ago". We're not living 500 years ago. Might as well be two different galaxies
@@richardwilson8404 It shows WE live way better. Do you need an aid to read?
When I lived in cali, I went to Carmel my whole childhood. It’s lovely and amazing; seeing it not too run down is great to hear🙏🤝
I had a great uncle who lived in Seaside, and he and I went to Carmel in the summer of 1982. I bought a velcro watchband for my LCD watch (remember those, and velcro wallets?) from a shoe store called the Shoe Box. In 1985 I was working at a bicycle shop in Goleta California called Murdoch's Bike Shop, and I had a co-worker who was going to school at UCSB; he asked me about the watchband, and I told him where I had purchased it - he got a surprised look on his face and told me that his uncle owned that shoe store!
My great uncle passed away a few years ago, not long after his wife did, and his son now lives in his house in Seaside. It's a very modest (but nice) home, and my great uncle was able to afford it with his salary from being in the US Navy (he enlisted because of WW-2), but I'm sure it's worth over a million dollars now. My immediate family could have amassed a great deal of intergenerational wealth if they had been able to keep their homes, but one by one they were all lost because of alcoholism and hard times. My grandmother sold her Victorian style home in Alameda for a modest sum in 1978; last time I checked it was worth about 1.5 million.
I just checked and according to Yelp the Shoe Box was at Dolores and Ocean Avenue and has been sold or gone out of business.
They keep voting FOR this. It is hopeless.
Voting is rigged
Voting has nothing to do with this........................duh. Too many people now days have souls of ICE....No compassion. I love the way so many look down on the unfortunate....THE AMERICAN WAY. 🤮 Doesn't seem to be working well.
Yeah it’s just the voting. Has nothing to do with with how fucked the economy is right now. This is happening in Florida too btw. These past 2 years we have the most homeless that I’ve ever seen here
@@serggla924 exactly its always about the voting lol. yeah right
@@truther001 BINGO any election of significance is completely rigged right down to the candidates, BOTH sides dems and reps.
Those murders you mentioned that happened in Salinas this past year devastated the community. The cop's wife was pregnant if I’m not mistaken and the couple that was gunned down near Santa Maria church was not even gang-related. The guy was a boxer while the lady was about to graduate soon from I believe CSUMB. Wish I saw this video sooner to give my comments on Salinas and Monterey county as a native.
Found this channel a few days ago, a true gem!
Good! ❤️❤️
It’s been crazy to watch my state get more and more economically divided
Welcome to communism where the elite are rich and everyone else is poor! Equality is thee but not for me is the leftist mantra.
Don't break down in that part of Salinas. Most of the tow companies in Monterey Co. won't go there 😂😬
I just moved to northern Kentucky from California best thing I ever did
Hey, so what are the Republicans going to do ?
Nothing, cater to the rich and ignore the problems.
No room for correction in that party
If it’s not MY problem, it’s not a problem.
So things are allowed to fester
Hey!! You forgot the Monterey Bay Aquarium!! It is kind of like a town project. So many people in Monterey volunteer there. They are extremely proud of it. It is an amazing day trip!
Maybe next time, you can include it in your video.
Darrrrrn. But I was kinda in a hurry dammit
Ah yes finally my hometown. (Monterey) I still go down there to ride and go to the beach and it’s still certainly nice. It’s too far from the metro and too rugged for massive homeless encampments in my opinion, but California has ruined plenty of things already.
I used to be a resident in Monterey County. I wished you filmed the rich part of Salinas, the smaller towns in the south of the county & also Pinnacles National Park is nearby. The only thing that has gotten worse is the homelessness & how overcrowded it is now. When I was a kid they're was very little homelessness. Gang violence was way worse over a decade ago. It averaged over 100 murders per year. Now that number dropped tremendously. But Salinas isn't all bad. I moved out because of lack of job opportunities. Salinas also has one of the best community college in the nation Hartnell Community college.
Crime was way down before the planDEMic.
Thank you for your comment. I mentioned the same thing in my post. I got my AA from Hartnell before transfering to University. Best Jr college and professors. Grew up in Spreckles & south Salinas near Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. Nick focused on the really bad side which is Soledad St and Alisal area.
He only ever shows the bad parts every city in the us has bad parts some have huge areas that used to be nice in the 70s 80s 90s are crap now jobs going overseas white flight ect walmart pushing others stores out ect
I own multiple rental properties in SoCal. I can tell you the increase in rents is not because of greedy landlords. Fire insurance, HOA fees, and taxes have shot through the roof. Municipal permit fees for simple things like replacing a water heater are now ridiculous. Also, darn near every tenant now leaves the home in shambles when they move out, and welch out on the rent. It used to be only every once in awhile that it is left in bad shape, now it is more often than not. Everything is expensive, flooring, cabinets, paint, labor, etc. etc. Landlords have no choice but to raise rents.
I’m so sorry you don’t have to work
So glad we only stuck to seaside Monterey area during our summer 2021 roadtrip. Lake Tahoe & central coastal cities were the only places we felt like we transported OUTSIDE of Cali. It was refreshing to not see trash, tents, & zombies everywhere. We're from the OC btw.
I worked with someone who’s sister moved to California to work back in the 80’s. Now she’s retiring and getting a nice pension, social security, and selling her now million dollar house. She moved back to the Midwest, where the cost of living is a lot less. Big house, nice new car, plenty of money to visit friends back in CA. But there’s other places she Ike’s to go in the winter, like Florida.
I migrated to USA 40 years ago. The first two years I lived in Carmel. I was young without a car therefore I didn’t go anywhere. Everyday I walked to school and then walked to Thunderbird Cafe to study before going back home for dinner. Imagine my disbelief when I moved to Atlanta. It felt like living in a dream to living on the street (figuratively speaking).
Why did you move to Atlanta?
@@TheSwissChalet my mother took me there to be close to her sister. I was a minor so I had no say.