Santa Monica is a ghost town

The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA used to be busy year around. But now it's a shell of what it used to be. What a shame.

#decoyvoice

[boogeyratt]

Man... I miss what SoCal used to be. I worked on the border of LA and Beverly Hills and it was always busy. We'd hit rooftop bars after work and let traffic die down so we didn't have to sit in it for two hours. A few years later all that stuff was closed down, skid row had become skid city, and every major highway on ramp had been turned into a tent camp.

[bjornbuckley]

I’m from LA. Every time I come home to visit family (rarely), it gets more depressing every time I go, and end up wanting to leave early.

[adamschifferer]

Everything changes when you realize it’s being done on purpose……..remember this!

[erikekholm]

Two kinds of malls in America. One where da white folk go, one where da white folks used to go.
Chris Rock

[tukos]

every time a democrat will take a picture in front of starbucks and be like "i'm not seeing any decay or crime!"

[Waywind]

I'm from Australia, but I know a girl from SoCal who moved to texas.
She's apolitical and even she concedes that California is not the place to be.

[S_Paoli]

I'm not from California, but I do visit the LA area frequently to visit friends and do other stuff since the 1980s. Santa Monica was ALWAYS my favorite neighborhood. Sadly, it has become such a depressing place over the last few years and I rarely stop by anymore.

[macharrington]

We used to visit California every year on a 2-week vacation and drove the coast from north to south... haven't been in 5 years and have no intention of ever going back

[Blahblahyah]

I lived there in 2018 up the street, homeless took over so i left. Now nobody’s left. Damn

[IwuzaKang]

Being a teen in the 2000’s I wanted to live in Cali so bad. Now I wouldn’t even want to visit.

[Substance]

Rent is so expensive there isn’t enough profit left after all the bills and taxes and fees. Businesses are struggling. Competition is imperative to fair prices in a free market. It’s really sad to see so many businesses closing their doors these last 4 years.

[Shastavalleyoutdoorsman]

That southern california cancer keeps moving north. 🫤

[KnowMore]

When empires fall, urban population decreases and people move to the rural areas.

[CatCrazyChannel]

This is crazy! I used to work at a marketing company with an office at the promenade. The place was buzzing! Third Street was my main reason for moving into the area because it was so beautiful and lively!

[DavidSmith-izqj]

You need to do this more bud, this is gonna help people like me accept I’m moving and never coming back after 37 years of being a so cal native. Truly disgusting, I agree with you 💯

[toxikricc]

My only visit to Cali was largely spent in Santa Monica/ Venice Beach. Pre COVID. I remember it being full of people for at least 20 hours out of the day. It's so strange to see.

[RAR]

we could live beside the ocean, leave the fire behind. swim out past the breakers, and watch the world die.

[shtkan]

I was watching KTLA news last night and they did a live shot of Hollywood and Vine just before commercial and it was empty on a Friday evening. That's nuts.

[Bigsister]

My hometown has change so much it tragic

[nreed]

Unbelievable. That place used to packed every day and night.