Is California as bad as this?

I used to live in California (in the 60s and 70s), and it was a lovely state. I lived on both sides of the Bay Area (Berkeley and San Francisco) at different times, and also in Los Angeles. (I have to say, the Bay Area was much better.)

I've returned to the Bay Area a few times over the years, and each time, I've noticed that things seemed to be deteriorating. Drug addicts defecating on the streets in San Francisco, for example. However, we all remember our youth with a certain amount of bias, so I've tried not to draw sweeping conclusions from my own personal experience.

Now I've just seen this video, (apparently compiled by the Russians) ... and I'd like to know, from people living in California ... is this essentially true? And if it is, what should be done about it?

This is the video I mean:

 

You hang in the wrong areas. LA, SF Bay Area.
Try San Diego.
Orange County, inclusive of Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach.
Skip Los Angeles and go north on the 101 for about 12 to 13 hours and come to Eureka/Arcata where lumber jacks and hippies learn to co exist.

If I were to resettle, it would be Humboldt County, Eureka / Arcata.
Beautiful country. And they have a Costco. The restaurants are
mostly independent. Not chains.

 

I've only been to San Francisco and Los Angeles. My mother-in law lived in Huntington Beach.

I was really disappointed. New York and New England are a thousand times nicer. The only place that was as nice as the East Coast was Carmel.

 

I've lived all over that state and yes its getting pretty horrible.

My last trip to Disneyland was simply horrible, that whole area is just filthy now and frankly that will be my last trip out there.

Even the people are far more rude than they used to be.

Half the time you can't even swim in the ocean because they have pollution warnings going on.

 

If you ignore the two major cities, California is quite nice. The problem is that those two cities hurt the rest of the state by sending so many legislators to Sacramento.

 

[Thank you, and thanks to others who have been kind enough to reply.]
I agree about that area. I used to own some land in Humboldt County, not too far from Garberville, or rather my parents did. So sorry they sold it, and sorry that I left California. I still love driving down Highway 1 from Washington State and stopping in the northern Coastal cities... and I especially like the Lost Coast.

Two friends of mine have been mayors (or maybe that's 'mayors') of little towns in Northern California.

Another great thing about California is that it is so geographically/ecologically diverse. You can go up the eastern part of the state, by Death Valley and Mono Lake (?), turn west at the top, passing thru that National Park with the extinct volcano, come down Highway One, to the bottom, then go back up through the middle on 101 or Interstate 5 ... and you'd think you were in several different states. And so many great National Parks and State Parks.

It's a shame hearing about the problems they're having. Where are the Great Thinkers with solutions?

 

You can see on the BBQ, they're even offering Dog for dinner tonight.

 

Hold on ... some of my ancestors ate dogs. If you eat cute little lambs but won't have a bite of a wolf-descendant ... that's just prejudice.

 

The liberals have californicated Kalifornia. This is what the democrats want for your city, too.

 

It’s good and bad with the bad getting more and more. Los Angeles is taken now and I had to move to San Diego. But it has super rich and super poor