It's depressing here too. LA/Hollywood has a reputation for it's enormous homeless population, and some blame the local government policies, and that's certainl

It's depressing here too. LA/Hollywood has a reputation for it's enormous homeless population, and some blame the local government policies, and that's certainly played a role, and could definitely do better, but I think there's a large portion of hopeful migrants who just couldn't make it work as an artist/actor/etc. That said, I think the internet has made it possible for many of them to find an audience that they wouldn't have had access to before, and eke out a living. They don't become mega rich and famous, and I think we have fewer superstars these days, but a lot more of these semi-famous people finding their audience. Patreon has been doing a lot to foster that kind of thing.