The United States of America is rightly regarded as ranking among the greatest nations under the sun, where boundless opportunity awaits all who are willing to work hard towards realizing the "American Dream", of owning, via lucrative employment or entrepreneurial acumen, a house in leafy suburbia, complete with a white-picket fence around the garden's manicured lawn, a two-car garage and a loving family to raise.

Generations of immigrants have been drawn to America, where many rise to positions of great economic power and privilege, all attained by dint of hard work, resourcefulness and perseverance. From the Irish in Boston, to the Italians in New York's Little Italy, to the industrious Chinese who flocked to places like Monterrey Park in Los Angeles and built business empires, the story of contemporary America would not be complete without honorable mention of the great wealth created by first and second-generation immigrants to the USA.


On the other side of the coin, however, is the tragic tale of those for whom the American Dream became a nightmare, and who fell through the cracks to become destitute and homeless in the proverbial land of milk and honey. It is about those forgotten poor that this picture montage has been created using images from Google Earth, all captured in a God-forsaken district of Los Angeles known as "Skid Row", where life is brutal, desperate and short, and where junkies, drunks, knife-wielding meth-head ex-convicts and traumatized military combat veterans, all live amid a wretched maze of downtrodden humanity, in tents along the sidewalk, out on the mean streets in all weather conditions, with no place to call home.

This is the face of homelessness in modern day America. Feast your eyes, and comment as you see fit. No political stance is taken by this writer, other than to expose a side of America that is rarely seen in mainstream media - the hidden flip-side of the American Dream that exists "on the WRONG side of the tracks", where all hope is abandoned by those who wind up there.

For those with stars in their eyes, who dream of one day making it big in America, be advised that all the impoverished staggering ghosts shown in the accompanying photographs, were in previous lives middle-class bread-winners and productive citizens, who, by virtue of job loss, combat trauma, drug abuse or just plain bad luck, wind up living hand-to-mouth existences of abject poverty, just fifteen minutes by car from the the super-rich enclaves of Beverly Hills and Malibu, yet a whole UNIVERSE away, in practical terms.

Without further ado, here is the face of real poverty in America, the land of opportunity, at the end of the rainbow.

More pictures of Los Angeles' "No man's land" - Skid Row.

e no concern me abeg.

I go still get my visa.

Just look at the environment, the air they breath is richer than the one you get in lekki.
Not trying to justify poverty.

peteruuu:
e no concern me abeg.

I go still get my visa.

Best of luck my brother. May you never have reason to even visit a place like Skid Row.

When you move into this cliff-side home just down the coast in La Jolla, California, please hire me as a gardener or security guard.

Valleys:
Just look at the environment, the air they breath is richer than the one you get in lekki.
Not trying to justify poverty.

Those pictures of Skid Row were probably taken during November, when the seasonal Santa Ana winds blow down from the mountain ranges, and towards the coast, sweeping the smog and brown air out to sea, and increasing visibility under blue skies to many miles. In the summer, the air in downtown Los Angeles can be a hazy brown in color, such that one can barely see a city block, talk less of seeing the city skyline as you can in these shots.

To really enjoy California as a tourist, visit in the winter or spring time, when the air is mostly clear as seen in these pictures.

In as much as I know that USA is not easy, it's a country that you work to live, but every hardworking individual can always feed and provide little shelter over his/her head. Most of these people are lazy, not ready to work.
Remember no food and shelter for a lazy man or woman.

People living inside nylon tent? oh my word!

queengift:
In as much as I know that USA is not easy, it's a country that you work to live, but every hardworking individual can always feed and provide little shelter over his/her head. Most of these people are lazy, not ready to work.
Remember no food and shelter for a lazy man or woman.

It is a misconception to assume that only "lazy people" can wind up homeless and out on the street in America. All it takes, for any individual or entire family to wind up with no roof over their head, is for there to be a loss of employment that leads to falling behind on rent for one month, or at most two months, at which point the landlord will post eviction notices on the front door, issuing a very short ultimatum for payment of back rent to be made, or for the tenants to pack up their baggage and vacate the building. Failure to pack out will trigger a visit by local police sheriff's deputies, who will use whatever force is required to evict the delinquent tenants from their abode.

The loss of a job due to corporate downsizing, injury, or prolonged illness, can have immediate and devastating consequences to anyone in the USA who rents their place of abode. As mentioned in my initial post, drug use, mental illness and other personal issues are also common reasons for homelessness, BUT, that is by no means the full picture.

In Western countries, the extended family system that serves as a safety net to people who are down on their luck in Africa, simply does not exist. A person who loses their home or apartment in America, is very likely to find that they are all alone in this world, with no relatives or friends willing to lend a helping hand, leaving the evicted person with no alternative than to live in their car, a parked camper van or a tent erected in the street.

In the American gambling capital Las Vegas, where millionaires go to lavish money at the 24-hour casinos, entire communities of destitute homeless people live UNDERGROUND, in a network of tunnels designed to drain away flood waters during the infrequent rain storms that ravage that city "where the fun never sets" located out in the Nevada desert. When heavy rain does fall in 'Vegas, it is common for many of those tunnel dwelling homeless people to be drowned by flash floods that arrive suddenly, and submerge the entire tunnel network with raging waters, in a matter of minutes.

A common presumption that buoys the hopes of intending immigrants to the USA and Western Europe, is that employment is ALWAYS available, and that the income so derived will always be adequate to cover living expenses from month to month. This assumption is simply not true at all. A recent series of articles in the Los Angeles times highlighted the plight of high school students whose parents resided in converted car garages, or even in their cars on the street, whilst using the a viable street address to give the impression that they have a home, in order for their children to qualify for admission into schools in the area where they live in absolute poverty.

The prevalence of homelessness in the warmer states of the union, such as California, Florida and even Hawaii, that "island paradise", would shock and alarm a first time visitor arriving in the USA.

Everything that glitters, is not gold, as the old saying goes.

Valleys:
Just look at the environment, the air they breath is richer than the one you get in lekki.
Not trying to justify poverty.

The things we read here,please tell, where and when is poverty "justified"

@Topic, America is soulless. Most Americans are a paycheck away from being homeless and destitute. Like clockwork, ypu must pay for everything as at and when due , no stories or you'd see yourself in the cold streets.

In Nigeria and Africa generally , your landlord will be termed heartless and wicked if s/he gives you a quit notice after owing rent for one year.
People can cook up a story of how their great grand mother died and armtwist or guilt trip you to write off their debts.

Such stories dont work in US.

Other than the Hawaiian Islands, there is probably no place in the USA where the stark disparity between the very rich and the very poor, is more evident, than in "Sin City" Las Vegas, Nevada. In that city that operates around the clock, fabulously wealthy billionaires arrive by private jet to gamble away vast fortunes in the casinos by day and night, with expensive call-girls flocking them like bees to honey.

In the alternate universe of abject poverty that exists under the streets, in the dark and dangerous network of storm drainage tunnels, the homeless tunnel dwellers eke out their piteous lives amid sewer rats, disease, random violence and madness, whilst emerging only to search for empty aluminium beer cans that can be traded for petty cash at recycling outlets, or alternatively, begging for "spare change" from passing cars gliding along the fabled 'Vegas Strip, that main street that is home to all the major gambling casinos.

Here are a couple of articles that examine the lives of the 'Vegas tunnel dwellers.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326187/Las-Vegas-tunnel-people-How-1-000-people-live-shimmering-strip.html

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/znwyd8/inside-the-tunnels-las-vegass-homeless-population-calls-home

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/14/las-vegas-homeless-tunnel-dwellers-gambling-addiction

Mizwisdom:
People living inside nylon tent? oh my word!

Lol. That is Fashion district in downtown. Most of those are undocumented Mexicans who sell clothes and other items along the streets in early hours before 8am. Yes, homelessness is real but today there are more undercover agents posing as homeless than the real homeless people. Walking along that area, one has to be careful before one walks on human sh1t.

MajorJeffery:
Lol. That is Fashion district in downtown. Most of those are undocumented Mexicans who sell clothes and other items along the streets in early hours before 8am. Yes, homelessness is real but today there are more undercover agents posing as homeless than the real homeless people. Walking along that area, one has to be careful before one walks on human sh1t.

Ahh tanks for explaining

Dominique come see isale USA

ifyalways:
@Topic, America is soulless. Most Americans are a paycheck away from being homeless and destitute. Like clockwork, ypu must pay for everything as at and when due , no stories or you'd see yourself in the cold streets.

In Nigeria and Africa generally , your landlord will be termed heartless and wicked if s/he gives you a quit notice after owing rent for one year.
People can cook up a story of how their great grand mother died and armtwist or guilt trip you to write off their debts.

Such stories dont work in US.

yes indeed.....

It's a cold world out there

Africa on the other hand take advantage of each other And cheat each other

that is why one can stay in a house and refuse to pay rent

or refuse to pay obligations

The highlighted statement is very, very incorrect. It is ONLY a court judgement can any tenant be evicted....and even that takes months depending on the tenant's circumstances.

Jakumo:


It is a misconception to assume that only "lazy people" can wind up homeless and out on the street in America. All it takes, for any individual or entire family to wind up with no roof over their head, is for there to be a loss of employment that leads to falling behind on rent for one month, or at most two months, at which point the landlord will post eviction notices on the front door, issuing a very short ultimatum for payment of back rent to be made, or for the tenants to pack up their baggage and vacate the building. Failure to pack out will trigger a visit by local police sheriff's deputies, who will use whatever force is required to evict the delinquent tenants from their abode.

The loss of a job due to corporate downsizing, injury, or prolonged illness, can have immediate and devastating consequences to anyone in the USA who rents their place of abode. As mentioned in my initial post, drug use, mental illness and other personal issues are also common reasons for homelessness, BUT, that is by no means the full picture.

In Western countries, the extended family system that serves as a safety net to people who are down on their luck in Africa, simply does not exist. A person who loses their home or apartment in America, is very likely to find that they are all alone in this world, with no relatives or friends willing to lend a helping hand, leaving the evicted person with no alternative than to live in their car, a parked camper van or a tent erected in the street.

In the American gambling capital Las Vegas, where millionaires go to lavish money at the 24-hour casinos, entire communities of destitute homeless people live UNDERGROUND, in a network of tunnels designed to drain away flood waters during the infrequent rain storms that ravage that city "where the fun never sets" located out in the Nevada desert. When heavy rain does fall in 'Vegas, it is common for many of those tunnel dwelling homeless people to be drowned by flash floods that arrive suddenly, and submerge the entire tunnel network with raging waters, in a matter of minutes.

A common presumption that buoys the hopes of intending immigrants to the USA and Western Europe, is that employment is ALWAYS available, and that the income so derived will always be adequate to cover living expenses from month to month. This assumption is simply not true at all. A recent series of articles in the Los Angeles times highlighted the plight of high school students whose parents resided in converted car garages, or even in their cars on the street, whilst using the a viable street address to give the impression that they have a home, in order for their children to qualify for admission into schools in the area where they live in absolute poverty.

The prevalence of homelessness in the warmer states of the union, such as California, Florida and even Hawaii, that "island paradise", would shock and alarm a first time visitor arriving in the USA.

Everything that glitters, is not gold, as the old saying goes.

Jakumo:
The United States of America is rightly regarded as ranking among the greatest nations under the sun, where boundless opportunity awaits all who are willing to work hard towards realizing the "American Dream", of owning, via lucrative employment or entrepreneurial acumen, a house in leafy suburbia, complete with a white-picket fence around the garden's manicured lawn, a two-car garage and a loving family to raise.

Generations of immigrants have been drawn to America, where many rise to positions of great economic power and privilege, all attained by dint of hard work, resourcefulness and perseverance. From the Irish in Boston, to the Italians in New York's Little Italy, to the industrious Chinese who flocked to places like Monterrey Park in Los Angeles and built business empires, the story of contemporary America would not be complete without honorable mention of the great wealth created by first and second-generation immigrants to the USA.


On the other side of the coin, however, is the tragic tale of those for whom the American Dream became a nightmare, and who fell through the cracks to become destitute and homeless in the proverbial land of milk and honey. It is about those forgotten poor that this picture montage has been created using images from Google Earth, all captured in a God-forsaken district of Los Angeles known as "Skid Row", where life is brutal, desperate and short, and where junkies, drunks, knife-wielding meth-head ex-convicts and traumatized military combat veterans, all live amid a wretched maze of downtrodden humanity, in tents along the sidewalk, out on the mean streets in all weather conditions, with no place to call home.

This is the face of homelessness in modern day America. Feast your eyes, and comment as you see fit. No political stance is taken by this writer, other than to expose a side of America that is rarely seen in mainstream media - the hidden flip-side of the American Dream that exists "on the WRONG side of the tracks", where all hope is abandoned by those who wind up there.

For those with stars in their eyes, who dream of one day making it big in America, be advised that all the impoverished staggering ghosts shown in the accompanying photographs, were in previous lives middle-class bread-winners and productive citizens, who, by virtue of job loss, combat trauma, drug abuse or just plain bad luck, wind up living hand-to-mouth existences of abject poverty, just fifteen minutes by car from the the super-rich enclaves of Beverly Hills and Malibu, yet a whole UNIVERSE away, in practical terms.

Without further ado, here is the face of real poverty in America, the land of opportunity, at the end of the rainbow.

I'll still take my chances

People who succeeded in Nigeria most times succeed when they get here.There is no country on earth where anybody will spoon feed you to make your life better.You must suffer to succeed #fact

ifyalways:
@Topic, America is soulless. Most Americans are a paycheck away from being homeless and destitute. Like clockwork, ypu must pay for everything as at and when due , no stories or you'd see yourself in the cold streets.

In Nigeria and Africa generally , your landlord will be termed heartless and wicked if s/he gives you a quit notice after owing rent for one year.
People can cook up a story of how their great grand mother died and armtwist or guilt trip you to write off their debts.

Such stories dont work in US.

Forget what you read on the internet.More than 80% of the homeless people are drug addicts.Its a known fact here.The choice of whether or not to succeed here is yours.A poor person is different from what you think as they can drive good cars,projects they live in my city looks like a GRA ,they get food stamps,Medicare etc.A lot of Nigerians are not physically fit to work an 8-12 hour shift standing on their feet.Thats the first job you will do as an immigrant before you upgrade your academic degree.The major problems in America are loneliness,addiction,inability to control your taste for vain things of life,addiction etc and not the ones OP mentioned .If you choose a big house over a small one,why wouldn’t you pay your landlord?

Raalsalghul:

I'll still take my chances

Certainly America is a land of success stories, as the first two paragraphs of my initial write-up clearly indicate. The purpose of this thread is to illustrate that success and attainment of the American Dream is NOT guaranteed for all who arrive in the USA, and that some folks wind up on the wrong side of the tracks, for the reasons I also outlined above.

The most impressive multi-million dollar house I ever had the privilege visiting in the USA, belonged to a Nigerian medical doctor.

rinzaugustine:
Forget what you read on the internet.More than 80% of the homeless people are drug addicts.

I beg to differ with this statement sir. If you happen to have access to the San Diego Union Tribune, or know of anyone who can check yesterday's paper ( Sunday March 17th 2019), you will find on page A.17 an article that describes facilities created by a charitable organization, for homeless FAMILIES, in the San Diego area, whereby the "van dwellers", often with infants in tow, are allowed to park their "residential vehicles" in a well lit area with access to toilets and water, and where a measure of safety from predators is possible.

The statistics that quantify reasons for homelessness indicate that those who wind up destitute on the streets, include vast numbers of those who simply lost their jobs, and got evicted by their landlords. It is patently FALSE to claim that 80% of America's homeless population are drug addicts.

Jakumo:


I beg to differ with this statement sir. If you happen to have access to the San Diego Union Tribune, or know of anyone who can check yesterday's paper ( Sunday March 17th 2019), you will find on page A.17 an article that describes facilities created by a charitable organization, for homeless FAMILIES, in the San Diego area, whereby the "van dwellers", often with infants in tow, are allowed to park their "residential vehicles" in a well lit area with access to toilets and water, and where a measure of safety from predators is possible.

The statistics that quantify reasons for homelessness indicate that those who wind up destitute on the streets, include vast numbers of those who simply lost their jobs, and got evicted by their landlords. It is patently FALSE to claim that 80% of America's homeless population are drug addicts.

Google drug addiction and homelessness in America.You mentioned only San Diego.Do you live in America?I am curious as why you are Labouring to show the few ways as against the many for succeeding

rinzaugustine:
Google drug addiction and homelessness in America.You mentioned only San Diego.Do you live in America?I am curious as why you are Labouring to show the few ways as against the many for succeeding

Lol!...I doubt he/she does.


He/she might be getting most of the suppose information about the US on the internet from biased opinionated journalist or may be being told from a one-sided persons way of thinking.

People should be aware that there's always to sides to every situation one sees or learns from.

rinzaugustine:
Google drug addiction and homelessness in America.You mentioned only San Diego.Do you live in America?I am curious as why you are Labouring to show the few ways as against the many for succeeding

Calm down good sir, for there is no need to get upset if you are not comfortable hearing about the homeless poor that reside throughout the USA.

Truth be told, most people resident in Southern California would never consider setting foot in a place like Skid Row, and many might even be just as shocked as a Nigerian internet user, to learn that human beings actually reside full time in those rows of tattered plastic tents that cover several city blocks, in a grid of streets that is known as Skid Row.

For avoidance of doubt, The Unites States of America ranks among the greatest nations that exist, and for most who live in the USA, the standard of living that can be maintained by a middle-class family is several notches above what a comparable family would enjoy in a typical African city, especially when utilities like water and electrical power are taken into consideration. That said, there is nothing wrong at all with exploring the hidden underbelly of contemporary American life, as long as the positive aspects, and boundless opportunities available to all in the USA, are not downplayed in any way.

I thank you for your input, sir, and look forward to reading any further thoughts that you may have on this picture montage I have reproduced here.

Too restore your zen inner calm, visit Venice Beach on a weekend, and bench some big iron at the free-admission open-air weight room, where a young Arnold Swartzeneger, who later became state "Governator" , held court a few decades ago.

Beautyaddy:


Lol!...I doubt he/she does.


He/she might be getting most of the suppose information about the US on the internet from biased opinionated journalist or may be being told from a one-sided persons way of thinking.

People should be aware that there's always to sides to every situation one sees or learns from.

Are you casting doubt on the configuration of my MALE bedroom tackle ?

Rest assured that my third leg is in full working order, considering the number of miles already logged over the years.

On a serious note, there are of course two sides to the coin in all things, and this topic is certainly no exception to that rule. If you have a free moment later on, you can re-read the first TWO paragraphs that prefaced the pictures of Skid Row shown above, and note the honorable mentions I made about America's myriad success stories, and in particular those accomplished by immigrants to the USA.

If you must know, I am as American as Mom, Apple Pie, the 4th of July, Monday Night Football, Thanksgiving, Halloween, The World Series, and all that chit, whilst at the same time keeping one foot planted firmly on the African land trodden by my ancestors, where the African Grey Parrot lands atop the Iroko tree at sunset, and listens for the sound of the village talking-drum with the gathering dusk, giving way to the haunting bark of the Awawa bush dog, echoing in ebb and flow, through the forest to greet the slow rising of the yellow moon.

E get as e be.

Jakumo:


Are you casting doubt on the configuration of my MALE bedroom tackle ?

Rest assured that my third leg is in full working order, considering the number of miles already logged over the years.

On a serious note, there are of course two sides to the coin in all things, and this topic is certainly no exception to that rule. If you have a free moment later on, you can re-read the first TWO paragraphs that prefaced the pictures of Skid Row shown above, and note the honorable mentions I made about America's myriad success stories, and in particular those accomplished by immigrants to the USA.

If you must know, I am as American as Mom, Apple Pie, the 4th of July, Monday Night Football, Thanksgiving, Halloween, The World Series, and all that chit, whilst at the same time keeping one foot planted firmly on the African land trodden by my ancestors, where the African Grey Parrot lands atop the Iroko tree at sunset, and listens for the sound of the village talking-drum with the gathering dusk, giving way to the haunting bark of the Awawa bush dog, echoing in ebb and flow, through the forest to greet the slow rising of the yellow moon.

E get as e be.

Lol!..People can choose to say anything to help with making their personal narratives about things believable.


At the end of the day, life still boils down to the saying that "one man's meat is another man's poison."

Beautyaddy:


Lol!..People can choose to say anything to help with making their personal narratives about things believable.


At the end of the day, life still boils down to the saying that "one man's meat is another man's poison."

Na so de ting be. Who no know, go know.

Jakumo:


Are you casting doubt on the configuration of my MALE bedroom tackle ?

Rest assured that my third leg is in full working order, considering the number of miles already logged over the years.

On a serious note, there are of course two sides to the coin in all things, and this topic is certainly no exception to that rule. If you have a free moment later on, you can re-read the first TWO paragraphs that prefaced the pictures of Skid Row shown above, and note the honorable mentions I made about America's myriad success stories, and in particular those accomplished by immigrants to the USA.

If you must know, I am as American as Mom, Apple Pie, the 4th of July, Monday Night Football, Thanksgiving, Halloween, The World Series, and all that chit, whilst at the same time keeping one foot planted firmly on the African land trodden by my ancestors, where the African Grey Parrot lands atop the Iroko tree at sunset, and listens for the sound of the village talking-drum with the gathering dusk, giving way to the haunting bark of the Awawa bush dog, echoing in ebb and flow, through the forest to greet the slow rising of the yellow moon.

E get as e be.

while human beings like me are disconnecting from our country of origin gradually


Once my parents are in the ground, there goes my ties to Nigeria as well.

For now I still have to play cool cos of my parents

Ugosample:


while human beings like me are disconnecting from our country of origin gradually


Once my parents are in the ground, there goes my ties to Nigeria as well.

For now I still have to play cool cos of my parents

Chai ! Dis man wikett o. Are you seriously waiting for your parents to DIE, so that you can emigrate from Nigeria to the USA ?

What happens if your parents REFUSE to die on schedule ? Will you be forced to demand that they get on with it and croak already ?

Wait a minute, you are not waiting for an inheritance are you ? Please tell me it ain't so, bro. I KNOW you are not in vulture mode, waiting for death in order to live.

Jakumo:




Chai ! Dis man wikett o. Are you seriously waiting for your parents to DIE, so that you can emigrate from Nigeria to the USA ?

What happens if your parents REFUSE to die on schedule ? Will you be forced to demand that they get on with it and croak already ?

Wait a minute, you are not waiting for an inheritance are you ? Please tell me it ain't so, bro. I KNOW you are not in vulture mode, waiting for death in order to live.

I'm alresdy out....

Don't live there anymore.....

But I still have to stroll in from time to time because of them, and the family business (to collect my share basically)

But when they are longer alive, what then will take me to NiggerArea?

you get the point?

I'm on the move

Ugosample:


I'm alresdy out....

Don't live there anymore.....

But I still have to stroll in from time to time because of them, and the family business (to collect my share basically)

But when they are longer alive, what then will take me to NiggerArea?

you get the point?

I'm on the move

Ha ha ha NiggerArea. Surely you will still need to visit your Babalawo Juju witch-doctor in your ancestral village, in order to renew and upgrade your fortification talismans every year, among other obligations.