How come streets near me look so depressing now?

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I had to walk through streets and houses that look like they have seen better days on the way to get a new cog for the regulator on my car. The weather probably didn't help either as it was quite misty today. Seen a few people on drugs or drunk in the streets around, places boarded up that had been there for years, shops have been closing down, some of which had also been there for years. I remember even looking at some photos in a book about how my area looked 50, 60, or 100 years ago and shows how much has changed in all that time.

Chatham near where I live in Kent seems different now than maybe it did when I was a kid. I even remember as a kid going to bed looking forward to going to town the next day as there seemed to be more interesting places to visit now there doesn't seem much anymore. We do lots of things online now but I still like to go out and visit shops and see clothes and books with my own eyes and feel the material and the pages rather than others seeing pictures on eBay or Amazon.

I seem to think the area where I live has an interesting history. It has a dockyard where Nelson's ship The Victory was built, there were medieval sieges at Rochester castle, a Dutch naval raid which came up the River Medway (like UK's version of pearl harbour), Charles Dickens lived here for a time and even wanted to be buried here until he was buried at Westminster abbey. There is even Will Adams born in Gillingham who was the first Englishman to reach Japan. The film the last samurai starring Tom cruise was based on him.

Probably looked a hell of a lot more depressing in the days of Charles Dickens.

Idk things change. I don't know if where you live there are a lot of private landlords who have bought houses to rent because that can have a lot to do with how things change.

It does sound a bit depressing if there are drug addicts and drunkards on the street corners.

agree
The hometown in memory is the best place in the world, as long as there is a little change, it is not as good as before, not to mention that it is really much worse according to OP's description.

Yes, in many places the shops have closed down because of online shopping.
A shop can't compete with the low prices and tremendous selection of online shopping.

But, there is plenty of shops near me, for two reasons.
There is a wealthy town nearby and the rich like to get the personal attention even if it costs more.
Very good road access so folks will travel to get to the one big Asian market for fifty miles in any direction.

The streets near me look depressing as well. A lot of shops are closed. There are also shops and buildings that have been demolished. There are also homeless people who are nearly passed out on drugs and alcohol.

Online shopping is part of it. Prices are lower so people will shop online, particularly now that everything is so expensive.

But also we've had over a decade of 'austerity' following the financial crisis which has left councils unable to provide basic services which is another part of the reason that towns look so run down.

Conservative ideology says that business will step in to fill the gap left by a shrunken state but the reality looks like this - shabby towns with homeless people everywhere.

It might be largely due to your mental state.

Also, winter.

I can barely see the streets because of all the snow. And we're having even more of it tonight.

But it would be more disturbing if we didn't get any snow in the winter, at least where I live.

Snowless winter here, I expect UK to be similar right now.
Grey and dark.
The weather would fit early spring but the nature is still dormant.

Brexit.

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