a continual sense of possibility and openness. reporter: to camden, the buyer and manager of the booksmith, the departure of people who were only tied to the city for work leaves more rooms for artists and marginalized people who find a safe harbor in san francisco s culture. to be themselves. if they can afford it. if they can afford it. you go through different themes. the next theme will be different and there will probably be good and bad things about it. there s nowhere else i d want to be. reporter: natasha chen, cnn, san francisco. i m jessica dean in for jim acosta. pamela brown takes over the cnn newsroom live after a quick break. have a great night. offers investorsrs a broader vi. we see companies protecting ththe bottom line by putting people first.
watched some of her friends and staff leave, too. but she s invested here, even saving the historic toy boat ice cream shop in the richmond district that was about to close. despite the shop being the target of vandalism and petty theft during the pandemic, she s seeing positive change among remaining residents. merchant tomcorridors like t, neighborhoods where there s a real sense of community. that community during all of this was really solidified. reporter: the population loss may not be permanent. to them that pandemic exodus feels more like one moment in the city s many ups and downs. in fact, by the end of 2021, the trend of more people moving away with fewer people moving in appears to be slowing. and because thousands of people had left, some found better rental deals like the booksmith, a shop that moved to a new location still along the street where it s been for more than 45 years. what keeps me here is sort of