We have come to this: Tips on how to live out of your car.

[Are_grits_groceries]

A few days ago, someone posted on reddit that he was divorced, unemployed, and now living out of his car. This prompted someone who'd already had the experience to post a list of tips for the (hopefully temporarily) homeless, including safe/legal places to park, strategies for staying clean, and how to maintain social connections. How does he know all this stuff? He lived out of his truck for over a year and saved his money to pay off $17k in debt.



Practical advise from someone who's lived in a car long-term.

Locations:
•Most Wal-Marts let you park overnight for free
•Rest stops can be good, especially if there is security provided
•Most National Forests (grasslands, etc.) and Bureau of Land Management properties allow free camping for up to 2 weeks (but no one actually checks..)
•Church parking lots are usually good
•Some hotels, especially along the interstate, won't notice if you park overnight. However, some will kick you out at 3 am so it's a craps shoot.
•Find a place at least an hour before sundown so you're not driving around at night
•Sleeping in nicer residential neighborhoods will get the cops called on you. Sleeping in bad residential neighborhoods will get you robbed.
•Bum a place from friends. Join Couchsurfing.org and set your status to "Traveling at the moment."

Hygiene:
•Staying clean is very important. Trust me on this. People trust you more when you're clean and you'll have an easier time spinning yourself as "adventurous" rather than "destitute." More on this later.
•If you can find a restroom with a lock, you can take a fairly complete bath with a washcloth and a sink.
•If you can't actually bathe, do a whore's bath once a day. Get some hand sanitizer, the gel with high alcohol content, and rub yourself down, especially in the stinky areas. It won't get you clean per se and the alcohol will dry out your skin, but it'll disinfect you and kill all the smell-causing microorganisms. Follow this with deodorant and baby powder.
•The easiest way to LOOK clean and safe is to keep your hair and beard trimmed. The simplest and cheapest way to do this is to get some inexpensive hair clippers and clip it short once or twice a week.
•Dark clothes hide stains. If you can't wash clothes regularly, turn them inside out and place them in direct sunlight to inhibit funk and get that nice outdoorsy smell.
•Avoid cologne! Masking odors is the enemy. You want to have as neutral a smell as possible. Unkept hair and powerful body odor make it much more difficult to get help from people.
•Baby wipes are awesome.

Socializing:
•Libraries! Internet! Search for a job and read books! Keep your mind occupied and hone your intelligence.
•Parks, especially dog parks, are great places for meeting people
•If you find yourself in a hobo camp, like the ones that crop up in national forests and BLM camp sites, if you can make a hot cup of coffee you will have both friends and (more importantly) people to watch your back. It's as simple as Wal-Mart-->camp stove-->stovetop coffee maker. Take creamers and sugar from gas stations and the like. Oh yeah, it doesn't hurt to have 5-10 gallons of water in your car, especially if you're away from a city.
•If you maintain yourself, and you look clean and safe, you'll have an easy time convincing people that you're adventurous rather than destitute. Adventurous gets you much farther than destitute, because secretly (or not so secretly) a lot of people our age want exactly what you have--The freedom of the road, no responsibility, time to write and reflect, no obligations, nothing but days and weeks to focus on yourself. Being destitute might get you a dollar or a cup of coffee. Being adventurous might get you in a pretty girl's bed, or better yet, a hot shower..
•Go to where the young people are and mix it up once in a while. You'll fit right in as long as you stay clean and pretty. The easiest way back into the game is through a social network, so work on building a strong one.
•Always, always be on the bounce. Keep an eye peeled for opportunities. Don't let the massive chasm of unencumbered time overwhelm you. Have a project for EVERY SINGLE DAY. Make a plan and stay clean, because as fun as it is to tramp around for a while, you don't want to do this forever.

I hope this helps, buddy. In all likelihood, you won't have to use 99% of what I've mentioned, buuuut you never know. Top priority for you, my friend, is take care of yourself. Decide RIGHT NOW and TODAY that this will only be temporary. Mourn the loss of what you had, but remind yourself every single day that this is a BEGINNING, not an end. Focus on putting one foot in front of the other and I guarantee that you will find yourself in a better place.
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/byaac/im_25_my_marriage_just_ended_i_have_no_job_and_am/c0p5qkh

Good to know, but *sigh*, just *sigh*.

[Dappleganger]

1. Read that with great sadness.

Are we in America??

[elocs]

2. It is much better to have the knowledge and not need it,

than to need it and not have it. You do what you have to do to survive. Better to know how to do it the best you can.

Living out of your Vehicle (Boondocking):
http://www.roadjunky.com/guide/795/a-travel-guide-to-living-out-of-your-vehicle

How to live in your car:
http://livesafely.org/personal-freedom/how-to-live-in-your-car/

Living in your car:
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=50253


TEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS LIVING IN CARS:
http://www.carliving.net/ (this is a book with lots of information, I downloaded it for $5)

[tango-tee]

3. There is a very outspoken DUer with years of experience in living out of a car.

A strong woman. I'm thinking of her now, wondering how she is.

It is a disgrace that it has come to this. Nothing more or less. A disgrace.

There's plenty of money for wars, for ever more sophisticated weapons to bring death and destruction - and little to none for the poor. Are they so expendable?

[Skidmore]

4. My husband and I have discussed how we could live out of our

van if we were to become without income. It was a serious discussion about how to divest ourselves of our home and what we own. We've also talked about what is essential to keep and what items would be worth storing. I keep thinking that I hope I've inherited the short life genes in my family, rather than the long life ones.

[tango-tee]

12. Dear skidmore,

Your post worries me deeply. It seems as if you wished that you could get this life behind you? What has happened?

I know, I really and truly do, how rough this suck-ass life can be. But please, please, you have your husband, you have friends right here to turn to. Don't hesitate to turn to us. We may not be able to set things right, but we're right here to hold you tight. You're among friends and comrades.

Don't give up. Please don't.

In solidarity and love,

t-t

[Skidmore]

27. Thanks, t-t.

I appreciate the warm thoughts. Things just seem to keep skidding downhill all around nationally and locally. It's been one battle after another and the sense of having no control any more is acute. I used to come to DU for some reassurance that, if we were all on the same page, the direction was still forward. I don't feel that way now.

Aside from my family, there's not a darned physical thing in this life worth fighting for. I've become convinced that political will is a mirage--something that sits out on the horizon only to evaporate just when you think you can reach out and pick it up. I'm deeply discouraged and I realize how dark these comments must seem. I'm just being realistic about our personal situation. I'd gladly shed all but the necessities in a heartbeat. I'd gladly shed all the BS that passes for conventional wisdom and toss with it the continuous piles of outrage that substitutes for action. Just am overwhelmed with the clamour from all sides and extremely tired.

[Kolesar]

5. Park at a motel and swim in their pool

Ten inches of snow would make for a rough time.
edit: the comments on that reddit thread are a hoot.

[ipaint]

6. I very likely will be facing this situation in the near future.

This blog has lots of info:

http://guide2homelessness.blogspot.com/2004/10/introduction-to-project.html

I lived in a pop up camper for two years chasing jobs, 2006-08 before my husband found a half a year of construction work. That's long gone and unemployment will run out soon since the millionaires in congress see no need for additional tiers. At 53 and 56 my husband and I are two of the human beings behind the numbers of those long term unemployed who will be culled.

At 22 this may be an adventure but in your 50's, after working all your life, it's a fucking horror show.

[tango-tee]

13. Dear Lord, I can imagine.

When you're young, you bounce back because you have so many more years ahead of you. It's almost a dare life is throwing your way.

At our age? It's a whole different story. We've been dared so many times that the whole thing is getting to be very, very old and worn. What is it that we want? A sense of security, of safety, of being able to make it, after a lifetime of work and struggle. Is that too much to ask?

And the answer is - no, it isn't too much to ask. So many of us are in the same boat and for this reason, I'm writing this post to you, dear ipaint, in the sense of solidarity. You and I may not be better off for this in our daily circumstances - but we know that there are so many others out there just like ourselves.

We need to think of ways to change this. But how? How?

With much love,
t-t

[happy_liberal]

24. "At 22 this may be an adventure but in your 50's, it's a fucking horror show"

That about says it all.

The state of this nation is a fucking horror show.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! How did our government get the country into 12+ Trillion debt, yet the basic needs of it's own citizens are not being met? How did we get so ignorant and complacent that they can so easily get away with it?

[Bosso 63]

7. I liked old ford vans

Easy to find parts, more room, and they don't stand out. Down side is crap milage. I also liked to park by apartment complexs or near a large student population, as they tend to be safe, but there is enough of a transient population that you just can blend in. Stay clean cut!

[happy_liberal]

25. yes, ford van in a college town would be good

A van is the best way to go. Get some curtains and no one has a clue you are hanging out back there. It does get crap mileage but it could just be your home base where you can walk, bike from too.

In a (liberal) college town, one might find some compassion and intelligent conversation as well. At least you will be with others who are struggling to get by on nothing, as are many college students these days.

[arcadian]

8. Join a Y or local gym.

and shower there

[freeplessinseattle]

9. sure changes my perspective this am

was feeling so down last night about my ever worsening financial situation and no hope for improvement, mainly due to bad credit. Can't get back in school because I still owe on student loans and have constant massive dental work and car repairs that sucks up any savings I could put towards tuition so will never get to finish my Master's. What an utter waste of years of education and tuition.

So sick of the hovel I live in and my obnoxious neighbors, but because of poor credit can never find another place, or only step down with some desperate landlord. But now I am rethinking that it isn't so bad at least having a roof over my head. I don't know how I could manage my 3 cats living out of a car, and they are the only thing that keeps me going so couldn't give them up.

I really feel for those people, and they must have much stronger spirits than I could ever hope to, so they could make it if only given the opportunities. I wonder how many are out there simply due to poor credit-what did landlords do before the computerized credit check system? I wonder if there is a correlation with increasing homelessness?

[elocs]

10. I have researched this because I want to be prepared

and I am considering making myself homeless one day on my own terms rather than through bad luck. My intention is to eventually get a small travel trailer to hitch to my car and to make that my home, going wherever I would go.

My advantage now is that my living expenses are incredibly low and ironically for someone who had an AGI last year of about $6600 I have a credit rating of up to 750. Go figure. So as far as actual housing goes I can't get much lower or better than what I have.

[Brickbat]

11. If you wear jeans long enough, they stop smelling.

I know this from experience. :think:

[pipi_k]

17. That's because they rot off your body and fall to the ground five miles back

where you can't smell 'em...

:7



PS...I've worn jeans so long they stood up by themselves.

[Brickbat]

18. Heh!

When I lived in Russia, I would go months without washing my jeans, because it was such a pain in the ass.

[Berry Cool]

14. "Being adventurous might get you in a pretty girl's bed"?

Oh yeah, right...because even if you're homeless, it shouldn't prevent you from getting laid. At least if you're a heterosexual guy--because all the above advice is obviously aimed at men.

Avoid those ugly girls, though. No reason you should have to sleep with an ugly girl just because you're living in your car. Milk your persona as a daring vagabond. That way, if an ugly girl says you can spend the night with her, you don't have to agree just because it's a bed under a roof. You can afford to be choosy. :sarcasm:

Edited to add: To those who would accuse me of insensitivity to the homeless, I am not at all insensitive to the plight of the homeless. On the contrary, I feel the "how-to" list is not aimed at those who need it most. There are a lot of homeless women out there--women with kids. This list doesn't speak to them from what I can see. It doesn't explain how to better house yourself and children, and how to deal with their school issues, when all you have to live in is a car. Nor does it even address what homeless couples do. It's all about what you do if you're a single guy alone. "Do this, do this and do this, and not only are people more likely to help you out, you might get laid!"

[Ilsa]

16. I'm hoping the author was implying that all girls are pretty. But your post

sums up my first reaction completely. Thank you.

[happy_liberal]

19. better than sex, you might get a free shower out of it too

Just wonderful how this guy feels about women. gee, what a wonder this guy is divorced...

[gmoney]

23. The guy wrote it from his personal experience on a forum

It wasn't meant to be a comprehensive guide for families and such. And heaven forbid he want to be with a "pretty girl".

At least he's not writing about how to spend his food stamps on candy and lobster.

[CBGLuthier]

29. Well then make your own fucking list and start helping instead of complaining

[TroglodyteScholar]

34. Well...

Would you like a single guy to write on the internet about how a woman should survive living in a vehicle? Then you'd just express indignation at it for other reasons.

[Ikonoklast]

15. There is some good advice here.

If many people think that this is s relatively new phenomenon in this country, they just haven't been paying any attention; this has been going on for quite some time now.

As a long-haul trucker, I see it every day, in every part of this country, young, old, families...it is nothing new.

Those are some good basic rules for surviving on the road for long periods of time, however, and good advice for anyone that decides to take an extended trip and see the country on the cheap.

[cliffordu]

20. Having a car means tons more safety and protection than

sleeping under an overpass or in a doorway somewhere....

Having a bicycle is stealthier, though...

[happy_liberal]

21. some good advice, some bad advice

First of all, you should not just dump hand santizer all over yourself...not healthy...paper towels, warm water and a little soap work better. You can heat water and do most things with a coleman stove, very efficient and easy. When you are actually in the car you can use sterno to heat it while parked.

An old van is the best way to go, you can drive up and park anywhere, sleep in back without looking suspicious.

I think it is actually better to go somewhere you are allowed to be like a park, do your cooking, cleaning, reading, whatever until the park closes and then drive to your chosen spot and just park. You will get noticed if you are hanging around a spot too long, doing your laundry and such.

A homeless camp might sound nice, but they are dangerous for many reasons, one being that they attract attention then the cops come and take all your stuff and throw you out right before winter, as they did in Anchorage last November.



But the real issue here is THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!

How can this country be in so much debt, yet the people are hurting so bad? How can we allow them to waste so much money on wars, when the war on the poor is killing so many here at home?

[cbdo2007]

22. Best tip to living in your car - Drive to where the jobs are!

There are plenty of places in the US hiring but it's true they may not all be in your desired geographic region.

Having to live in your car is definitely one of those circumstances where you may not get to live in your top priority geographic area and you need to spend a few years living/working somewhere else until you get back on your feet.

[Iggo]

26. I lived out of my car.

An interesting thing to note: On some days, showering came before eating. As in, there were days when, if I had the choice to either eat or shower, I chose the shower.

Something I never really thought about 'til I was out there, ya know?

[Karenina]

28. Pay CLOSE ATTENTION if you're contacted by M$M

to WHAT THEIR SPIN IS. After I'd been homeless and shown a reporter from 60 Minutes around Santa Monica, I smelled a rat and refused to sign a model release. The woman who DID lost ALL THE GAINS SHE HAD MADE, "embarrassing" the company that had hired her by admitting her homelessness. Independent media is the best way to go.

[troubledamerican]

30. Top 10 Tips

1. Baby wipes, baby wipes, baby wipes. Get the "heavy duty" ones. They're hard to find.

2. Plastic bags, plastic bags, plastic bags. Use transparent ones to organize. Use garbage bags to block windows at night (interior light attracts police attention). Use garbage bags during the winter to store every last item in your car from moisture, because your breath condensation will get moisture into everything -- books will rot, laptops will be destroyed from moisture, etc. Winterize with garbage bags.

3. Post office box. Don't go to the post office. Get one in a poor neighborhood or at an "International District" / Chinatown-type area where fewer questions will be asked. You will need some form of ID to get a mailbox, but once you get one, keep it. That's your official address.

4. Handwarmers. Pocket handwarmers can be found cheapest at Amazon.com. $7 for 6 pairs of handwarmers seems expensive, but you are saving money on rent and it's not a good shortcut to treat yourself harshly.

5. In summer, park underneath underpasses or trees. Paint your roof white. Don't think you'll "get by" living in an oven.

6. Food is morale. Splurge at least once a week on a big meal.

7. DISCRETION. Don't fool yourself that people can't recognize you're living in your car/van. Disguise your windows, buy blinds or drapes, don't let interior light be visible outside at night. When returning to your vehicle, never make a direct walk to the vehicle. Circle the vehicle discreetly, cast a wide view for police parked up the street who are watching, and at all costs, avoid being seen leaving the vehicle or getting into it.

8. Get a cheap AAA membership. Your vehicle will break down or have flat tires. You will need help. You will get free tows, free battery jumps, etc. from AAA membership.

9. If possible, move to a temperate climate city like anyplace on the West Coast. Do research. It's illegal to live in your car in Portland, Oregon. It's OK in Seattle. If you're going to Seattle, keep going to Vancouver, B.C. if you can make it over the border.

10. Rechargeable batteries. Don't spend money on new batteries. Recharge and recharge. Solar panels are cheap also, check on Amazon. You may never need to leave your van except for groceries.

Honorable mention: Wifi.

[Initech]

31. Pitchforks and torches, I tell ya.

[readmoreoften]

32. Ah, yes. Being a homeless male is quite different than being a homeless female.

A homeless female needs to find other females to band together with for protection or she's in trouble. Especially if she's over the age of 30 and/or can't pass as a camping enthusiast.

Not to say being a homeless male doesn't have it's own host of problems (i.e. being viewed as a predator rather than prey...)

[KillCapitalism]

33. They forgot one piece of advice.

Do like the birds and migrate south for the winter.

When I was living in my car around Chicago, everything was OK until one night in October when the temps dipped down into the 20's. Even bundling up & running the heat every 30 min. didn't help. In the following days I scared up enough gas $ to go down to South Florida. Once I got there, the nights were much more comfortable.