Living in your Car/van/truck

Get a 24 hour fitness membership. Showers, shitters, get a work out and the parking lot is safe to sleep in.

 

Last winter I went down to FL for most of the winter. I worked a seasonal job and also sold a ton of stuff on Ebay before I left. I lived super cheap. Doing mostly free stuff. I found a spot you are allowed to camp for free. Also, moved around to a few campgrounds, national forest areas, etc. Some were free, some I paid $20 a night for. The $20 spots were in really nice spots on the beach. My only expenses were gas, food, beer, bud, phone bill, misc items, and the occasional campsite. Only spent a few thousand. Caught as many fish as I could to eat.

Was camping out of my pickup truck. Has topper with screens over the bed. Had a Hobie peddle kayak to go fishing on all day. Mountain bike to ride. Was by myself but there were a bunch of other people I met. Most were cool, one was sketchy as hell, some just kept to themselves. The weather was amazing the entire time. Everyone was at home bitching about the snow, I was in paradise. I went hiking, to the beach, swimming, fishing, etc. Camped out on islands, in the everglades, the keys, on the beaches, in the forests. I BBQed most nights. Drank some beer, smoked some bud, socailzed. Was an amazing time.

I'm going back again Nov 1st. This year I'm going to be outfitting my truck with a bunch of new gear. Solar charger. New fan system. Upgrades to my kayak.

Last year I was pretty comfortable. Very few hassles. Phone is rooted so I have a hotspot. Pay $40 a month and never go over my limit. Had 4g wherever I went. Had a Coleman stove to cook on. Back packing stove if I felt lazy. Charcoal to BBQ. Camp pad right in the back of my pickup. Kayak on the roof. Travel fishing rods that broke down. I was never bored because I could always go exploring in a new area. Was always meeting new people. Can't wait to go again. Already starting to organize my gear.

 

When I was on the road I bought one of those camp showers. It's essentially a bag that you let sit in the sun for a few hours to warm up. I use it when we do offshore overnight fishing trips too. Worked great when I was in areas that allowed for privacy. Aside from that,I frequently used showers at all the beach parks. Ton of them in Florida. Some were really nice, almost like what you'd find at a bath and tennis club in New England. Used biodegraded soaps bought at REI and left my board shorts on. If I was hard up for a shower, I'd stay at a pay campground. On a few occasions, I did the ocean wash thing. Why not, it was 90 degrees out in Feb and I was in the middle of nowhere. I did a 3 month trip on a sailboat in the Caribbean when I was 19. Every wash was an ocean wash.

 

That's my girlfriend's dream, to live on the road and visit as many places she can.
Some might view it as ghetto, we view it as life adventures. As long as we're not eating out of public trash cans it's all good.

 

I don't think this travel style is ghetto. I had everything I needed. Had a ton of freedom. You can travel cheap without having to sacrifice a lot. Sure it's not for everyone. When I'm in my 60s I will probably do things differently. For right now, car camping and hostels are the only way to travel. It's the only way to stay in a place for a long time. Easiest way to travel and meet others. You are surrounded by nature. You learn to solve problems and be more self-sufficient. You get to see what a place really is opposed to just passing though and snapping a few picture.

The key is to make sure it's only temporary. I've met people who tried to live this lifestyle full time. I think too much of anything will ruin whatever you once loved.

I've stayed in a lot of nice hotels with my family when I was younger. The accommodations are not that important to me. Sure, a nice hotel is comfortable but it's just a place to sleep. Whether I'm staying at a hotel or not, I'd still be out kayaking all day. I'd still be fishing the same spots. Plus, you can always sneak into the hot tub when no one is looking.

 

Whether or not it's ghetto doesn't really matter... some find satisfaction in life in different ways than others and really life is all about finding that way.

 

I use a cooler called an RTIC. It's like a Yeti only much cheaper. I have the 45 quart and I bought it new for $125 shipped via Ebay. With the price of ice and the hassle of having it melt, a premium cooler is important to me. Especially if I'm camped out away from civilization for a few days.

 

$10 a bag! That's crazy man. Market Basket here sells a bag for $2 and change. I believe they are 15 or 20lbs. Also, McDonald's sells ice. 8lb bag for $1. I get most of my ice at McDonald's on the road and have good enough self-control that I can go in and just use the free Wifi, the bathroom, grab an iced tea, and two bags of ice.

I keep the cooler in the back of my cap for my truck. Generally, it gets really hot back there so your results may vary. The cooler holds ice for about 4 days with some moderate sun. If it's in direct sun in high temps, about 3 days. If it's in the shade, about 5 days.

Generally speaking, the RTIC works just as well as a Yeti.

 

I lived in my small little car and made it through an Alberta winter in it, broke with very little income and withdrawing pretty bad from an assortment of bad choices. There were nights where I probably just about died from the freezing -40 temperatures.. Those days I would save the little money I had for the really cold days where I would need to warm up in the hot tub at the gym close by.

I lived like that for.. 11 months, I think, before I started working fulltime again. I had never quit my job, just got reduced in hours by a lot, which actually ended up hurting me in the long run financially because they would see I was getting paid, a certain amount, when I went to apply for assistance and be like "Oh, your getting paid, your fine!" and it was so frustrating because they would not take into account the fact that I needed money to live and survive.

Before that point in my life, I thought I knew what misery was. Today, I pretty much laugh in the face of anything and just do not understand the plight of the average person who is depressed because they can't afford the newest console game or a bag of weed or something.

One of the things that I learned that surprised me the most, is how much of a morale boost a single cigarette can provide or even just running into a mcdonalds quick and filling up an old cup with pop. If somebody ever asks me for a cigarette today I give them like 3 or 4 because I know how much it means and you never know when you'll run into that person again and potentially need their help.

Tips for living in your vehicle.. Pretty standard.. Never spend your money on gas unless your getting some sort of reward points for doing so... Petro points, Husky points, Super bucks from superstore... Gotta make that cash go the distance. If you have a cell phone, you can use Subway's wifi and they will occasionally give you free shit based on what email your using.. Today, I have like 10 different emails I will log into and chances are one of those emails will get sent a free 6'' sandwich <--- This is something I do today, not when I was homeless, lol.

You'd be surprised what businesses will give you when you declare that you are homeless and hungry, but with my job, I had to wear a tie and dress pants and dress shirt n shit, so a lot of the time I couldn't do that, but if you are ever hungry and broke, try it out. Don't ever ask people for money.

Being homeless was the worst experience of my life by far.. Without that car, I would not of been able to keep my job, would not of been able to sleep sheltered.. That car changed my life. I took care of it and it took care of me. Now I value and appreciate most things in my life and if I catch myself slipping or forgetting, all I need to do is go sit in a parking lot for the night in my car and i'll get my mind right real quick.

 

I've lived in a trailer before.. only difference is I had to pay rent. lol

I plan on living in a yacht sometime in the not-so-distant future. Housing is a problem all around the world. We need to re-think it.

 

I did 90 days on a sailboat when I was right out of high school. It was amazing but at the same time it wasn't my boat. Best of both worlds for me. We island hopped around the Caribbean. Started in Tortola and sailed down to Grenada. It was as good as it sounds. It was Jan. back home with snow everywhere. Down south it was 80 degrees with super strong sun. Everyday we went scuba diving, fishing, swimming, hiking the volcanoes, drinking beer at the tiki hut bars, or buying brick weed off sketchy Rastas.

In general, owning a boat is amazing but they are not without their issues. The biggest problem is trying to find someone who can fix/maintain it. Everything in saltwater degrades. You can develop your own skills but there will be limits of what you can do solo. The people who run marinas are scam artists. There are only so many and they know it. All of them in my area are highly competitive to get a slip at. Costs 5k a year for a small boat, about 25'. That's not including winter storage or maintenance costs. Moorings are even harder to get, 20 year waiting list. Be prepared to pay up the ass for everything marine related. Remember, when your boat has to get hauled, you house is currently out of commission.

Another thing worth noting is if you plan to travel to other countries, you have to pay customs fees. Some are just a few dollars, some are really expensive.

Aside from that, sailboats are amazing. You can go wherever you want without worrying about paying much in fuel. They are self-sufficient. You can essentially live on them. You have the ocean to wash in. You can always troll a lure around and catch something for dinner. If you are in an anchorage zone, you can essentially drop the hook and camp out for a while.

 

I'm 100% going to Florida again this year. If you decide to head down, shoot me a message. I plan to be there from Nov - the end of March. Possibly later. Will probably do a pretty similar trip.

I checked my camp reservations, first spot I have booked is the last week in Nov. I will probably leave before then though and do a really slow drive down. Hit up the outer banks for a bit.

I know a lot about fishing but the species down there are still new to me. I worked on a couple rod and reel tuna boats. I fish for both sport and food. When I'm on the road, I try to subsidize my living by eating what I catch.