I had a few thoughts tonight. (1/2)

[ah42]

(N.B. I split this off from the rest of the post, given how different they are, and they're both decently long enough, I figure it warrants the division.I think I should like to live homeless for a while. It would fit well with a simplification of lifestyle that I've searched for for so long. I'd want to try it where the weather year-round is

Comments

Interesting

[stephakaska]

I've thought about doing this before too. Wouldn't life be so much more simple? Well, simple in some ways, more difficult in other ways.

I was homeless before, but not to that degree. I had a car to sleep in, an rv at one point, an old abandoned cabin, a friend's floor, etc..

I have lived out of one bag before though. I'd think that you'd only need a few pair of pants for a week, and possibly a shirt change every day? Shirts take up much less space. As for cleaning up. A lot of bathrooms already have soap and paper towels for quick cleanup purposes. All you have to do is buy a $1 french fry at McDonald's to have bathroom privileges..

Also, there are public places that have outlets to charge things. A lot of homeless people have cell phones. You can go to a cafe where they have laptop setups..again, you just have to buy a cheap drink or bagel or something..you could do that every morning.

As for sleeping. There are "lotteries" for beds, but there are also places to "squat" meaning you find an old abandoned building, break in, and use that as shelter. Just watch out, it may already be "owned" by someone.

I imagine the toughest parts of living on the street, are begging for money (or were you going to get a job and be homeless??) and the fact that it's easier to run into trouble.

Just so you know, San Francisco can be pretty cold. It's very windy, and due to that gets cold in the winter especially. I'd almost suggest Santa Cruz. It's a college town, TONS of cool people, and beaches. You could camp out on the beaches if you found the right spots..it's not as much of a city as San Francisco, but you might want to check it out if SF doesn't work for you.

As for not knowing what you'll need, I'd say take as little as possible. Put aside everything that you DO use in a day, and then say to yourself "do I NEED this?" if you don't, just don't include that in your inventory when you do go. You will need a source of money, so if you do find you need something, you can buy it as the need arises.