Re: OT: I'm considering going "homeless by choice"


"Bo Raxo" <forensics@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1150261125.422702.188420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Uncle Clover wrote:
<duplicate posted separately to alt.atheism>

Having just lost my job and still working on getting myself moved up to
Pennsylvania again, it occurs to me that I am really rather adrift at
this point
(I still haven't found another job). I'm half considering taking a year
or two
to "live off the land", so to speak, perhaps wandering around the country
over
the course of a year. Just me and my dog. I have a small, very
lightweight
tent, more than ample tools as far as knives, axes & such. I'm only just
looking into it at this point, but I'd be curious to receive any feedback
from
y'all - thoughts, opinions, advice, etc....



I know three people who have done this living in Golden Gate Park. Two
of them bounced back and forth between living in the park and an
occaisonal SRO "hotel". The third did almost two years living in the
park. Surprisingly, all three had pretty good things to say about the
experience, for the most part. But you have to be streetwise, and at
the simplest that means either you can beat up 90% of the people you
meet, or you have some other form of protection (usually a big dog).

Otherwise, you're going to get everything you have stolen pretty
quickly.

I don't know how much street experience you have. But make no mistake,
traipsing off in to the woods isn't Walden Pond. There are people out
there - some hiding out from warrants, some high as a kite, some
mentally ill, some just assholes. Not a whole lot of folks that most
people would consider good neighbor material.

If you are tough and savvy enough to survive amongst that element, it's
quite a money saver. But be pretty sure about that. A hundred years
ago someone would be warning you about "hobos and tramps". Well, the
names have changed, but the players largely remain the same.


Bo Raxo

P.S. - Bonus tip: train your dog to bark and act aggressive at the
smell of gunpowder. I've seen homeless people who have trained their
dogs to do this, and it means the dog can smell a gun on someone
walking up to you. Seriously, I know it's hard to believe the big rats
can smell that well, but they do.


I read an article years ago about people who live in Yosemite Nat'l Park
year-round in tents. They are basically homeless, they don't work there,
and spend their time hiking the wilderness. One story was about a couple
who paired up after meeting in the camp, the man had been living there
for about ten years. I can't remember how they get the resources for
food etc. I figure if I were homeless that would be the place to go, but
you'd have to endure cold winters and some cold summer nights.



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