Contemplating Living in a Van

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I just looked on your Craigslist for "fishcamp" and found someone ready to lease a property --I think it was 3 acres-- for $600 per year on the Apalachicola river (alligators!). That sounds too good to be true so I imagine they are leasing to mulitple people, and as it is also called a "huntcamp," it might not be a safe place to stay regularly. Don't know what people hunt there and with what. But there may already be a crude building you could use. Or maybe you could use a van there.

Anyway, if it is not too far to drive to work, I know that coast of Florida used to be dotted with fish camps. Some people in recent decades have built new homes on the property and keep the old fish camp houses as guest houses, so to speak. Ask around about that sort of thing. Drive around and just look.

I think it sounds like an interesting endeavor, though certainly not one that many people would undertake.

[creditcardfree]

Like I mentioned, I want to try this once . You never know, I might start a blog on my van dwelling experiences. If it doesn't work out, I can move back into an apartment or rent a room.

I say go for it. If you write the blog, it could eventually turn into a book deal! More cash in the bank.

Another poster mentioned laundry, which of course, can be done at a coin operated laundry facility. They usually have TV there, too.

[whitestripe]

please if you consider doing this, start a blog and make sure you let us all know, i would LOVE to read it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

When else can you do something stupid? When you're young and dumb and wiling to risk it.

Personally I'd find a cheap room to rent on Craiglists. I live in Boston and my roomie rents a room for $700/month! That's cheap for harvard square, but it's a basement unit with pipes running through.

You could be creative and find something like that. Or my neighbor when he first came over from india rented a room for like $200/month with a family. Just a room and a shared shower. Nice enough.

I'd personally do that more than the van living. And maybe you should buy a gun.

[DC Metro Crab]

I say go for it! It sounds doable, and you can always call it quits if it doesn't pan out. I suppose you'll be opening a PO box for mail correspondence. Also, you could leverage your relationships at work and see if anyone would be willing to spot you a parking space at their house. No need for electrical hookups. After that, I say rent a room in a shared house for $200. Single rooms like that can go for $400 in the 'burbs here, a HCOL area. FL should be even more reasonable, esp near a college town. Good luck!

[MomEsq]

I think the novelty of living in a van will wear off pretty quickly. It seems like a terrible idea to me, and I've met men and women who have had to live like this. I am pretty sure they wouldn't endorse it. Plus, it seems like there are other options out there for you that are safer, and provide you with a little more stability. All I can think of is how awful it would be if you got sick, even with just the flu (I shudder to think if you picked up something else), and all you had to go back to was the van and a Hot Pocket.

That said, provided you didn't get arrested for vagrancy or trespassing (which could stick you with hefty fines, and towing fees), you certainly can live in a car. Thousands of people manage this every day -because they have no choice.

You'll need a P.O. box, and a good place to wash your clothes and shower. Handi wipes or not, you'll want a place to clean up now and then, and no matter what your co-workers say now, they are not going to be all that comfortable working around someone with dirty clothes, and/or body odor. Speaking of your job -would the fact that you live out of a van and don't plan on showering frequently affect your performance reviews or likelihood of promotion? And seriously think about that -what will you put on resume's? Will future employers think you were cutting edge or something else. Just a thought.

Also, make some arrangment for getting some healthy meals. You'll get sick and/or overweight fast if you only eat pre packaged fast food type meals.

Make sure you have a good plan if there is a weather event -like a hurricane.

I'd at the very least take a self-defense course.

Of course the decision to live in a van will look pretty awful if anything were to happen to the van or to you.

It seems to me that the better option would be to find an inexpensive apartment. I shared a second floor apartment in a duplex that was quite nice, and I paid $200 a month in rent.

[wincrasher]

What is it they say?, young and dumb and full of......

That gives me an idea - he needs to clean himself up and find himself a rich cougar! That would put his off hours to productive work and put a few bucks in his pocket!

Maybe he could hook up with a few of them - spending various nights at their homes - maybe he'd get a drawer or something and a toothbrush.

Now a blog about that I might read.

[zakity]

I think it could be doable. But, you know, a diet of crap isn't good for you. And, not having a place to shower is a problem.

A lady I know of lived on her property with her family without running water for a while. They were building the house still. They had a gym membership and they all showered there. You never knew that they didn't have running water. I knew they were staying up on the property on and off, but I thought it was more like the occasional camping trip sort of thing. I didn't know they were living there while they were building. You would have never guessed from seeing the people. They were always neat and clean and their clothes were clean.

Another family that I know of moved to a property without running water, OMG, and they looked like it. They were always grungy looking. I never got close enough to see if they smelled (so was not going to happen from what they looked like). I know their kids always looked like they needed a good scrubbing down, like with Grandma's old fashioned lye soap that took off a few layers of skin.


I read an article many years ago about a woman who lived in her little pick up truck. It had a cover over the bed (aren't those called campers?). She worked in an office and didn't make enough to afford an apartment. So, she gave up the apartment and sold most of her belongings. She bought a twin sized mattress and a good sleeping bag and put them in the bed of her truck.

She said that she would park it at a campground for some of the nights. I don't remember where she parked the other nights.

I know she would shower at the campground when she camped there, but I can't remember where she would shower the other times. For some reason, it seems like she had a gym membership and would shower there. I do remember that she did have somewhere to shower everyday because I remember the article commenting that her co-workers were going to be surprised about her living conditions.

She said that she would wash her clothes at a laundromat. I am trying to remember what she stored her clothes in the back of her truck. I know she commented in the article about "wash and wear" clothes and how hard they were to find in office attire (remember this was a long time ago). It seems like she stored them in baskets (one clean, one dirty) but don't hold me to that.

I know she had a cooler that she used for food, maybe she bought ice. I can't remember what it said that she ate. It seems like she had a pretty simple diet though. I do remember thinking that her diet wasn't that bad for living in the back of her truck.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Except as a woman it's somewhat dangerous I would think to be living in a car nowadays. Sleeping you could be attacked in the bed of your truck.

That would be my hesitation.

[Broken Arrow]

I had a friend who lived out of his sedan once. Being broke at the time, he didn't have much of a choice, nor did he prepare for it. I think he said he lived like that for a couple of months. It's doable, but it was messy.

If you are to do this, you definitely want to plan ahead and make sure everything is covered before pulling the trigger.

[zakity]

Except as a woman it's somewhat dangerous I would think to be living in a car nowadays. Sleeping you could be attacked in the bed of your truck.

Arming yourself would eliminate that issue, whether with a gun, a taser, or pepper spray (check the laws in your area to see what is legal).

[Broken Arrow]

Ahhhh... yeah, I'm trying hard to avoid the gun issue, because that would be a huge derailing, but as pro-gun as I hope everyone knows that I am, I don't think a gun may be the best solution for everyone.... So, I just wanted to say to please please double check not only the state laws, but also in the mirror to see if this is indeed the best solution for youself.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Zakity, how do you know the gun wouldn't be turned on you or the perp wouldn't have a gun too? And be willing to shoot you for your wallet? Or a druggie that's high and doesn't care?

And so you pepper spray or taser someone, what if they turned those back on you? Or beat the crap out of you?

It's a big risk, and honestly probably more so for women than men.

[Broken Arrow]

A mid-size to large dog, or really just about any dog with a healthy bark can be a woman's best friend.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

You have to feed the dog. Where would you leave the dog while you worked? I assume you couldn't take the dog to work?

The feeding the dog would run around $30-40/month. Then flea and tick medicine, heartguard monthly, bathing the dog? Trimming the nails, brush, medications if the dog gets sick.

A dog could end up being at least $100/month, not including costs for keeping the dog somewhere during the day.

Sure a dog is great in an apartment where you leave it, but I think a dog could suffocate in a closed car. But then again maybe not, but I am not sure I would do it to my dogs.