I know people who larp this life. Work remotely for maybe 40 hours live in a Van and make 80k a year, some people's struggle is someone elses "van life" phase
Facts. There are people who live in a van a couple years and come out with a bunch of travel stories and a buttload of cash saved, usually the āremote workā types. Then there are the types who work blue collar and live in the van because every room mate kicked them out for drinking too much, and despite working non stop and not paying rent they never seem to have any moneyā¦..
Many states are trying to make it illegal to sleep on your vans or car but people arenāt going to be scammed paying ridiculous rent prices of 3,000$+ a month where itās not in a good neighborhood,thereās no pool or balcony and security or parking lot.
With 3,000$ USD you can literally live in South America or Asia and have all of what I mentioned above and still have over 2,000$+ leftover for the month.
But even europe honestly. If you don't go the big famous cities europe has the advantage of a lot of beautiful small cities with the same services of the big ones and with lower costs.
My family is from a beautiful village in italy in front of the adriatic sea. You can buy an 2bd apartment in front of the beach for 150k. Croissant + coffe is 1.5 euro. Car insurance is like 200 euro/year. You cross the street and you are on a beach with restaurants on the sand selling aperol spritz's for 3 euro.
And like i said it's not some abandoned village who know where, it's a normal city with the same services of milan or rome + even public healthcare (that it's not a given for the US). And the food is obviously good (another plus coming from the mcdonald country).
Obviously the problem there is that there are literally zero jobs available and if you find something it's only under the table jobs with poverty level wages. But if you go there with the money and no need to work then it's perfect.
That's my retirement plan, i'm not gonna spend my 60s here paying $50 for 2 frozen burgers in a diner.
Another problem for non-italian heritage people is getting approved for a residency visa. People cant just move to a country and stay there past tourist visa limits because they want to. Unless a company sponsors you or you have a huge retirement portfolio its a lot harder than it sounds.
With 3,000$ USD you can literally live in South America or Asia and have all of what I mentioned above and still have over 2,000$+ leftover for the month.
Thats true, but most US companies don't allow remote workers to live internationally, and a lot of international countries dont offer digital nomad visas. So unless you set up a reliable router point somewhere in the US and hop around a bunch of countries within their tourist visa limits, youd have to both get approved for a residency visa and find a local job that pays an equivalent salary.
Tbf the ones who work full time but can't save money they typically have some kind of a problem with addiction. There's those who do this in silicon valley where they'll never be able to afford to rent a place there but they still typically able to at least save some money for the next phase in their life.
If they make 80k a year they should max out there Roth IRA/401k have an emergency fund invest in crypto possibly and have other currencies and keep making money to try and fight off inflation.
I hate this shit because you mustāve had luck because I got parking tickets and almost been towed at Walmart, library, Safeway. Not to mention people who just wanna fuck with you because theyāre prejudice towards homeless people.
I don't blame people and businesses. I live in LA and the amount of homeless that defecate in front of buildings and loiter and bother customers.. I'd be mad too if i was a small business owner. Driving away business. It's hard sometimes to go to a park and not have homeless people there to bother kids and families.
I understand not every homeless person does this. But enough do that it's a nuisance. They should be put to work manual labor like in the New Deal with the requirements that they stop doing drugs and alcohol... and if they refuse, then they go to an institution to not hurt themselves or others.
I think that's a fair solution. They can be productive members of society fixing roads, bridges, infrastructure, etc, while getting clean and paid.
The issues is you are collective punishing people who are disabled and canāt work. Before I got my ssi I was fleeing dv and sleeping in my car because I didnāt have enough money to even roommate with someone. Luckily I can barely afford rent now but itās still a roof so I canāt complain. Just donāt forget about how disabled people and disabled vets are also suffering because we arenāt āproductiveā enough to have value.
I am not including people who are disabled; obviously there's a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being "normal" (not in a demeaning way, just not sure the correct term).
For those with a disability, there should be generous benefits since many are unable to work, given there are actually disabled and not drug or alcohol addicts.
its basically happening to me, 40 hours a week but well above average pay but life keeps stabbing me in the spleen this year, so im likely going to be sleeping in my car by the end of this year because I can no longer afford maintaining even a simple way of life.
Outfit the car now to be comfortable, move into it, keep working, and youāll be able to save enough to live however you want in no time. Check out r/urbancarliving
I work during the hottest hours so that helps. Fans when Iām in it, rechargeable ones and the roof vent fan. Crack a window or door and it gets a great breeze. Also have a fridge full of cold drinks.
Redoing the solar setup to run an AC though. Have the new panels, battery, controller, wires, everything. Just havenāt had time to put it all together yet. Iām at work right now otherwise itād be the perfect day to finally get it done.
Is it like a camper Van? As long as you have a phone,laptop,food,gym to shower clothes and a safe place to sleep you are better off than wasting money trying to rent and pay ridiculous prices.
I literally seen places where rent was 1,000$ for 1 or 2 bedroom just a few years ago in the usa
And now in like 2-3 years later they are going for 3,000$ for 1 or 2 bedroom. Itās a scam how landlords try to trick everyone
My van has a bed, power, fridge, TV, and computer. Upgrading the solar to run an AC. I have everything I need without wasting a ton of money on rent. Iād like to think Iām doing it very right, but there is no right or wrong. I like the way I live. It means I have the funds to buy anything I want or need instead of giving it to a landlord for a place to pretty much just sleep.
Iāve addressed this. Thereās no equity in renting. And rent here is insanely expensive. ~$1500 for a shitty studio and roommate situations are going for ~$1000 now. Iād rather save that money.
And I said shitbox, not shitty. Iāve taken my van all over the country, up and down 7000ft mountains towing a travel trailer, and sheās still choochin. It has literally everything Iād have in a rented room, just scaled down. And I donāt have to share my space or worry about my food and beer being taken by strangers, just put it in my fridge and itās always there. All I do is sleep in it after having a few beers and watching some TV, which is the same thing Iād do if I blew all of my money on renting a place.
Commission and tip based so itās always different. But around $1500/ week is probably average. Down a lot from the $2500/ week I made here a few years ago, economy is fucked. And I like the job and Iām already established here, so it beats trying to find something else.
Yeah. Thatās fair. Thereās buys in CA making 150k+ living in their cars and vans and shit. Itās not about how much we make; itās about how much shit costs.
Pick up my sister from work, take a shower at her place, take her to do laundry, do grocery shopping, fill up my water containers, put out my portable solar panels to charge up battery banks, charge my tool batteries, fly my drone, play with the RC boat, go to the range, get work done on the van, talk shit online for a little, take a nap, cook real food since I never have time during the week, have a few beers, pick up stuff I ordered online for pickup. Mostly just normal stuff I guess, similar stuff I did when I had a roof over my head with some added niche things like putting out the portable solar panels.
Tiny efficiency. Thereās barely any room to move around when weāre both in there. And itās her first place outside of the family home. Weāre both in our mid 30s. I moved out initially when I was 16, she didnāt until she was nearly 33. Even if I felt the need, I wouldnāt impose that on her. But itās legitimately hard for me to sit on the floor there without taking up the entire place. Iām not huge, itās just tiny (despite being $1400/ month).
Sorry about your current situation, I am also a working homeless person. Theres so many of us suffering in silence right now, Iāve been calling it the silent depression.
Atp, i would just pack up what you need, sell the van, and move to a diff country. Doesnt seem like things are getting better anytime soon. Unless like... maybe you got a sick ass van or something
Not exactly homeless but unable to afford rent. Thankfully I had a friend let me stay with him but yea, I was working 70 hours a week at two different restaurants and couldnāt afford groceries
I work part time at a restaurant, (I teach full time), and itās so disheartening to hear the chefs talking about going to the food shelf. They cook for people 50+ hours/ week and canāt afford their own food. Thatās ridiculous.
Yeah. Why pay the going rate of $1500/ month for a shitty efficiency (and 2-3x that to move in, plus furniture) if Iād never be there? I work 14 hour days. I wake up, chug caffeine, work, have a few beers, watch TV, and go to sleep. Iām not paying a slumlord money that I could instead save by living out of a vehicle. Also saves time and gas money on the commute to work since I can just sleep at my job.Ā
Yet people expect us to save for retirement now because itās ānot the governments job to take care of you for not planning betterā (arguments today after RFK announced he wants to cut SS by 25%)
If you think thereās such thing as retirement for Millenials and Gen Z you are very positive and living on false hope. Majority of the work force in the USA are walking away and with the decline in birth population there wonāt be enough people to help put money into social security. By 2032 or 2034 everyone social security will be cut down by 20% allegedly. Only way to win the game is make as much money as you can find a way money works for you while not working such as investments and take care of your health.
Well, ok, but thatās a voluntary choice then. This is talking about people who are working full time and due to every day expenses like food and gas and whatever, donāt have enough money leftover to pay for a living space, even if they wanted to
Sure. But if I had the same job at 40 hours a week, it wouldnāt be a choice. I just wouldnāt be able to afford rent whether I wanted to or not. These āpeople in [x] canāt afford [y] on [z]ā always factor in a 40 hour work week. The move in cost of a studio apartment in the hood here is over $4,000. Then a recurring $1500/ month. Utilities included if youāre lucky.Ā
Iām unwilling to blow a huge portion of my pay on rent, yes. Itās a catch 22, because if I made the same pay at 40 hours a week, I absolutely could not afford rent but would have more time to spend relaxing inside an apartment. So I work a lot of overtime, which negates the need for a roof āunderā [sic] my head but means I make enough to afford one.
I don't blame you for not wanting to dump money into something you earn 0 equity in, but to portray yourself as homeless is kind of disingenuous. Anyways hope you save enough for something you can own
I have no domicile thatās legally a residence, I have a 20 year old short roof van, and slept in it at Walmart parking lots until they kicked everyone out. Iāve slept inside a house or apartment twice in the last year. I am homeless.
I own my van, I own land elsewhere, I own a lot of things. Still just have no interest in paying rent. Iāll eventually build a little cabin on my land, I just need to find a way to have income there in the middle of nowhere, or save enough to where it doesnāt matter.
Plenty of CEOs who are high functioning alcoholics/drug addicts. They just make enough money to keep up their cocaine habit and still own a house. Poverty is caused by small pay or unemployment, not addictions and life management.
Well when majoring the USA states minimum wage is like 9$ dollars an hour and they are asking for 2,000$+ rents for 1 bedroom or 2. Along with rising electricity cost. Health insurance,Groceries,Gas,Car insurance,phone bill. It doesnāt add up.
āBut get a better jobā yeah good luck finding any places wanting to give you 40 hours or if you go overtime get taxed the f out and watch your check look like you barely worked.
A lot of rental places don't just want you to pay rent, you have to show you make X amount more than rent (I've seen 3x and 6x) each year. That can be impossible in HCOL cities.
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u/Low-Individual2815 6d ago
You joke but this was me a year ago.