[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
From 6 June 2002 until 1 Oct 2007 I was “homeless” by design. In a town that receives 300" of snow annually.
Mammoth Lakes, ca has been home this entire time. I slept through the winters and summers in my Ford Club Wagon
and had a gym membership for Training and showers. I would shop daily at the local grocery store and in the
had to keep the milk, eggs and steaks from FREEZING…, ha. I was working in the winter as a ski instructor for
consistent income and doing Massage and Stretch therapy on the side.
My entire life STILL fits into my 6 x 9 foot self storage unit that I have maintained since the beginning.
It is nice to have such a LOW level of cost of living…
If anyone out there following this thread has ANY questions then feel free to PM me…killerDIRK.[/quote]
But isn’t cost of living largely a subjective calculation? I’ve always viewed is in the same light as economies of scale. [/quote]
Pretty much spot on…but when you are not pulling down mid 5 figure income it is hard to justify 1200 month in rent ! Pops used to say that you should save a third of your income, use a third for cost of living and then you could spend what was left…with the economy in the tank the last four years I have really NOT wanted to dip into savings ! Luckily I moved from being in the van into an on-site manager position. Unfortunately the jobs have not returned to the eastern Sierra !
was there ay particular reason you did this, simple living or having trouble with income? That is pretty crazy I am well aware of how the climate gets in Mammoth during the winter…
Man, that’s crazy. I get why you did it, and I’d probably cut my costs again significantly if I were left to my own devices.
Probably the biggest obstacle I ran into when living really really cheaply before was that it didn’t lend itself well to dating. Occasionally there was a girl who could care less, but eventually I just went with the path of least resistance. Right now, I have a ‘nice’ apartment, with the furniture to have a nice living area and bedroom… and a lot of ‘luxuries’ that really don’t have that much value but are nice to have. Most of them I could give up at a moments notice.
Actually, about the only things I’d really regret giving up are my Benchmade knife, my west german wool blankets, and my safety razor. Ideally I’d like to keep my barbell set and rack too. I have a lot of other ‘nice’ stuff, but very few things I’m attached to. (Actually, of all things, I think I’d probably keep my cast-steel sewing machine too. Sewing machines that can sew a canvas tent are few and far between.)
So, while I wouldn’t do it myself, I wanted to commend you for pulling that off for 5 years.
I was homeless just after my 16th birthday (don’t want to derail the thread with the particulars, but I’ve mentioned it in other threads over the years). Luckily it was summertime, so for the first week or so I slept outside. I had a few friends who let me eat dinner at their house. One of my friend’s mother knew the situation and let me shower and keep a few things there, but wouldn’t let me stay the night. I eventually started stealing car stereos and sold them to a local electronics shop in Glen Burnie, MD. I rented a room above that retail space and paid my rent with stolen speakers, stereo equipment and other merchandise. Then I started selling drugs, and then I started doing robberies and then I went to prison.
Last year when I decided to pursue a career in the oilfield, I packed all my shit in my car, drove to Louisiana, lived in a tent (Coleman cooking stove, sleeping bag, no electricity or water) for a few weeks while I paid for the offshore classes and looked for a job. After I found a job, one of the project managers let me live on his property for free in an old shack. I did that for several months until there was a flood while I was offshore and it ruined a bunch of my stuff, so I broke down and rented a room.
Living a simple life is challenging, but as KD said up there it makes you both mentally and physically tougher and is a worthwhile experience. It definitely allows you to test your limits. Some people enjoy it more than others, but I found it rewarding.
Hey Angry Chicken, sorry to hear of the 16th birthday gloom. Forced homelessness is something I would never wish for anyone. You are correct as well about the rewarding aspect of it. Most people will never climb out
of their own cubicle comfort zone !
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
Hey Angry Chicken, sorry to hear of the 16th birthday gloom. Forced homelessness is something I would never wish for anyone. You are correct as well about the rewarding aspect of it. Most people will never climb out
of their own cubicle comfort zone ! [/quote]
I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and that if something doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. I’ve led a pretty amazing life with extremes in both ups and downs - I wouldn’t change a thing. I don’t think the average person knows what they are capable of surviving, they are VERY uncomfortable outside of their comfort zone. What many don’t realize is that a century ago, MOST people lived outside of today’s “comfort zone standard” for their whole life!
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
Hey Angry Chicken, sorry to hear of the 16th birthday gloom. Forced homelessness is something I would never wish for anyone. You are correct as well about the rewarding aspect of it. Most people will never climb out
of their own cubicle comfort zone ! [/quote]
I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and that if something doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. I’ve led a pretty amazing life with extremes in both ups and downs - I wouldn’t change a thing. I don’t think the average person knows what they are capable of surviving, they are VERY uncomfortable outside of their comfort zone. What many don’t realize is that a century ago, MOST people lived outside of today’s “comfort zone standard” for their whole life![/quote]
That’s what sparked my thought. It just never made sense to me why the homeless suffer so much considering for our vast existence we lived off teh land w/o modern comforts… that said, the landscape isn’t the same as it was a 100 yrs ago, so there are obviously other challenes now, but still… Not that I would be an ideal canddiate for surviving in the woods on my own.
In 1999 I thru-hiked the Appalachian trail, really taught me how absolutly little is needed, towards the end my pack weighed less then 20lbs (the pack itself empty weighed 7 of those!).
During that hike I met several dudes (most of them retired military) who basically lived on the trail. They hiked the appalachian in the spring, summer, & fall, then hike the Florida trail in the winter. Great guys, always offered a beer or whiskey to anyone they saw, obviously having a good time. I always thought that if shit got bad, I’d just do the same.
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
I was homeless just after my 16th birthday (don’t want to derail the thread with the particulars, but I’ve mentioned it in other threads over the years). Luckily it was summertime, so for the first week or so I slept outside. I had a few friends who let me eat dinner at their house. One of my friend’s mother knew the situation and let me shower and keep a few things there, but wouldn’t let me stay the night. I eventually started stealing car stereos and sold them to a local electronics shop in Glen Burnie, MD. I rented a room above that retail space and paid my rent with stolen speakers, stereo equipment and other merchandise. Then I started selling drugs, and then I started doing robberies and then I went to prison.
Last year when I decided to pursue a career in the oilfield, I packed all my shit in my car, drove to Louisiana, lived in a tent (Coleman cooking stove, sleeping bag, no electricity or water) for a few weeks while I paid for the offshore classes and looked for a job. After I found a job, one of the project managers let me live on his property for free in an old shack. I did that for several months until there was a flood while I was offshore and it ruined a bunch of my stuff, so I broke down and rented a room.
Living a simple life is challenging, but as KD said up there it makes you both mentally and physically tougher and is a worthwhile experience. It definitely allows you to test your limits. Some people enjoy it more than others, but I found it rewarding.[/quote]
I agree that it makes you more intrepid.
I was semi-homeless for about 4 years. I lived in company provided housing/hotels or slept in my truck. Mine was by choice, not necessity. I saved a pile of money, banged chicks in back of my truck, and saw nearly every state in the union! Occasionally, I would eat fresh roadkill.
Forced homelessness at 16 would be pretty tough imo.
I learned real fear from being homeless and how to deal with it.
[quote]ssj4goku1992 wrote:
“Crazy thing…you actually never know who is homeless. Not all people have 3 foot beards and overcoats.”
Wow , Rockula , you are 100 % right. One of my girlfriends was kinda like that.
I met her at work , i just thought she was a normal girl. After she came to my place she told me that she does not have tv , pc , electricity , gas warming , not even warm water. She stayed with her mom and several other relatives in an apartment. She was also going everywhere with a fuckin backpack.
After i asked , i found out that she was going everytime to “friends” , just so she can recharge her phone .
I was fuckin shocked !! I mean a normal good looking girl to be in this position ??? My friends teased me that i’ve taken her from the damn streets !! She didn’t even have money for proper food !!!
Guess you really don’t know how a person lives until you really know him or her.[/quote]
I believe it.
I’ve met so many hot homeless girls while at college who wither live in their cars or in tents somewhere or just flop from friend to friend.
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
I’d do what the rest of the homeless do and head to Portland.[/quote]
Fixed that for ya. Seriously, if you’re a bum, find your way up to the Pacific Northwest and live in Portland. They have programs setup that basically encourage being a fucking begging, lazy vagrant. Even though you won’t have a job you’ll still have money for Pabst Blue Ribbon and shitty tattoos, and free room and board. I’m being 100% serious.
< would love to live in Mammoth Lakes, I dont know if i could handle living out of a car; but so long as i was on the slopes as much as possible, life would be good.
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
Aggv, please do not read me wrong. I too love Mammoth Lakes ! Some times though the winters are just too loonngg
The 04/05 season we started skiing the 16th of Oct and went until 4th of July and the same thing in 05/06 ! When
you constantly have to dig out it does make one tougher but also it tends to get old. I may be a native
Chicagoan but I am far from stupid. You do not have to shovel SUNSHINE, ha.
Would I do it all over again, yeah… I was taught a lot and came out of it tougher.[/quote]
What do you mean by “shovel sunshine” Is that like having bluebird sunny days, with feet of snow to dig out? I’m from Cleveland so the doom and gloom of a long winter is nothing new, i just hate not being able to ski anywhere decent within 3 hours.
