No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The local Wal-Mart has a similar cabal of RV-bound white trash permanently occupying the east side of the parking lot. An estranged mentally-ill uncle of mine was actually among them until he disappeared some months back. I imagine that a few of these people work in the Wal-Mart or the surrounding mall, but not all of them.

Apparently the managers tolerate this so long as the squatters leave store receipts on their dashboards to show that they're contributing to the economic intake of the mall. Some of them do have surprisingly nice setups though, and while some of the shiftier-looking folk wander around the parking lot aimlessly, they don't really bother anyone.

I guess I'm just lucky that I haven't resorted to living in a vehicle yet...

hex11 said:

Housing is the biggest killer. Low income folks can barely afford a cheap/crappy apartment, and often remain one paycheck away from homelessness. Some of them only manage by working several fulltime jobs and/or cramming lots of roommates into the same place (probably in violation of their rental contract). Immigrants (legal or not) tend to live with their extended families as a survival mechanism, which was once also the norm for americans (and may become again). Middle-class folks tend to waste their money through mortgages and expensive luxuries, and so housing also accounts for a huge chunk of their budget. When you keep buying stuff, you need bigger and bigger places to store it...

Yep. Right now, all my friends either live with their parents or are living 4 or more to a house. I actually knew this guy that was living with 5-6 other people in a small 2 or 3 bedroom house in the middle of the city. Basically each room in the house was converted to a bedroom, including the space under the basement stairs. Really, its the only way anyone can live anymore unless they're making good money. I have one friend that owns a house and another that owns a condo, but they are (respectively) a foreman in the shipyard with 20+ years of experience, and a computer whiz working for Microsoft. All my other friends are either unemployed (not for a lack of trying) or working minimum wage because those are the only options available for those of us who fucked up and didn't go into college straight out of highs school.

Anyway, if you ever need to move out of your dad's basement and can't find another reasonable place to live, your best bet might be to temporarily live in your vehicle. Some are better than others (esp. vans or SUVs). Anyway, if all you've got is a car, it's still better than being homeless on the street. Here's some good info that you should probably get acquainted with, just in case:
http://cheaprvliving.com/
http://cheapgreenrvliving.com/
It helps to "know all the tricks" beforehand, rather than end up in a lost and confused state. I actually did live in my SUV for several months after my apartment lease expired, just as a test and for the experience. It was of course a less pleasant experience than the apartment, but it's manageable and some folks even seem to prefer it (esp. if they work in an area without affordable housing). When the beginning of summer arrived though (this is South Florida, btw) I had to put an end to it, and bought myself a used, small travel trailer that the SUV could handle. So now I've got all the expected amenities (including A/C), but my lot rent is 1/4 of what the apartment used to be, and I can move anytime by only turning in a written notice 2 weeks ahead of time (unlike most apartments where you're "locked in" to the lease until it expires).

I actually have a couple backup plans in case my dad ever kicks me out, but thanks. I don't know if I could live in my car. It's a tiny piece of shit. Living in a trailer might be a good option, but my dad lived in a trailer park once, so I know what kind of neighbors to expect. :/ Anyway, a friend of mine has offered his garage as living space to me, and I could probably convince my friend with the house to let me live with him if I payed a bit of rent. So I have that going for me.