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Living In Your Car?

C

China Rider

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
11,451
I need to be out of my apartment by July 1

My '99 Camery is pretty spacious, and I have a job and want to keep it, but the month of May robbed me . Unexpected emergency type spendings, poor decision making and went over my budget for fun things like golfing more frequenly, new golf clubs, XM radio's best adapter, and stuff . No cable, shared internet and cost of rent was cheap and close to work....., but now things are kind of tight atm. I don't want to pay rent, just yet. The county is pretty safe in most spots.
Want to wait till I feel comfortable financially and either find a nice affordable one bed room apartment or a.cool roommate to share a house with.

Preparation i've been thinking about:
Asking business managers or church pastures if it's okay if i'm there that night
Don't use same location more than twice a week
Get membership at gym for shower
Don't be drunk or have drugs in car
Avoid city streets, even if they are safe
Keep amount of time spent in car when not driving or sleeping to a minimum
Get P.O box, sell some stuff, and rent out a small storage unit, I can prob fit all my stuff in a 6x6.
inquire with county homeless services


Anything else?

Besides the obvious car chargers, any ideas on locations for charging up phone, lap top, mp3 player?

When's a good time of day to park for the night?

This is not my only option but I want to do it until I can't handle it anymore, and I think it would encourage a more healthy lifestyle.

Thanks!
 
I don't want to travel nor am I seeking tips on basic survival.

I just want to keep the job I have and stay with them for a long time (mass real estate appraisal) Recent poor decision making has caused them to lose all trust in me, I want to earn it back.

I just don't want to pay/maintain for an apartment. I earn okay money for a single person without any kids, and I just want to be proud of what's in my checking account, not feeling guilty about spending money, pay my debts, and keep up with college loans.

Getting an apartment equates to pretty much just be working pay bills, loans, eat and pay for gas.I don't want to be extra cautious with every dollar I spend, just so I can travel to something that was planned months in advanced and so I have money in case of emergencies.

Surely someone has experience living out of a car that can share some do's and dont's.
 
Uh, okay. Don't bother reading the rest of the thread or even hitting "Ctrl+F" and typing some key words to maybe get some tips--"Might" was the key word up there.. 8) Sorry I tried to help you find something beneficial while waiting for someone to come along.
 
Borders or Barnes & Noble are great places to charge your electronics. Charge while you read.

In terms of where to sleep, in California you can get a annual forest pass for about $30. If I were living out of my car, the forest would probably be the best place to park and sleep with minimal disturbance.
 
wal-mart allows you to park your car there overnight with no fee and it's legal. you can go in there to use their bathrooms and water fountain for free. another thing i've done in the past but i'm not sure if it's completely legal is parking my car in front of a hotel for the night. i couldn't afford the hotel but i just chilled in the parking lot to sleep for the night. I don't know if i'd recommend this but i just went into the hotel to use the bathroom and get something to drink in the morning. truck stops and rest areas are less safe but you're definitely allowed to park your car there overnight for free. you can charge your electronics in any public library. if you're renting a storage unit, can't you sleep in there? if you have something to sleep on. I second the ymca pass for showering, etc.
 
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^That's exactly what I did for my month or so living out of my car when I was 18... Places that stay open all night have cars parked outside all the time, and something large like a supermarket will have lots of cars outside at all times. Just try to hide from the night cleaning crews and rotate your parking spots!

PS- For charging anything, get a power inverter that plugs into your car outlet, and there you go, an outlet in your car!
 
After a power inverter i would recommend a solar car battery charger
http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2009/06/04/solar-car-battery-charger/

asolbatchr_1.jpg
 
Try to stay with a friend for the month, or do you have ANY family members that will take you in for the month? Can you get a hotel room for a month?

Or better yet sell those expensive golf clubs and other things you don't need like a TV (if you have one?) and try to pay the rent or move to a place you can afford that's not in a dangerous area.
 
I ended up getting kicked out of my apartment 2 weeks early, quit my job and moved back in with my parents 120 miles away.

Sucks.
 
^ You're lucky they let you come back. My mom has a policy that I can stay as long as I want, but once I am gone, I am gone. My brother found out the hard way that she sticks to her word too: He wanted to come back after he was gone for a year or so... He begged her to let him come back and her reply was, "There's no home for you here anymore."
 
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