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Thu 8 May, 2008 10:53 am
Today, I'd like to daydream and brainstorm about the possibility of leaving NYC for a little while and going to Los Angeles or Florida...somewhere warm, to live for as cheap as possible on my own for little while. Aren't there books about this? I seem to remember a series of books called, "[name of city] on $5 a day," and titles like that.
What about renting a vehicle big enough to sleep in, and just living in it for a little while? I know I can currently rent a mid-size car for about twenty-five bucks a day. I could go to the beach to shower and clean up for free if I want, or maybe I could get a cheap or possibly even free month-long trial membership at a gym or something so I could shower. That would work out to about $750/month for basic shelter, transport and cleanliness. Buying gas would also add to my costs.
But what about food? If I only had a car, then I'd have to eat out every day. That could get expensive. Hmmm...this might be more expensive than I thought.
Any ideas on how I could live even cheaper? Come along and join me in my delusional daydreams...
They have coolers you can plug into a lighter. And Hibachis. It's all good.
If its warm enough, try camping...most camp grounds aren't very expensive and they usually have shower facilities there - get a small tent. You could get some camping gear - so you can cook your own food and stuff - not sure how expensive the ice would get keeping your stuff cool. Wonder if there are any types of portable fridges.
Some camp sites have electrical plugs available at the site too - you could get a small frig and plug it in.
quinn1 wrote:They have coolers you can plug into a lighter. And Hibachis. It's all good.
Well quinn answered the frig question.
I'd personally find the place with the highest percentage of WalMarts -they let you stay in their lot overnight - no fees and great access to anything you might need.
Hmmm...if I did camping instead, and just ditched the car idea and used public transportation, that would probably save me a lot of money. Public tranportation sucks in L.A. though, I've heard. I wonder about Florida. I guess buses wouldn't be so bad for a little while. Interesting...
kickycan wrote:Hmmm...if I did camping instead, and just ditched the car idea and used public transportation, that would probably save me a lot of money. Public tranportation sucks in L.A. though, I've heard. I wonder about Florida. I guess buses wouldn't be so bad for a little while. Interesting...
Well if you're not in a hurry, just walk and when you are tired, just set up the tent.
What about hostels? Are hostels really shitty places to live? I mean, are they just full of troubled and slack-ass teen-to-twenty-somethings? I wonder if I'd fit in, being , you know, old and ****.
You can buy an old camper for under $1000 easy in pretty much any area of the country (look on Craigslist - you can often find people giving them away!). And you can rent seasonal sites in the out-of-the-way commercial campgrounds in FL and GA for under $500/month. That'd give you water and electricty along with someplece to park it without having to worry about being hassled. Your cooking facilities would be in the camper as well as a fridge to store foods.
Use it for the summer and sell it again when your done. You'd only need transport to/from site seeing locations and the store for food, etc...
I haven't stayed in hostels here, but in Europe they were fine. Lots of young backpackers but not exclusively that demographic.
kickycan wrote:What about hostels? Are hostels really shitty places to live? I mean, are they just full of troubled and slack-ass teen-to-twenty-somethings? I wonder if I'd fit in, being , you know, old and ****.
I guess maybe you should expand on what you plan on doing. Hostels and such are fine if you don't have much with you. They usually don't give you a whole lot of room to store things and, while you save on lodging costs you pay in having to eat out for every meal.
fishin wrote:You can buy an old camper for under $1000 easy in pretty much any area of the country (look on Craigslist - you can often find people giving them away!). And you can rent seasonal sites in the out-of-the-way commercial campgrounds in FL and GA for under $500/month. That'd give you water and electricty along with someplece to park it without having to worry about being hassled. Your cooking facilities would be in the camper as well as a fridge to store foods.
Use it for the summer and sell it again when your done. You'd only need transport to/from site seeing locations and the store for food, etc...
That is an excellent suggestion. And if I really wanted to, I could use Quinn's suggestion and park it at a Wal-Mart for free! Could I do that? That would be seriously cheap living. They'd probably kick me out after they discovered I was basically living in their parking lot though, wouldn't they?
Either way, that is a great idea. Keep them coming. I appreciate it.
kickycan wrote:That is an excellent suggestion. And if I really wanted to, I could use Quinn's suggestion and park it at a Wal-Mart for free! Could I do that? That would be seriously cheap living. They'd probably kick me out after they discovered I was basically living in their parking lot though, wouldn't they?
Either way, that is a great idea. Keep them coming. I appreciate it.
Wal-Mart will let RV'ers stay in their parking lot overnight. They aren't going to let you move in for the summer.
You could move from Walmart to Walmart every night...
Their gig there is that they sell pretty much everything you'd need so by letting people stay overnight in their lot they get more sales.
Consider car insurance...
Really? That makes this a VERY interesting idea indeed.
Here's a book for you Kicky -
Possum Living
How To Live Well Without A Job And With Almost No Money.
Dolly Freed
she even tells you how to make your own moonshine.
A hostel sounds better to me, and then renting a car the days you want to move to another area.
Matt Gross, who writes the Frugal Traveler for the New York Times, did a cross country trip in an old Volvo, pitching a tent or staying at cheap places. He bought the cheapo car just for the trip. Had various car troubles, but made it through the trip, and, if I remember right, sold it in Portland or Seattle. His series of articles on that was about a year ago...
ossobuco wrote:Consider car insurance...
Ah, yes, duly noted. Hmmm...how do I get around that?
Just find an old Hoopdie Van Conversion that will get you down there and you can still be Mobile if you need to be.
mismi wrote:Here's a book for you Kicky -
Possum Living
How To Live Well Without A Job And With Almost No Money.
Dolly Freed
she even tells you how to make your own moonshine.
Interesting. It looks like it was written back in the seventies though. Thanks though. I'm sure it has some universal truths and ideas that I can still use.
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