I’ve heard of people living in the following conditions to save money:
So, what do you think of these “cheapskate” options? Do you personally know anyone who lives like this?
I know someone in a tiny house. It’s parked on their parents yard. It’s basically a home-made camper. I’m not impressed with it. But these 2 are trying to pay off a decade of overspending and living above their means. They lost a house and a car and a bunch of other stuff. I respect the reasoning but not the means.
Yes and no.
I’ve known a few travelers, but not quite to the OP’s description.
Several were truck drivers that lived on the road and slept in their rig, but not 7/365. There are always motels and weekends at a friends house.
Same goes for some entertainment folks, jumping from one traveling show to another. Lots of sleeping on the bus, but not 7/365. Plenty of hotels and weeks off at friends, girlfriends or parents houses.
The closest I’ve come to knowing a real traveler was an old scooter tramp I knew, he lived on his bike and in a tent. He claimed he just rode from bike show to bike run to car shows and made his money pin striping everything…Cars, bikes, helmets, semis, guitars, signage etc.
I know a few people who live in vans- generally home converted plain white ones, so they can park up for a few days before anyone works out they’re living in there. The people I know generally have one ‘home base’, a friend or relative’s house they can park near for a while, to use the shower and on really cold nights maybe sleep on the couch, but much of the time they’re away. Mostly -doing short-term odd jobs, festival work or busking.
I also have a friend who lives in a yurt in the woods at the back of a camp site year-round, though that kinda is a grey area if it’s housing or not. In theory it could all be taken down in a day, and may have to be if the local government finds out it’s there 'cos it’s got no permit, but it’s been there a few years now, and she’s got mains electric and does pay rent for the site.
I know a couple of people that live in vans. The main problem with them is that if it’s stolen, you haven’t just lost your transport, you’ve lost your home.
There are also people who live on canal boats. You can rent them like you rent a flat, but they are also far cheaper to buy than buying a flat or house, even taking into account maintenance costs. The main problem with them is the mooring fees. Some people move up and down the canals every few days, so don’t have to pay much, but permanent moorings in prime locations can be very expensive - though they do sometimes include facilities and council tax.
One guy I know moves from hotel to hotel, mainly to avoid having to pay council tax. Booked in advance they can be pretty cheap, as long as you’re not too fussy. The government got wise to this a while ago, and now you can only stay in one hotel for a maximum of 90 days per year, or you’re classed as a resident and are liable for council tax.
A female friend of mine was getting so much overnight catsitting work that she just did that for a few months, air B & B’ing on the nights she didn’t have a cat job. This works much better in the summer than any other time, though, because of people being on holiday more.
I don’t think most of these people would choose to live that way if they had more money, though. Houseboats can be lovely, and are proper homes, but I’m fairly sure the people I know who live in one would buy a house if they suddenly came into enough money.
No, I don’t know anyone who lives that way, but apparently it’s a valid choice sometimes.
This guy runs a website and youtube channel dedicated to off-grid, inexpensive RV living. Mostly he seems to move around BLM* lands and other free areas in the desert southwest. I’ve watched a lot of his stuff just for tips on reducing costs (I live in a house, but have an RV). He claims to manage on less then $500.00 per month. I don’t think he’s including an RV payment in this though. It seems he assumes one has bought and paid for a cheap used RV already.
*Bureau of Land Management – basically public lands in Arizona, NM, and Utah.
Downsides are a lack of room, lack of security, cops hassling you about parking too long in one spot, the ability of a thief to steal not just your vehicle but your home. Also, lack of a shower/running water necessitating some alternate arrangement if you don’t want to wind up smelling like dead skunk roadkill on a hot summer day. Lack of a toilet. Lack of facilities for cooking for refrigeration for food. You’ll either live on junk, which is not good for you, or spend a crap load of money in restaurants which, often, isn’t healthy for a long term diet, either. And, I don’t know about you, but sleeping in a car just ain’t comfortable. The van, which allows a person to set up a sort of bed, would probably be more comfortable.
This solves the bathroom/shower/toilet conundrum, as well as allowing for at least minimal cooking/food storage. It’s basically the original micro-apartment, but on wheels. The downside is that it can be hard to find parking and they suck down gas/petrol at an amazing rate.
I’m not quite sure what the differences are between “RV” and “mobile camper” here, but I’m assuming this is the larger option. The upside is that it’s more like living in an actual apartment with modern conveniences. Downsides are the RV ones, but on steroids. Even harder to park, drinks gas even faster… and it can be like trying to drive a barn down the road. I mean, sure, they’re mobile in a sense, but it’s a big, heavy thing you’re driving when you move it. And if you’re not moving it, why not just have a tiny home or small apartment?
Camping 24/7/365 might be something you do when young and in a mild climate, but around here trying that in winter might wind up fatal (we do have a certain number of people freeze to death every winter despite local authorities trying to get people off the streets/out of the woods on really cold nights). But, let’s assume either the weather isn’t that bad or you have a means to cope with it. Wow, even less space than a car or van. Still no bathroom/toilet facilities. Cooking would be either over a fire or on a camp stove… well, OK, but that means either gathering fuel or paying for it. And, let’s be frank - a tent wall provides little to no protection to either human bad guys or wildlife. Don’t know about where you live, but in the Chicago area we have these creatures called raccoons that are sneaky, aren’t that afraid of humans, have forepaws that are nearly as dexterous as proper hands, and a mouth full of sharp, pointy teeth. A couple years ago I had them invade while I was living in a proper building and came home to one cleaning out my pantry. If you’re in a tent with food they’ll just come right in if they’re after food whether you are also in the tent with the food or not. As just one example. We have others. More rural areas you get fun things like bears. And, as I mentioned, there are human bad guys, which you can get anywhere there are people. The homeless sometimes band together in groups and “camps” for a reason - safety in numbers.
Usually inferior to proper homes. There are times and places they’re appropriate, maybe even fine, options but there’s a reason most folks like in actual buildings these days.
Not voluntarily, no.
I know people who do a version of this- it’s full-time but only six months a year. But it’s not to save money. Instead of being snowbirds six months a year and staying in NYC the other six, they spend six months in NYC and six traveling around the country in their RV. It might save them money over doing he same travel in a car/flying/staying in motels- but it’s more expensive than staying in their NYC house.
I’ve toured in a band and haved lived on a bus with no money. Can you do it? Yes. Do I recommend it? I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy… because it’s likely to be one on the guys on the bus.
I have an old friend who still travels solo playing music. He has a small camper so he basically moves from town to town playing gigs and parking in either friends’ or strangers’ driveways, yards, etc… until his welcome has worn out. It was cool 25-30 years ago but these days we all have wives, kids, neighbours, etc… so it’s a little intrusive to have him living in your driveway, showering with your garden hose, coming in and out at all hours, , etc. Most of our wives have banned him.
Funny, he just sent a message out last night that he was coming into town this summer looking for gigs… and driveways. I don’t think anyone has responded yet.
I have a BIL who has a small unserviced lot in Colorado and has set up a Yurt to live in. Apparently, the neighbours have complained and the township sent him notice that he cannot live there in those conditions.
I used to know of a few guys who temporarily (about six months to a year) lived in campers or motor homes.
In our industry it’s common to leave home for these extended periods of time in order to build new assembly lines and launch new product models. The tool integrators typically pay a flat rate, tax-free per diem to their employees, and as a result you’ll see people in private hotel rooms, people sharing hotel rooms, people sharing a rental house, and people who bring their RV’s and live in them. For example, for people in Chicago right now, that’s $207 per day.
When I was living in a homeless shelter, there were people camped out along the river that ran beside it. The town’s police knew about them, and the town even put up additional benches for these people to sleep on.
I asked a cop about them (who sleeps on a bench when there is a good homeless shelter nearby?) He told me that most of them cannot live under any rules whatsoever, and had been kicked out of most places. He didn’t know what they did in cold weather (and the last three days have been very cold and rainy here).
I knew a retired couple with an RV who lived in it year-round. They had an agreement with a Pennsylvania campground where, in exchange for their lot fee, they served as the campground overseers. After Labor Day they headed south, where they had a similar agreement with a campground in Florida.
I have known several people that early in their careers were single and consultants that were on the road a lot. Their firms would pay for them to be in a hotel during the week while they were traveling to clients. On the weekends or the odd week that they weren’t traveling for work, they would couch surf with friends or family, etc. They had no rent or mortgage to pay, and saved a ton of cash in those early years. They kept their possessions to a minimum, mainly clothes.
Usually when they decided to get married or wanted their own places, they would revert to a more normal existence.
I know people who have lived in cars for a while to save money, although I’m not sure I know of anyone who does so right now. One friend I think might do so, except that he mostly is just a world-traveler. He lives in a van or crashes with friends when he’s in the states, but most of the time he just backpacks around the world and lives in hostels or camps or something.
I have friends who live aboard boats in the harbor.
I have some friends who bought a house, but they rent the house out, and they live in a tiny house built on a trailer that’s parked in the backyard.
One thing to realize is that someone living in an RV in a developed country probably has a higher standard of living than the majority of humans on Earth.
I think around here a young person could do very well just doing housesitting/dogsitting or such gigs.
Those that travel all the time. Do they have a mailbox somewhere?
I only know people online who do this, nobody I know personally.
Options include
[ul]
[li]Live in a vehicle (RV, van, car)[/li][li]Live in a tent[/li][li]Live in a tiny home or even a shed[/li][li]Couchsurf[/li][li]Live in a tow behind camper[/li][li]Live on a boat[/li][li]Housesit for other people[/li][li]Buy a home or apartment with 3-4 bedrooms and rent out all the other bedrooms (this can be surprisingly affordable in a LOCL area. If total rent and utilities is $1000/month but you charge $350/month for the 3 spare bedrooms in a 4 bedroom apartment).[/li][/ul]
I know a guy who bought a decommissioned bus from the city of Philadelphia. He drove it cross-country to SF, where his job was, and then started upgrading it. He put solar panels on the roof, installed sanitary and cooking facilities, and a couple of beds. He lived on the streets for a while, and was constantly fighting parking tickets. (It turns out that the neighbors don’t like having a bus parked on the street, and complain to the cops, who sometimes ticket whether or not you are legally parked.) He eventually rented a lot, and bought a few more vehicles, and started a little community called “Buspatch”. He’s recently moved to ordinary housing. I have no idea why he wanted to live in a bus, nor why he decided to stop. It’s not money, he seems to have plenty of that.
I think most probably have a family member or friend who gets mail for them.
There are services that will receive your mail, scan the outside, then if you choose, open up and scan the inside.
I assume they also set up their life to rarely need any actual postal mail.
My brother worked out of town and living in an RV in an RV park was cheaper than a cheap motel or apartment. He’d go home to his family on the weekends.
StG
I have friends who lived in a motorcoach with their cats and a dog for years after retirement, 9 of them. They are now settled down near one of the adult children. My great-uncle and his wife did it for two years after retirement. They were dairy farmers and just never had much of a chance to travel before.
I considered the option of a tiny home or an RV before deciding on a condo. Building regulations can be a pain in MN, and I needed to stay in the metro area. There are a few people who live in yurts or teepees in greater MN, but not the metro.