Check the OP’s location. I don’t think they go there for the weather. 
Hippie towns don’t just attract homeless folks, they also create them. Because people are drawn in by the quality of life, not the economy, there’s often a huge disconnect between the real estate market and the job market. There’s tons of minimum wage service type jobs, but they don’t pay enough to cover the inflated housing market without working multiple jobs or cramming people in tenement-style.
Of course, on the flip side, the same quality of life that attracts the yuppies also attracts homeless folks. Being homeless sucks, but if you’ve resigned yourself to it (or are intentionally taking a hiatus from, ya know, life and all that) you might as well do it someplace nice. The high housing costs are why everyone doesn’t live in those nice little towns, but obviously that doesn’t apply if you’re homeless!
I live in very much a hippie town, and I’d say our homeless folks fit into those categories: you’ve got the locals who can’t really afford to live here but are tied to the place, and then the travelling ones who may be taking advantage of the local’s generosity a bit, but are mostly just passing through and enjoying the place like the rest of us.