Ever been homeless?

[Iceman]

Rusty, here's your most viable option. Come to NYC, go to Union Pool or somewhere and just find a stupid girl to put you up and take care of you. Winter is probably actually better, what with it being "cuffing season" and all. You can skate all day when she's working to support you, then watch movies and snuggle up all night or have her pay for drinks at bars.

If you're not fugly and at least somewhat suave with the ladies, then this is actually a viable option in NYC. So many dudes I knew pulled this off. Rich girls and trust fund chicks are everywhere. Shit, when I was young and broke a couple different girls flew me to other continents with them, among other things they paid for.

[Rusty_Berrings]

I just looked up "Union Pool" and the band they have booked 2 months in advance for the day b4 NYE fucking blows.

[dkn]

i've done this in Denver, Colorado Springs and Sacramento.  it's a humbling experience

you will know if it's right for you.  don't take the words of others as a matter-of-fact

yes, days will be long.  frequent the library for internet access.  take naps.  socialize!

watch for sprinklers if you choose to sleep in a park

apply for emergency food stamps (takes 5 days to get them)

don't bother with a cardboard sign--maintain your self respect

emergency room waiting areas and hotel business centers make decent temporary shelters

hotels such as the Hampton Inn offer free breakfast.  if you play your cards right you can fit right in

[ice nine]

u can kill people to get money or drugs

[Rusty_Berrings]

"watch for sprinklers if you choose to sleep in a park"

thanks! thinking i'll just b doing weekends/weeks in NYC meeting people/etc in a hot second if anyone wanted to meet up and skate/get a new pair of wheels/etc

[Explosive Bolts]

Rusty if you want to stop by DC hit me up. You can sleep in the woods behind my place where a homeless redneck has built a little cardboard cave out of boxes and stolen water hoses. We're close to a metro too.

[LloydChristmas]

speaking from personal experience, you can pull off a few months homeless in cold-ish temps with the right gear and a little bit of money.  if you plan on staying outside, get at least a three season tent (the less mesh walls, the better) with legit rainfly, and 0-degree-rated sleeping bag.  I travelled around camping out in cold temps for a while, and if you stay in areas desolate enough where you can build a fire unnoticed, you should be able to get by.  when i did this i did have to wake up around 3am every night to feed the fire, but comes with the territory. 

before i completely settle down I'm thinking about trying to hop a freight train and ride the rails somewhere.  i've read up on it and am aware of the dangers with the RR gangs, homeland security, and the freight car "bulls", but goddamnit I still really want to do it.  has anybody ever tried it?  been a dream of mine since i was a kid, pee wee's big adventure had a lot to do with it.  i realize it's probably a lot harder than the golden days of boxcar hobos with a bindle sack, but i'm sure it can be done. 

[CossRooper]

before i completely settle down I'm thinking about trying to hop a freight train and ride the rails somewhere.  i've read up on it and am aware of the dangers with the RR gangs, homeland security, and the freight car "bulls", but goddamnit I still really want to do it.  has anybody ever tried it?  been a dream of mine since i was a kid, pee wee's big adventure had a lot to do with it.  i realize it's probably a lot harder than the golden days of boxcar hobos with a bindle sack, but i'm sure it can be done.  

I'd like some info on this as well. I'm not trying to get my shit wrecked like that scene McCandless style in into the wild, but this is a childhood dream of mine too.

[LloydChristmas]

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before i completely settle down I'm thinking about trying to hop a freight train and ride the rails somewhere.  i've read up on it and am aware of the dangers with the RR gangs, homeland security, and the freight car "bulls", but goddamnit I still really want to do it.  has anybody ever tried it?  been a dream of mine since i was a kid, pee wee's big adventure had a lot to do with it.  i realize it's probably a lot harder than the golden days of boxcar hobos with a bindle sack, but i'm sure it can be done.  

[close]

I'd like some info on this as well. I'm not trying to get my shit wrecked like that scene McCandless style in into the wild, but this is a childhood dream of mine too.

yeah i mean i think i could probably get myself out of a jam by running, but it's all very unpredictable.  i'd hate having to bail off the train (again, like Pee Wee).  i hear the thing to do to get into it is to link up with an "experienced" transient who knows the drill, but I think I'd rather take my chances than trust some fucking scum kid who will likely give us both away by being too loud while he tells me his conspiracy theories.

[pugmaster]

[shark tits]

lloyd christmas, i've rode trains all over the crazy place. i could put you up on knowledge about that but there is a lot of trial and error/variables too. i preferred it when i was drinking but had more success [not catching wrong trains/losing skateboards etc] while sober. it's a beautiful way to see the country those some of the transients can be a little 'traincore' and unwelcoming. they're actually pretty easy to avoid as trespassing on the railroad leads itself to being surreptitious. some of them are ok too but if you ride w/ strangers you're certainly rolling the dice.

[Owen]

I work at a homeless service in Australia. Whilst it's not the U.S, I imagine the experience of homelessness would be somewhat the same, if not more bearable here due to the higher level of state investment in social services in Australia.

As others have mentioned, sleeping rough you're likely to experience the following:

-Violent crime. I would consider the city I live in to be a safe place but I regularly hear of people getting bashed and beaten with poles.
-Sexually violated. Seems like homeless men have somewhat of a tendency to rape/ sexually abuse other homeless people.
-Theft. If you have anything of any value or practical use, it will be removed from your possession very shortly.
-Exposure to cunts. A huge percentage of the people that come into our service are on ice. Most of these men and women come across as being complete assholes. They are unpredictable and on edge. I would not want to hang with them outside of work.
-Mental illness. The majority of people who come in sleeping rough have a mental illness. The stress of being homeless- the waiting, the abuse, the shame, the unpredictable nature of it- seems to turn people really loopy really quickly.

Australia has basic services for homeless peoples, there are a few joints that hand out food and other material aid and there are a few organisations that can pay a weeks rent in a rooming house (where you will also likely experience all of the above). Link in with that kind of stuff.

Whoever said that the U.S isn't as bad as it appears on the news- the chances are that there is actually way worse shit going on under your nose than you would ever imagine. Especially when it comes to subcultures like transient people. When I started this job, I couldn't believe the regularity of the extreme stories I was hearing. I had no idea that such things took place in the area I live in.

#1 TIP, stay sober. You have no chance otherwise. The reason homeless people are always so wasted is because their lives fucking suck and it is unbearable to be sober in such a shit situation. Drug induced psychosis awaits if you head down the boozing/drug use path.

If you end up doing it, keep updates on here, I would be intrigued to hear how you go.

Good luck!

[Rusty_Berrings]

u can kill people to get money or drugs

yeah? who you need whacked?

[Rusty_Berrings]

Rusty if you want to stop by DC hit me up. You can sleep in the woods behind my place where a homeless redneck has built a little cardboard cave out of boxes and stolen water hoses. We're close to a metro too.

fuck dat nigga. let's take all my broken boards and build me a shack/hut. i like dc....

[J.R.]

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n e one wants to rec a good spot to be homeless during the winter/fall

[close]

If your from New England you should already know that being outside in the North East during winter can get pretty brutal, especially New York. If you're in Manhattan it gets really windy and cold in the winter being surrounded by water and all. Bums in NY during winter either sleep inside banks (the part of the bank with the ATM's that are open all night) or trains or they just freeze on the streets. When winters get really bad here you'll see EMS workers picking up bums that froze to death every once in a while.

[close]

Eastern Mountain Sports?

Brooklyn Zoo is not playing. I was homeless in the Brooklyn/ Queens/ Long Island areas during the winter and I almost froze to death. I actually know people that were homeless around me that did die that way, the only reason I didn't was because I found a job and stayed in that bitch as long as humanly possible. I didn't choose to be homeless, if it was up to me I would have never been on the street. Hustling just to get by is not the way to go, I would strongly urge you not to do it if you don't have to. If you are going to selectively do the homeless thing, do it during the summer. Get a cheap gym membership somewhere so you can use the showers and shave, I had a friend that didn't even sign up at a few Golds Gym's and he got away with it. Your chance of dying in the summer is slim to none. If you're doing it just to hang out in NY for a while, there are much more cost efficient ways of doing so without having to forfeit having a roof over your head.