Tips for Living in Your Car

by Josie Raymond · 2010-05-27 13:41:00 UTC
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There's no good way to live in a car, but a commenter on the website Reddit offers some valuable tips on doing just that in response to a fellow user who has found himself with only a vehicle to call home.

The user, named xenophone, says that when his relationship and an attempt to flip a house went sour, he was left homeless, deep in debt and far from home (in Texas, while his family was in Tennessee). He survived his eight months in the car by thinking creatively. (He also says he was able to maintain a telecommuting job, so he had consistent income.)

To sleep, xenophone suggests Walmart parking lots, where he says you won't be bothered. He also had some luck with camping in public parks, parking at highway rest stops and in church lots and signing up for CouchSurfing.com, where users offer up their couches and floor space for free to travelers. He recommends telling the CouchSurfing hosts that you're just traveling since they are presumably more drawn to the idea of helping a fellow adventurer than a "homeless person."

He stresses the importance of hygiene so others will take you seriously. "People trust you more when you're clean and you'll have an easier time spinning yourself as 'adventurous' rather than 'destitute,'" he writes. "Being destitute might get you a dollar or a cup of coffee. Being adventurous might get you in a pretty girl's bed, or better yet, a hot shower." He suggest cropping hair and facial hair short every week with cheap hair clippers and sticking to dark-colored clothing that is laid out in the sun for freshness. The other commenters chimed in here to suggest a gym membership, which they said can be had for about $10 a month in some areas, and provides consistent access to hot showers.

Since xenophone was employed, he spent a lot of time in libraries and he speaks highly of their ability to keep him feeling a part of society. He also talked people up in dog parks and says he found that someone who can make a good cup of coffee will always be welcome in a homeless encampment.

All this advice is written by and for 20-something men, so women and older people may have different strategies. I know we have readers with experience living in cars — is xenophone right on or way off base? What can people faced with the prospect of living in their cars do to survive?

Photo credit: Don Hankins

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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