Ever lived in a car?

I spent a few weeks living in my car. Sometimes I parked in parking lots of stores that were open 24/7 so that I could get some sleep (just parked away from the other vehicles), other times I parked at rest stops, and on rare occasions I parked at parks. I took showers at truck stops and public beach showers (luckily they were open). I had all my clothes in a black trash bag in my trunk. I washed clothes at the showers.

The trickiest part was finding places I could park and sleep.

Head to the woods and build a shelter.

Not yet

24 hour stores? That is a very good idea. Actually, all of what you said was very helpful. There’s just one thing though…. um… Dare I ask… What did you do for entertainment? To pass the time. Oh, and also, how did you go about getting food? Did you do fast-food? Or did you stock up on fruit….

Sure—this one

@Piper_Brianmind For entertainment I hung out with friends and rode my skateboard a lot. I had some money from when I worked, I just didn’t have a place to live. I also had some friends that would help me out when they could and I looked for change on the ground every where I went.

Sleep at the airport.

@Hawkeye I was stuck at my local airport one night and made the mistake of stepping outside the ticketed passenger area.

Every surface was rock-hard and/or bumpy. Terrazzo floors, plastic benches & concrete.

It was really stark, all the carpet and soft chairs disappeared when I crossed the line.

Well I’d imagine if I had friends, I wouldn’t be living in my car. What exactly made it so bad that you had to? And it’s too late to learn how to skateboard. But I guess I could go visit landmarks or something.

@Piper_Brianmind I had to live in a car because none of my friends could take me in. I had been living with my cousin, she moved her boyfriend in and decided to kick me out. I lived in my car while I was finding somewhere else to live. I should add that I was still a teenager when this happened.

Ah okay. Either way, thanks for taking the time to type all this out.

I was homeless off and on beginning at age 15. I slept in a park, at various people’s apts. and in shelters. Things were different back then because there were a lot more services offered to people in need. Those services have been eradicated due to the economy and the recession though. I didn’t have a car and my family didn’t want me so I could not go to them. I became friendly with other street kids and we took turns staying at some of their relatives houses for a night or at least long enough to shower and change. My best advice for someone in this situation now is to generate enough income to at least pay for a cheap hotel to stay in even If you have to share it with another person. One gets the bed the other the floor. Hell, it beats sleeping in the park like I did. Look up friends or relatives that will help you. Bus stations, airports, hospital emergency rooms and trains are somewhat safe with some amount of security if you really have no other option in an emergency but this should be only a temporary last resort as it is dangerous. Call some churches, mosques and synagogues. I hear Catholic Charities and the Salvation army help people a lot. Go to local welfare office and refuse to leave until they help you. Back in the 80’s I told a welfare worker that I would not spend another night in the street and if they didn’t place me somewhere, I would call the media and have them film me being thrown in the street by welfare security because I was not going quietly. That evening I got 2 tokens and a referral for a hotel where I lived for 1 year before I got my first apt.
Good Luck and please keep me posted.

I kicked my first husband out of the house and he slept in his van. That’s right. I was sick of his drug habit. He could do it somewhere else I decided. None of his family wanted him either. His van though was decked out It had a bed in the back, refrigerator. I remember he ate alot of hotdogs from 7 eleven. He slept outside of bars. I was nice enough to wash his clothes . He would tell me how it was going. He said he has been awaken by cops knocking on his window. He had to hit rock bottom I figured.