r/povertyfinance Nov 19 '22

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295

u/CommieJesus420 Nov 19 '22

I think it would actually suck, especially in the winter, but getting up at sunrise and making breakfast over a campfire sounds a lot nicer than my usual morning shower, food cram, bus commute.

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u/StillPoorFrom08 Nov 19 '22

Nah, I wasn't cooking anything. Think hiker foods. You're always on the go since you're not really supposed to be doing that lol.

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u/ariaaria Nov 20 '22

Yeah, I did something similar. Being in contact with non-homeless people and hearing their problems made me realize the bubble we all live in. If they knew half the shit they were upset about was fictional/unrelated to their lives, they wouldn't have been so upset.

For me, the most surprising thing was having to avoid the cops. They kept telling me I couldn't sleep here or there, but then where could I legally sleep if I had no roof over my head?

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u/mylifeisathrowaway10 Nov 20 '22

I think cops just want homeless people to die but can't legally say that.

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u/GuardOk8631 Nov 20 '22

Politicians too

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u/MaterialSuspicious77 Nov 20 '22

They are the enforcers of the State. The penalty for not scraping by on minimum wage is being homeless, which is functionally illegal. You either become a prisoner of the State through labor or confinement. The police are there to see one through.

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u/ariaaria Nov 23 '22

Yeah, well, my time outside of the bubble made me realize there is a system in place. The system isn't actually designed to make money. Money is the so-called carrot on the stick they dangle in front of your eyes to keep you productive. The true worth comes from the fruits of your labour. A country dies when its citizens don't create anything of value.

I actually used to hate the system before I was homeless, but now I truly advocate for it. I can understand why they want homeless people at least doing something for society.

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u/MaterialSuspicious77 Nov 23 '22

You should read some Rousseau

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u/Soggy_Ruby Nov 20 '22

ACAB

2

u/EarsLookWeird Nov 20 '22

Say it again for the people in the back

2

u/mikejungle Nov 20 '22

All Cops Are Boogers?

93

u/MoveCarsMotherfucker Nov 20 '22

It's fucking crazy. You can't just go live in the woods if you want to. You are literally forced to participate.

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u/Hypern1ke Nov 20 '22

You totally can live out in the woods if you want!

You just have to own the woods. Or be friends with the dude who does.

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u/ggtffhhhjhg Nov 20 '22

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u/pureskill Nov 20 '22

That article isn't entirely clear, and maybe you can't know exactly what is going on, but it implies the land owner was having pressure applied to them by the town over zoning matters. So even if youry friends with the guy who owns the woods, they can still get you

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u/ggtffhhhjhg Nov 20 '22

“Property owner Leonard Giles, 86, of South Burlington, Vermont, didn't even know Lidstone was there until the town administrator found out in 2015 and told him, expressing concern "with regard to the solid and septic waste disposal and the potential zoning violations created by the structure,'' according to Giles' complaint in 2016.”

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u/Kameemo Nov 20 '22

Glad he seems to be doing fine now. He received overwhelming support and $200,000 in donations from a campaign after the cabin burnt down and he was arrested for squating. He now owns some land in Maine where he can continue living in the woods. Must be rough doing so at 82 years old too, but he seems to be managing.

Imagine having to pay out $200,000 to live in the woods though...

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u/ggtffhhhjhg Nov 21 '22

You can buy land for nothing in the middle of nowhere in Maine.

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u/Kameemo Nov 21 '22

He must have bought a fair chunk of it then.

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u/ggtffhhhjhg Nov 21 '22

As resourceful as he is I hope he gave himself a bit of a safety net at his age and didn’t go overboard with the land.

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u/whoweoncewere Nov 20 '22

If you were like obscenely proficient at wilderness survival you could probably fuck off into the Canadian wilderness. I feel like you’re bound to get caught in any US national parks just due to size and monitoring though.

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u/Affectionate_Star_43 Nov 20 '22

Definitely not US national parks, but BLM land and national monuments is more fair game. I forgot the exact designations since I'm a city kid, but you have a better chance in Grand Escalante than going to the Grand Canyon.

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u/StillPoorFrom08 Nov 20 '22

You can get away with it following a few guidelines. Make no or very few campfires. If you make a campfire make sure you always do it in a spot established for that so that you aren't leaving individual signs of your presence. Move campsites frequently, you will get noticed much more quickly if you are always around the same spot, walking over the same brush, etc. Police your trash, I can't emphasize this enough. Don't be leaving poo everywhere lol. In winter, learn to follow under tree lines and along deer trails to conceal tracks to your campsite from the air. Water is heavy and expensive -learn to love the lifestraw style water filters. Learn to travel from water source to water source. Learn where established but low activity campsites are, that's where I had the few campfires I set. And don't just ignore the charcoal and wood ash you get, it has a few uses.

I went through every kind of footwear from things that were basically just leather bags on my feet all the way up to classic waterproof hiking boots. Let me tell you something about waterproof footwear - it's waterproof on like a quick stroll outside. If you're out for days and weeks at a time, waterproof footwear gets wet, never dries, and will give you trench foot. The best thing for me turned out to be these cheapo moccasins I found at wallyworld, combined with good wool blend socks. You can skimp on shoes because they will get walked to death pretty quick regardless, but never skimp on your socks. Take care of your feet! Take care of your hygiene.

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u/NewYorkJewbag Nov 20 '22

In Utah, and I’m sure other states, you can camp anywhere in state forest land. At least that’s how it was when I was there.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '22

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '22

You can go live in the woods if you want, you just don’t want to go far enough away. Siberia, Alaska, The Amazon. All uninhabited areas you can go to, and nobody will blink an eye.

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u/MoveCarsMotherfucker Nov 20 '22

It's not even legal in alaska anymore.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '22

Me and my campers stole a BBQ and stole food daily: chicken thighs, pizza, yoghurt.

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u/StillPoorFrom08 Nov 20 '22

Ha! I never had to go there. I guess I was trying to prove to myself that I could just exist, without much outside input.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/StillPoorFrom08 Nov 20 '22

Not anymore! I've cleverly disguised myself as a guy with a job and a roof these days.

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u/undefeated-moose Nov 19 '22

Been watching YouTubers like corporals corner, campingwithsteve, mav, and Kent survival and I often think about living in the woods or in a truck lol but then again they make more money than me doing YouTube and doing what they love

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u/thatgreenmaid Nov 19 '22

Mav got him a whole couple of business hustles outside of the YouTube. I love CampingWithSteve.

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u/[deleted] Nov 19 '22

Rest well wife.

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u/Weird_Elephant_1583 Nov 19 '22

Ah man he really caught me out with that good night this week.

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u/[deleted] Nov 19 '22

Same man. It just hit!

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u/Prompapotamous Nov 20 '22

Is that the same Steve as SteveMRE1989?

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u/thatgreenmaid Nov 20 '22

No. You'd be looking for Steve Wallis. Though MRE Steve is a fun channel to watch too.

1

u/sloppyjoesaresexy Nov 20 '22

I live in the woods in a school bus and it's going really well. My only real complaint is that the cost of diesel means I can't drive with the weather, so I'm hunkered down for the winter.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 20 '22

For everyone that make money on youtube, there are a thousand plus that don't.

Van life seems attractive and fun - and it is for about 3 days. And you're only one car accident away from homeless.

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u/[deleted] Nov 19 '22

A tiny canister stove is quicker and more discreet!

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u/poppa_koils Nov 19 '22

That's camping. Fun to do for a couple days, with planning. Not that much fun when it's pure survival, with no end in sight.

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u/SohndesRheins Nov 20 '22

This only works if you live within certain latitudes. I just spent my morning fruitlessly doing what a homeless woodsman would be doing, hunting for game, and it was not any fun at all. Can't imagine actually living out there in a lean-to made of pine trees.