Where do you live?
Do you have any friends or relatives you could stay with?
I think it depends on the person. I knew poverty, so I would rather join the military than to live off my car. Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend? Want to have one? How long do you think you could sustain such a life? If you are one semester away from a degree then that seems plausible, but a longer stint would be harsh.
Could a Churro pull it off? I have little doubt. It’s doable, but certainly, for me, not the most appealling alternative, or first choice. “Aim High”! If you can pull off living off a car, what is it about the Air Force that makes undoable? Should be easy for a man that can stomach homelessness, to dominate the field in the weakest military branch.
I think that first of all you need to find a static address that you can at least put down on official forms or something. When you apply for jobs - they are going to want to know your address, same when you have get bank account or a small loan, or a new car. You have to be careful not get in to too much of a rut - you still need to be actively looking for employment and making sure that this is possible. Short term homelessness might be livable, long term it is a potentially dangerous spiral into a situation you have no escape from.
You need access to a good shower, laundry services and facilties to keep up basic hygiene to keep yourself employable (and to maintain self respect).
You might be suprised how many people would be willing to have you on the couch for a bit until you find a place/job. Even almost complete strangers might be willing to help - old work collegaues, old high school or college classmates that you barely even spoke to in the first place. It obviously takes a lot of guts and humility to ask favours of such people, but in the end it might be worth it. Very few people in a position to help would refuse you, and it needn’t be ‘imposing’ - helping people gives people something to be proud of and actually most people enjoy helping others, even strangers. By allowing yourself to be helped, you might well be giving someone as much as they are giving you. And in the long run, you will find a way to pay them back for thier kindness.
I basically kind of agree with omar. Homelessness will rule you out of being in a major relationship, and it will also put you on the backfoot with employers and could be dangerous in the long run. The blog you linked to says lots of stuff like:
How sustainable is this kind of life? How throoughly have you considered other options?
Buenas tardes Churro,
— the air force would leave me without a shred of control over my life for 3-5 years.
O- What is the field of your major? Just because you join the military does not mean that you are free from choices…one choice to end all choices. You have to make a choice between the available fields of work. Electronics, Engineering, Aviation Maintenance, Medical Field. Then you can also “choose” your duty station from a selected few…or let your detailer hook you up. Of course, and I understand this, you also give away many liberties, like gromming and clothing and live by the boundaries of the UCMJ instead of wild and free. You are subject to random urinalysis and that is no fun.
That said, I have seen people retire from the military with better prospects, after five years, than a person who retained his liberty, so I guess it depends on what you think your prospects are at this point.
— on top of that, i’d have to be surrounded by people i utterly despise for the same length of time.
O- Better get used to that. Sonner or latter you must graduate and enter life. News flash: People suck. Nothing you can do about it. Unless you expect that car to be your home for much longer. You can’t let other people get in your way.
— plus side is i’d get buff, and any protestant church is basically a brothel for military men.
O- If you go into the AF you will not need a church to get laid.
— i don’t feel like selling my soul for money.
O- Why do you think that? You think that the money in the AF is that good? Serously? If your sould becomes lost, it won’t be because of the money…unless you sell cheap. Again, it is a simple choice. Don’t dramatize it. I rather have a job I don’t like than to go hungry on my pride. You don’t have to live for your work alone, but you do have to work in order to live.
When I was homeless, being enrolled in a University was an absolute godsend. You have access to showers (very key) and if there is a 24-hour library (even Community colleges should have those) you also have a place that will protect you from the elements without the constraints that shelters place on you (though shelters are a good call too). It is actually a pretty common homeless move to sign up for ~1 credit-or-so in order to avail themselves of the amenities provided by colleges. It is a lot cheaper than rent!
Otherwise, it is doable. Dumpster diving takes a little getting used to, but isn’t so bad once you get over your initial objections. It isn’t really an experience I’d repeat for shits-and-giggles but it isn’t that bad either and kinda fun in retrospect. Sorta like puberty, you know?
So, if you had to choose you d prefer homelessness over being in the military? 
Churro the Viscous-i dont see why its such a strange idea that id prefer this to supporting violence.
That sounds to me like a typical hippie response. I dont think you know life. Life IS war. You can try but you cannot completely escape it. One way or another youll end up supporting it, or feeding off of it. Its better to be honest about it than to be a self-righteous, holier-than-thou hypocrite.
I think moving into a truck and parking it by the river, or in some WalMart, is a good idea.
What bad can come of it?
I know a guy like that, and he’s now enjoying government accommodations: three meals a day and a roof over his head, not to mention all the orgies that happen in the showers.
Be careful you do not masturbate in public though.
Send me a postcard.
I don’t think you know (or have ever known) war.
How is the project going?
I don’t understand how only having a few months to live in the apartment before they move in would be such a setback that you wouldn’t be able to continue your classes and continue the tutoring. That’s a lot of time to find another place to live. Craigslist…
If you don’t have all that much money you can look for places with a lot of people (sharing a room with a person), or you could even offer to just sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor in the living area, while negotiating a relatively low rent, perhaps on terms that you wouldn’t be there very long.
I really don’t understand how any situation necessitates you not being able to continue your classes and make money as a tutor…
If it comes down to having to be homeless to continue paying for the classes, I would suggest getting a membership to a gym (one that has showers), getting a mailbox, selling everything you own minus the essentials (some clothes, including nice items for a job interview, toothbrush, deodorant, etc.), getting a prepaid phone and restricting its use to incoming calls from places you’ve applied (if cell plan is too much), and then necessary building materials for a coffin-like box that you can more safely sleep in. It can be just big enough for you to comfortable lie in, atop a blanket or two to cushion the bottom, with a few inches of space in each direction. You might want to keep a flashlight in there, and build it so it can be locked from the inside (with a bolt lock). You might want to build it with 4 wheels on the bottom so you can push or pull it around (build a solid handle on it), if you need to. You should probably buy the most secure bike lock you can find, and use it to lock up the box when you leave it to go about your business. I’m not sure what places in Sacramento would be fitting to lock it up, and you may be told you can’t leave it in some place, so you may have to change locations from time to time. You might want to write the number of your cell/prepaid phone on it and say “Call this number if you want me to move this and I’ll be sure to get back to you within a couple of hours”, or something like that. You could leave unused clothes and other items inside… of you’re confident they won’t be taken. I suppose you could build the box large enough to also have space for a cupboard just large enough to hold two sets of clothes, and make it so you can put a bolt lock on that. I suppose it might be easier to have it so you could just put a bolt lock on the outside of the box, locking it from the outside… but I myself wouldn’t be comfortable with that. It definitely isn’t likely somebody will lock you in from the outside while you are sleeping, but I suppose it IS possible… I think I’d worry about it while trying to sleep.
It’s a little more work than regular homelessness, but at least you’ll be safer and actively working towards getting a place and making money. You’re not going to get a girl in there with you, but at least you’ll look, feel and be treated like a regular person throughout your day, and you’ll be clean and put together well enough for it to not affect your opportunities.
Your cons are lack of bringing women to your place, more maintenance chores (having to walk to PO Box, having to go to gym to shower, frequent trips to laundromat due to only having a few sets of clothes),
but other than that you’d be avoiding the main problems of homelessness. You’d have shelter and you’d have no less chance of making them then you would if you had an apartment. If you were making money, you’d manage to save a lot in a short period of time. Gym membership + cell phone plan comes to much much less a month than you’d spend on rent. If you manage to get a decent job you should be able to save enough and make enough a month to afford a (split, with roommate) within a few months (assuming you’re putting a lot of effort into finding work and are willing to take jobs that you consider boring and beneath your abilities). A few months isn’t that long to go without getting laid…unless you’re a sex addict or something.
Camp grounds over parking lots. In fact you may look into renting a small trailer on someone’s property they tend to rent for 50 bucks or one or two hundred a month or exchange for chores. They will have showers, toilets etc. Barring that get a tent, at least a pup tent (can be found in thrift stores) so that you can go into a campground without question. The cost is cheap and it is far safer than the streets. Camp grounds generally have showers toilets etc. Sacramento area has some beautiful spots not far from the city. Soup kitchens or pantries help out alot. And fresh dumpster diving food ain’t so bad. Alot of good food gets thrown out just because its ilegal to sell it after its been touched or sat for so long. You can get vegies, fruits, passable breads and meats. Look on the ground for fallen money. I have found an amazing amount of cash just by looking on the ground in front of me as I walk. If you can make it being homeless you will be stronger, smarter and far better for it , if you walk into it and away from it with a positive attitude. Oh and offer to help people if you see they may need help. Rewards tend to vary from nothing to some real things you may need.
And dear Gods try not to announce in the wrong places that you are homeless , there are sickos out there that will stalk and prey on you just because of that. I remember back in Tucson there was some UofA students that did just that to homeless people just for kicks because they believed the homeless were trash of humanity and no one would notice or care. Back to the camp ground thing, have you thought about going into forestry service? I think they sometimes pay you while you learn. You could end up with a roof and three squares, try police or firefighting too, same thing goes for them in certain cases. Forestry generally has more openings though, not many folks think about doing that for a living even though it is a real need and understaffed. Best of luck , my hopes and best wishes are with you.
i’m in oakland and may be in a similar situation when i turn 19 (like 5 months from now)
but why the fuck would you want to be homeless? do you realize, that if you’re smart, you can do a lot of(high paying) things in the military that can lead to a career?
if you’re homeless there is such a thin line in throwing the rest of your life away
i got an 88 on my asvab (126 GT. 106 ST) and i flunked out of highschool and didn’t study. imagine what you can get. (now i just have to get around to getting the 15 college credits i need to enlist in the army. jc was a huge disappointment and i just don’t have any motivation. highschool all over again except i barley know anyone =/)
an electrician? you aim high
there’s a lot of chair work in the army
chair work with a higher roof
