Living in Charlestown/Boston for a year in a van/camper

[millerm277]

I would suggest trying to find some roommates through Harvard and getting a cheap apartment with them instead, or finding someone renting out just a room, or that sort of thing.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by sponger42

Short answer: No.

Long answer:
-Charlestown controls it's parking and you would need a Charlestown address to get parking stickers for anywhere streetside.
-Business will tow you at the drop of a hat.
-A $4000 camper will not pass emissions testing in MA, so you will be repeatedly ticketed for expired plates whenever your out-of-state plates expire.
-You will need electrical, water, and sewage hookups or dumps which you will need to drive to an RV park to find. RV parks/camping will cost you more per day than a cheap apartment with roommates.

- You might be able to find parking FAR outside of Boston, but you would need to move often to avoid being ticketed and towed. Most townships don't allow streetside parking for more than 24-48 hours at a time.
- Police DO notice vehicles which stay in the same region and they will probably chase you off or impound your vehicle under public nusiance laws or some other statuate.
- Most companies (including Walmart) with large parking lots hire security guards who will notice and chase you off after more than a day.

+ You might be able to find a homeless community or "Hooverville" type area where you can park your camper, but it will certainly be extralegal. Do not expect police protection, in fact you can expect to be raided by cops when other transients are not breaking into "That Fancy Harvard College Boy's" camper and stealing your stuff.

+ You might be able to find some sort of commune where they will accept your presence.

- Neither of these places will have public transportation and you cannot drive your camper into Cambridge without Cambridge parking permits. You might be able to drive to a busline or subway every day, but you'd likely have to pay for parking.

You might be able to do this in California, or more free-wheeling or remote areas of the country. MA, and especially Boston, is very strictly controlled by the local and state governments. It's a bit like old East Germany. You need to pay the right fees and hold the right papers to park your car, visit the beach, or for pretty much anything.

What he said! Not good area to do this in. You might get away with something like this for a week or two, but not a whole year.

[queenbee78]

I just don't see why you can't just find a roommate? I have no idea how you would be able to live in a camper. Someone is bound to find out what you are doing if you are parked in a parking lot or a side street.

[emathias]

Other practicalities aside, if your advisor or classmates discover your living situation, they will NOT think it's a charming quirk, they will think it's a sign of unreliability, poor planning, bad foresight, lack of social awareness and, very possibly, mental instability.

None of those perceptions would be good for your academic or professional life. Best case would be they think you're just weird and have poor planning skills. Worse case they think you're mentally unstable and scary.

[westwind15]

I know of at least one man who does this in Chelsea and Everett near where I live. I see his van parked in the back of parking lots, see him driving around, and I have talked to him a few times. I can;t even imagine how he stays warm in the freezing winters we have here. I worry about him when it gets cold, which is much of the time here. If your heating method failed, you could easily freeze to death in a van.