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I am hoping that you all can give me your take on something I have been discussing with San Diegans over on the San Diego forum here. I have been thinking of going to San Diego but someone there suggested San Francisco might be a better bet.
My situation is rather unusual to say the least and the advice I am seeking is not the usual how much does it cost to live there, what about schools, and such type of advice. None of that applies to me .
Rather than repeating myself all over again...could some of you mosy on over to the next thread and read at least the first and last post by me and then give me your take on what has been said there?
I'm sorry, but after reading your post " don't have enough financially to last a few weeks until a regular paycheck" I have to STRONGLY advise you AGAINST moving to San Francisco. San Francisco is the second most expensive city in the United States. I was paying $300 per month just to park my car in a space, not even a garage. The idea of living out of a U-haul is out of the question, you will get overwhelmed with parking tickets. Rent has actually increased because real estate prices have become so expensive, even in this housing market. San Francisco is a great city and a great place to live, but there is a reason why it's the homeless capital of the United States. If you don't have enough money and a steady income, it will eat you alive. Don't come here if money is a problem and I don't mean that in a negative way, just literally for your own good.
In California you can only park in the same spot on the street for 72 hours at a time before you risk being ticketed or towed, even if there are no other signs prohibiting parking. That alone would make life very difficult.
Like other posters have commented about, San Francisco and San Diego are very expensive cities. In both places you should be able to find some sort of job. But think twice. Why not just stay put until the economy improves and or until you get interest in a job from either places? You can be very broke in San Fran if you aren't careful.
Just an idea...my car was towed 3 times in 2 years, each time I parked for less than 2 hours. Each time cost me over $300. Most have a limit of 2 hours between 8 am - 6 pm, so I don't know where you would park during that time. Save your money in Canada, once you have enough money to live 8 months without work, then move and try to get a job.
I think most of you didn't read the other post that I put up in the San Diego forum. I won't have a vehicle at all. Rather I will buy a small pup tent, buy a monthly buss pass, go to the end of the line somewhere and hike into secluded spots where I can possibly pitch my tent just for the night, and continue doing that until I can generate enough money to get a vehicle.
I will shower at gyms (obtaining a monthly gym pass) and will not really live out of my storage unit per se. Rather I will store whatever belongings I bring down with me there - such that I can't keep tagging along with me.
Regarding work...I will be bringing down my window cleaning equipment with me (with the exception of a pole and bucket which I can buy there). I am relatively sure that I can get some window cleaning work enough to survive and use the bus system to get to and from whatever jobs I get.
Now lest anyone think this is all some kind of hairbrained idea...I have done most if not all of the above elsewhere. Presently I am in Canada. Have no vehicle and have been making very good money travelling around by bus doing window cleaning. In a city where there is a lot of window cleaning competition.
I solicit one day. I then travel to whatever jobs I have managed to get the next. Today I am scheduled to do a large store in a mall and to finish up a house I did yesterday. All told about $165 just for today! Not bad if I do say so myself.
I don't know if I could generate that kind of income in San Francisco but I am betting on their being enough quick window cleaning work to keep me surviving until I find something better or can afford a truck - at which point I can REALLY do window cleaning work.
Mind you I am doing the window cleaning I am talking about in the off season here. In an already very cold climate. At a time when most people have given up on window cleaning for the winter. I figure in San Francisco I may, emphasizing may, be able to do better due to the better weather and the increased likelihood of there being dirty windows as a result of the salt spray.
In Florida I bought a small tent and started camping in secluded areas with no problem at all. Only the homeless ever ended up knowing where I was camping and most times even they didn't.
Of course I have had some help in regard to all this. God has shown me great favor and has opened doors for me in near if not outrightly miraculous ways. I have often been down to under $10 in the past year on any given day and always, and I mean always, God has opened a door for me to find work such that I have always had enough to eat, a place to sleep, and otherwise.
I do not use soup kitchens, I am not on welfare, and work for what I want. If I can't earn enough I don't get what I want.
I have to decide in the next few days what to do. I can't really stay here. My truck which was my home broke down completely and though I could fix it my insurance company wants an inspection which my truck won't pass at this point in time (due to other things wrong with it - minor but technically neccessary). Winter is coming and I cannot just buy a tent and put it up in the bitter cold up here.
My only choices here are to enter a mission (where they treat you like dirt - without dignity), rent from a friend (ok but not the best option for several reasons I won't go into here), or rent space in someone's driveway for my truck and tow it there (such that I continue to have somewhere to sleep - in my truck). None of these options are very good and given the better weather down South and the greater potential to continue doing some window cleaning through the winter there...it seems best for me to make the jump to the South at this time.
Anyway...thanks again for the input. Much appreciated.
In California you can only park in the same spot on the street for 72 hours at a time before you risk being ticketed or towed, even if there are no other signs prohibiting parking. That alone would make life very difficult.
Understood. Incidentally for what it is worth....I have been living in my truck for close to four years in a city where there is a 72 hour limit. I've never had a problem with such at all.
One must look for good parking spots, mark them on a map, and not stick to one parking spot too often. Alternating between one's preferred spots. It works.
One must also be discreet and sleep in the truck in a manner that is not readily apparent so that one's truck blends into the background.
I've never had a problem with the authorities for sleeping in my truck. Although I have been stopped numerous times for various things that were not related to living in my truck per se such that they found out I was (like faulty tail light, parked in an odd place while working on my laptop, and other such reasons).
Most people that live out of their vehicle are very indiscreet and are quite obvious. And they do what they do to the point of becoming a nuisance.
Yes San Diego and San Francisco are some of the most expensive places in the US but all the better for my window cleaning. More rich folks to offer my window cleaning services to (I know...I know...rich folks won't hire someone who lives in their truck or camps out...baloney!). I have over 200 clients where I live many of whom have gorgeous houses and are very well off if not downright rich. Some of my customers routinely leave me in their houses for hours at a time while I finish my window cleaning. Foolish of them? Maybe. But I am also a man of integrity and perhaps, just perhaps, they realize that about me and have come to trust me.
As I said...I have had help from God through all this and want to give credit where credit is due.
I've done it. I know what I am talking about is possible. I just hope that I can repeat some of this in San Diego or San Francisco. We'll see I guess.
Anyway...thanks again for the input. Much appreciated.
I think most of you didn't read the other post that I put up in the San Diego forum. I won't have a vehicle at all. Rather I will buy a small pup tent, buy a monthly buss pass, go to the end of the line somewhere and hike into secluded spots where I can possibly pitch my tent just for the night, and continue doing that until I can generate enough money to get a vehicle.
I will shower at gyms (obtaining a monthly gym pass) and will not really live out of my storage unit per se. Rather I will store whatever belongings I bring down with me there - such that I can't keep tagging along with me.
Regarding work...I will be bringing down my window cleaning equipment with me (with the exception of a pole and bucket which I can buy there). I am relatively sure that I can get some window cleaning work enough to survive and use the bus system to get to and from whatever jobs I get.
Now lest anyone think this is all some kind of hairbrained idea...I have done most if not all of the above elsewhere. Presently I am in Canada. Have no vehicle and have been making very good money travelling around by bus doing window cleaning. In a city where there is a lot of window cleaning competition.
I solicit one day. I then travel to whatever jobs I have managed to get the next. Today I am scheduled to do a large store in a mall and to finish up a house I did yesterday. All told about $165 just for today! Not bad if I do say so myself.
I don't know if I could generate that kind of income in San Francisco but I am betting on their being enough quick window cleaning work to keep me surviving until I find something better or can afford a truck - at which point I can REALLY do window cleaning work.
Mind you I am doing the window cleaning I am talking about in the off season here. In an already very cold climate. At a time when most people have given up on window cleaning for the winter. I figure in San Francisco I may, emphasizing may, be able to do better due to the better weather and the increased likelihood of there being dirty windows as a result of the salt spray.
In Florida I bought a small tent and started camping in secluded areas with no problem at all. Only the homeless ever ended up knowing where I was camping and most times even they didn't.
Of course I have had some help in regard to all this. God has shown me great favor and has opened doors for me in near if not outrightly miraculous ways. I have often been down to under $10 in the past year on any given day and always, and I mean always, God has opened a door for me to find work such that I have always had enough to eat, a place to sleep, and otherwise.
I do not use soup kitchens, I am not on welfare, and work for what I want. If I can't earn enough I don't get what I want.
I have to decide in the next few days what to do. I can't really stay here. My truck which was my home broke down completely and though I could fix it my insurance company wants an inspection which my truck won't pass at this point in time (due to other things wrong with it - minor but technically neccessary). Winter is coming and I cannot just buy a tent and put it up in the bitter cold up here.
My only choices here are to enter a mission (where they treat you like dirt - without dignity), rent from a friend (ok but not the best option for several reasons I won't go into here), or rent space in someone's driveway for my truck and tow it there (such that I continue to have somewhere to sleep - in my truck). None of these options are very good and given the better weather down South and the greater potential to continue doing some window cleaning through the winter there...it seems best for me to make the jump to the South at this time.
Anyway...thanks again for the input. Much appreciated.
Carlos
1. San Francisco and Florida are two completely different environments. There is no "un-developed" land in San Francisco as there is in Florida. That is why real estate is so expensive. The only areas would be in some of the parks, but police are now starting to crack down on homeless people who camp in the parks because of criminal acts.
2. Many people don't realize how cold San Francisco truly is. I don't think you could survive the winter and many days in the summer in a tent, unless you were on crack or drunk. It is simply too cold and not just a cold, but a humid moist cold that goes straight through your clothes.
3. If you ever do manage to save enough for a car, you now have to save more than you would in other cities because of the parking situation. San Francisco as I said, isn't 72 hour parking, it's 2 hour parking throughout the day and free parking overnight is EXTREMElLY difficult to find without having a physical address. If you have a physical address you get get a parking permit which allows you to park in that area because you live there.
4. Keep in mind California is loaded with cheap labor, so you will have much competition and just because you live in an expensive area, won't mean you will get the big bucks in your line of work.
5. I'm not trying to throw you down, it's seriously for your own good. Not San Francisco, trust me on that. San Diego maybe...at least there are some open areas, it's more spread out, you can find areas that aren't patroled by police etc and if you really can't make it there, Las Vegas isn't that far away. Just don't think because you made it in Florida, you can do it in San Francisco, they are do completely different worlds. I really wish you the best and I give you credit for what you're trying to do, but really think twice about it or at least have enough money saved up for a plane ticket back to Canada in case you join the thousands of homeless in California.
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