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NEVER, EVER sleep at a rest stop. It is one of the most dangerous places to be, especially alone. I have a friend who has researched many murders that have happened at rest stops. Don't do it.
I slept at rest stops when I was driving from Minnesota to Washington a couple years ago and had no problems. There were a lot of others doing the same thing. In fact, one woman came out of the rest stop restroom wearing a housecoat in the morning. Apparently it's not a whole lot riskier than shopping at a mall.
I wasn't homeless but I was doing a lot of travelling and often couldn't get a hotel and had to sleep in my car. I would try to find a safe spot. There is nothing wrong with pulling over to sleep because it is a safety measure. If you don't look homeless then you would be bothered less.
It depends on where you are. In my area the threat I would feel would be from other homeless people. They hang around businesses and sleep in parks and doorways for shelter. I would avoid the parking lots of businesses that would attract vagrancy. I would more likely find a secluded place in a residential area that was not near a business. I wouldn't park in the same place twice, but other people on this thread have more experience then I do.
Parking lots in general seem like a bad idea because that attracts attention, though some suggestions were good.
The Walmart in my area is scummy and I would never park there.
When I was travelling from Minnesota to California, that was a dream because the rest stops are nice along that route, especially in Nebraska. They take pride in their rest stops.
I used to drive back to my old town in Maryland for weekend visits. I'd get into town around 1AM on Friday night. Instead of paying $100 for a 6 hour hotel room, I'd simply park in the hotel lot, in with the other parked cars. Then I'd recline my seat and catch forty winks. I'd go about my business on Saturday and then sleep like a baby in the hotel that night.
I wasn't homeless but I was doing a lot of travelling and often couldn't get a hotel and had to sleep in my car. I would try to find a safe spot. There is nothing wrong with pulling over to sleep because it is a safety measure. If you don't look homeless then you would be bothered less.
It depends on where you are. In my area the threat I would feel would be from other homeless people. They hang around businesses and sleep in parks and doorways for shelter. I would avoid the parking lots of businesses that would attract vagrancy. I would more likely find a secluded place in a residential area that was not near a business. I wouldn't park in the same place twice, but other people on this thread have more experience then I do.
Parking lots in general seem like a bad idea because that attracts attention, though some suggestions were good.
The Walmart in my area is scummy and I would never park there.
When I was travelling from Minnesota to California, that was a dream because the rest stops are nice along that route, especially in Nebraska. They take pride in their rest stops.
Just a couple of weeks go, a woman traveling alone from Helena, MT to Butte (or maybe the opposite) was kidnapped from a rest stop & put in the trunk of her car. She was talking to her family on her cellphone from the trunk, but she was still murdered. The guy used her debit card to buy gas in several places along I-90, including Ritzville, WA, pretty far from where he abducted her.
I slept at rest stops when I was driving from Minnesota to Washington a couple years ago and had no problems. There were a lot of others doing the same thing. In fact, one woman came out of the rest stop restroom wearing a housecoat in the morning. Apparently it's not a whole lot riskier than shopping at a mall.
There are some scary statistics about murders at rest stops...
Wasn't that story about the woman in the trunk supposed to be a hoax?
Tangelag, I used to live next door to a creep who would call the cops and threaten to shoot someone and the cops would cordon off my block occasionally to get him. I've also worked grave in a 7-11 and had to walk through downtown Seattle every night after work to get to the ferry. And I've lived rough in so many places that sleeping at a rest stop wouldn't worry me at all.
might be becoming homeless soon. I was thinking at a parking lot of a Church. Any other ideas where I won't be likely be bothered by anyone trying to sleep
No matter where you go you are going to be hassled particularly by the cops,people tend to not like vagrants settling into their neighborhoods.The car is also going to cost money for gas/insurance/repairs etc. IMO youd be better off at a homeless shelter where you will get a comfortable bed and 2-3 squares a day,also homeless shelters usually have social workers to facilitate the needs of the homeless.
Bottom line you need to get a job so you can move out of this homeless situation as quickly as possible.
Another thought ,winter is coming,it wont work in a car.
Um, Jambo, most homeless shelters kick you out at the crack of dawn. There are people who wait for the homeless to leave the shelters so they can attack them. Personally, I'd stay in my car. At least I wouldn't have to worry about my things being stolen or possibly picking up TB or bed bugs in my car. And if you have a decent sleeping bag, it's perfectly possible to sleep in your car in winter. People camp out in cold weather all the time.
If this is still being checked, you park at night on a street by some rvs who are obviously camping there as well. Crack the windows so they don't fog up and completelycover yourself up in the back seat. Hat on your head. Hospitals and Apartment buildings check their parking lots. Casinos used to be good.
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