Sleeping in my car in SD? (San Diego, Alpine: RV park, mattress, home)

[peasantgirl]

RD5050: I work from "home" with a laptop, and noise doesn't bother me (earplugs if they do). The first thing I did was look at rooms for rent. That's an option in the future once I know which neighborhoods to avoid, and maybe meet some people so that I at least halfway know the person I'm sharing with.

Bathroom in the middle of the night? 24 hour walmart or c-store. I don't care if I have to buy a soda to use the loo. (I just won't drink it til the next day, lol.)

Eurofresh: that's just it, I don't HAVE to do it - I'm choosing to do it. I'm not going to be flat broke, unemployed, desperate, whatever. I'm *choosing* to sleep in the car so that I can spend my money on fun stuff. And, again, it's not going to be for forever - just until it gets "cold" again. By then I will definitely have a roof over my head! But I would like to point out that it was 36 degrees last night where I live (in the mountains) and I didn't turn the heat on. I'm honestly not worried about SD being too cold for me But the novelty of a tramp's life will have surely worn off by then and I'm sure I'll be missing life's little conveniences, like toilets and a hot shower just down the hall, etc...so I'll find something more permanent by then.

beera: I don't plan on parking in risky areas - that's the point of this thread - so that I can know what to watch out for and avoid. I will never stay in the same place twice in a row. I will strive to be considered a tourist, not a "transient". There are 2 casinos that allow free parking in their (guarded) lots. There over a dozen locations from 20 minutes to an hour away on BLM land, and places like Cleveland National Forest and other places where I can car-camp or pitch a tent for as little as $5/night.



This thread has been very helpful. I originally was thinking I would have to stay in SD every night but now I realize I can just drive in on the 2 or 3 days a week that I have to be there. I can stay in a casino lot, a hostel, or a cheap motel, and then the rest of the week I'll stay in a state park or national forest.

Ceece: I use to be a long-distance truckdriver. Sometimes I had to "go" and it could be an hour to the next truckstop or rest area. If I can wait an hour then I guess I can wait 5-10 minutes to find a 24hr c-store/diner/walmart/...

moved: Haha, there's always adult diapers, lol! Remember that female astronaut that supposedly wore adult diapers all the way from texas to Florida to accuse her boyfriend of cheating on her? I don't know if that part was true but you reminded me of it

Bakeneko: On the side of the street is the last place I'd want to be anyway. I'm trying to identify specific locations that don't scream "transient" or "homeless".

oddstray: Amen to everything you said, and thx for the support. This is going to be such a challenge (in a good way!). If I thought it was going to be easy I wouldn't even want to do it. I'm moving out of my comfort zone, ya know?

1AngryTaxPayer: Yeah, I wondered about the nighttime temps in the desert. I do have a smallish inverter from my trucking days that can be installed in my car and I'll use an electric blanket (or 3!) if it gets real cold (and a cap, and 2 pairs of thick socks and "silks" - from my Appalachian Trail days - under my long-johns, lol). I know how to stay warm!

When I moved into this house it was a wreck and I lived in it while it was being renovated. The first winter I didn't have power, running water, heat, etc. Had to pour water into the toilets to flush them, kept my groceries in a cooler, lived by the natural rhythms of nature (went to bed when it got dark, got up when it was light, who needed lights? My point is, I'm not a pampered kinda girl - I didn't consider it a hardship to live like that, I considered it a cool story to tell afterwards.

and 1AngryTaxPayer? The weather is the one thing I can't wait for. I could go to other locations that would pay much more with a lower COL, but I have lived in sticky hot humid weather for 41 years and sorry for the caps BUT I HATE IT!!! I would endure a lot for some nice DRY sunshiney days!

hitman619: I don't plan on staying in WM lots. If they're anything like around here, they run people off pretty quick. BUT, you know how people will park way out in the perimeter of the lot? They're begging to be run off. I was thinking if I was gonna sleep in a WM lot as a last resort, then I would park as close to the entrance as possible, get in the PASSENGER side and then I would (hopefully) look like I was just waiting for someone else who was shopping in the store.
Haha, a sugar daddy, now there's a thought, lol...


Look guys, some of y'all worry too much. I'm not going to go into this completely blind. I am the ultimate planner, lol. I always have a plan A, B, C, and D, lol. If 100,000 homeless (or however many it is, I forget the number) with no resources, no car, some of them with kids, or addiction problems, etc, can survive there, then I guess I'll be ok

All I really hoped out of this thread was some suggestions for the bad areas to avoid, so I wouldn't have to find out the hard way. I appreciate the knowledge I have gained from y'all and the advice given.

[peasantgirl]

Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1

I just don't get it. You ask why should you downgrade to an apt. or room, when you have a house? Sleeping in your car isn't a downgrade?? You say you dress business like, so no one would suspect you are homeless...yet you say all you need to work is a Internet connection.

Yeah, I can see how it's confusing. My job is basically a few assignments a week where I go to retail locations and do my thing, and then turn in the results into my company's website. So I dress professionally for that. So there's no one location where I have to show up on a regular basis and see co-workers or anything. I'm an independent contractor. The businesses don't even know I'm coming. I completely set my own hours - as long as I meet my deadlines, my boss doesn't care how I get it done.

And yes, sleeping in my car (or tent) IS a downgrade from my house...BUT... I'm not having to pay out the wazoo for the privilege of living with people who are rude, dirty, noisy, etc...KWIM?

[peasantgirl]

Originally Posted by bloom

1. Where do you work online? At a coffee shop or something?
2. You remind me another poster here Carlos.
3. You also remind me of the old bit with Chris Farley living in the RV by the (SD) river (in MV).
[hulu=http://www.flickr.com/photos/4183]jT5PtOqWjmH9J-RxMLvkXw[/hulu]Watch Saturday Night Live: Down By The River online | Free | Hulu[/url]

You People Are Crazy | Hitek Homeless Hey bloom, you don't have to read the whole thing, just the third paragraph!

[slo1318]

Such an unstable lifestyle sounds anything but enjoyable, basically living in the shadows...

[Matt518]

Why not just sell the car, buy a small RV and use that until you find something more permanent? There are people living in RV's ALL OVER San Diego. You can probably park on just about any side street for the night and be ok - I used to see them all over the side streets in Chula Vista. You can drive it anywhere you need to go, and it would also solve most of the issues that have been addressed in this thread also - cooking, sleeping comfort, restroom, etc. If you were to go that way, I'd say go for it.

[peasantgirl]

slo1318: You say tomato, I say tomahto.

Matt518: I know nothing about RVs and I happen to like my car very much. Also, I have seen on more than one website recently that SD is cracking down on RVs parked on the street.

Also, about cooking, I don't really cook. I eat mostly a raw food diet. I used to be a junk food junkie but I've found that I just feel so much better when I cut out the processed stuff. So, lots of fruit, veggies, nuts, etc...

The only thing that I see being a PITA is needing a bathroom is the middle of the night and that's not going to be an every night thing. I'm only going to be in my car in SD 1 or 2 nights a week and I'll just try not to drink too much before bed, lol.

[oddstray]

SD is cracking down on larger RVs. Van-type vehicles, not so much.

[slo1318]

Originally Posted by peasantgirl

slo1318: You say tomato, I say tomahto.

Matt518: I know nothing about RVs and I happen to like my car very much. Also, I have seen on more than one website recently that SD is cracking down on RVs parked on the street.

Also, about cooking, I don't really cook. I eat mostly a raw food diet. I used to be a junk food junkie but I've found that I just feel so much better when I cut out the processed stuff. So, lots of fruit, veggies, nuts, etc...

The only thing that I see being a PITA is needing a bathroom is the middle of the night and that's not going to be an every night thing. I'm only going to be in my car in SD 1 or 2 nights a week and I'll just try not to drink too much before bed, lol.

You're obviously a free thinker citizen of the world type, but you must admit "tomahto" is spelled incorrectly..

[bloom]

Originally Posted by peasantgirl

The only thing that I see being a PITA is needing a bathroom is the middle of the night and that's not going to be an every night thing. I'm only going to be in my car in SD 1 or 2 nights a week and I'll just try not to drink too much before bed, lol.

Where are you staying the other 5-6 nights per week?

Be glad you're not a middle-aged to elderly man needing to regularly urinate in middle of night; though if you were, you could just use a bottle, being careful not to spill.

[teddyearp]

peasantgirl: go for it. You've got a lot of good advice in this thread, and forget the naysayers.

I have lived like that a few times in my life and now a days when I take a road trip live like it again.

I second the opinion about public lands, even NF lands near Alpine might be good. Takes care of the problem of having to tinkle in the middle. I also second the opinion not to stay in one place twice.

Enjoy your adventure!