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The other thing you can't do if you are a van dweller or RVer without other property, is keep a garden. I have organic berries growing from the spring through the fall that I would have to pay $24/lb for if I didn't grow them myself. So in one respect, if you grow your own food, food can be cheaper if you live in a regular house with a garden.
On the other hand, one thing you could do if you were a van dweller is choose spots in cities that have big produce terminals where you can get organic produce for 75 percent or more less than retail. I'm at least a 2 hour drive from a decent produce terminal with organic produce so I am forced to pay retail for some of the things I buy
I could see having a little cabin with land, a rainwater catchment system and maybe a green house that I could park a van or RV on.
Someone mentioned that "nobody lives in an RV unless they HAVE to" and actually that is not the case. There were some young people that do a lot of backpacking and their work relates to that who lived in their vans that Bob Wells interviewed. There was also a traveling nurse and a speech pathologist he interviewed who both got jobs in the parts of the country they wanted to be in certain times of year. They both had had homes and actually CHOSE to live in RVs instead. These people were "saving" money - but they probably both had mortgages or were paying rent.
This is my Oregon 'shed' I've been working on for a couple of years. Its 200 sq ft which does not require a building permit. The porch is also 200 sq ft and that is where the kitchen is. This summer I added the bathroom on the side of the porch. I connected it to the septic system after learning to do plumbing from library books. These were actually portable buildings built to my specifcations.
Previously I lost everything I owned in the central Texas forest fire. But I worked hard and now everything here is paid for, including the 8 and a half acres of mountainside up against the national forest.
Nice little setup you have there. My compliments to you on,
1) making it work without huge sums of funding.
2) making it work in an area that looks like is quite self-sufficient (water and water rights is a huge stumbling block in many areas)
3) bucking the social beehive trend of urbanization and collectivism.
4) making it work on a small, practical, and not "over your head" (financially) scale.
Very few make it work on a shoestring budget AND stick to it.
That's criminal. I've never heard of such a thing. I thought they had to abide by HUD rules? And give preference to families which they are, sigh. So did he go to the bottom of the list again? Or just got bumped? If he is living locally I don't understand where he works making a difference. That's so sad for them. What do they expect them to do? He has to work where he makes enough. Stupid red tape .
HUD allows local housing agencies to impose their own rules, that particular one is apparently fairly common. Last time I talked to him he said he was still on the list but got bumped down to a different category and that they had filled the openings with people that work locally. He's trying to get his old job back at the local Safeway so he will at least have a better shot at it next time there are openings
Heres the inside so far. I still have to insulate, wire, build walls and floor. I built this furniture from kits Yes, I hauled English china, (Blue Willow) all the way out there for the china cabinet. Priorities, you know.
Here is a link on Quartzsite where that first car lady was staying. I guess it's quite the place although I've never heard of it before one of our posters filled us in today.
There are homes in many parts of the country where you can buy a home for $50K or less. You will need some closing cost money but you may be able to find a grant to cover it or find a mortgage broker that includes the closing costs in the loan.
I'm not from Missouri, but show me anyway. I've seen some $50,000 homes and all I can say is, you better have another $50,000 to fix them up.
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Originally Posted by Wilson513
No it doesn't. And, it doesn't count SSI for most disabled persons.
Hello *knock, knock* Yes, it does.
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Originally Posted by mlulu23
8 to 10 yrs? That's insane! You could die from the elements, or old age by then.
Hey, yo! Where have you been? It's been that way for decades. In the 80s in California, I was told it was a 10 year wait then. And that's when Section 8 is open. Many, many cities close their Section 8 because the backlog of people waiting for an apartment is so long. I think my county closed it back in 2009 or something and it wasn't open again until about 2016.
On top of that, having a Section 8 apartment doesn't guarantee you anything. In the last couple of years in my area, apartment buildings have been bought up by investors from other states. The residents are kicked out, the apartments are renovated, and the rent is raised - way beyond what the original resident were paying.
BREMERTON — Residents can apply to join a waiting list for rental assistance vouchers this week.
Housing Kitsap opened an application period for Section 8 housing vouchers Monday and will continue to taking applications through Feb. 15.
One hundred qualifying applicants will be entered into a lottery to determine who will be placed on the waiting list for vouchers. (This means you have to win the freaking Section 8 lottery just to get on the list!)
Section 8 is a federally funded rental assistance program for lower-income households. Anyone can apply.
"We're urging people to take advantage of this waiting-list opening," said Kurt Wiest, executive director of Bremerton Housing Authority, which administers the program."
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Originally Posted by Nurse Bishop
Yes.
Heres the inside so far. I still have to insulate, wire, build walls and floor. I built this furniture from kits Yes, I hauled English china, (Blue Willow) all the way out there for the china cabinet. Priorities, you know.
I built this kitchen sink too.
This is lovely and is something I'm planning to do, but there could be a few more problems in my neck of the woods.
If I need to connect even a 200 sqft shed to electricity, I need a permit. And especially if I connect to a septic system, I need a permit. Now I could go without, but we do have inspectors out here and if they catch you living like this without permits, they'll order you off the property and fine you if you're caught living on it again. In fact, even if I buy land, I can't live on it in my my car. So it's something I'm trying to work around.
Last edited by rodentraiser; 12-04-2017 at 08:30 PM..
Yeah, it's kind of ugly, but it's free. Some folks don't mind the desert. I find it depressing. The national/state parks while prettier would get expensive quickly.
Some state and national parks have campgrounds but have a time limit. You can not disperse camp in these parks; you can only camp in designated campgrounds. An exception, I think, is Death Valley. We disperse camp a lot, it is free, and you need to abide by certain rules like only camping where a campsite has been established (a fire ring, for example), away from water and not driving off the road.
Lately, in our travels, we have encountered what we call the blue tarp campers: blue tarp covering their car or truck. This is particularly prevalent near population areas like the Oregon Coast. It is difficult to boon dock along the coast except in national and state forests. Now, we have lost our favorite spots to what we call squatters or full-time campers. While we only stay a night or two, these people stay until kicked out or they move on. There is a BLM camogroun$ at Bastendorf Beach near Charleston, OR, I believe. While free, it was spooky due to two trashed derelict RVs. One looked like it was being occupied.
Hey, yo! Where have you been? It's been that way for decades.
Chill! You could instruct without being smug. Do you think it could possibly be that I, and others have never looked into section 8 before??? So how could I possibly be expected to know that hmm? I've lived in a hud senior apartment before so I do understand that.
I think some people do enjoy the freedom of a nomadic lifestyle. 800 a month is not the end of the world, get a few roomates in a low cost of living area and make it work. Be a nanny or elder caregiver, and get a place to live for free. There are options.
I'm not from Missouri, but show me anyway. I've seen some $50,000 homes and all I can say is, you better have another $50,000 to fix them up.
There are certain states with high costs of living where 59K homes won't be found, but in others you can still find them, and they will be smaller and outdated, but the plumbing and electrical and roof will be okay to move in, especially if you get an FHA loan all of this will have to pass inspection beforehand. You can still find $50K homes in parts of the south such as in areas of Florida and the surrounding states and even in the middle of the country and Ohio. Prices are going up as the deals from the housing crash are going back up, I know in my area you can't find homes in that price range anymore unless it's a mobile home, but you may be able to drive an hour north and find a decent home.
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