When growing old means living in your car

[BigNick]

[Yet] Another gloomy retirement article. (I hope this hasn't already been posted - I looked around a little and didn't see it.)

When Growing Old Means Living in Your Car, Working in an Amazon Warehouse

 

[W2R]

Reminds me of what I saw at Slab City, almost 40 years ago. Lots of retirees camping, most trying to live on insufficient funds.

Even worse were those living in refrigerator boxes closer to the Mexican border at that time.

 

[FIREd]

I follow a Youtube channel featuring many retirees living in vans or RVs, most often out of necessity:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAj7O3LCDbkIR54hAn6Zz7A

I admire and respect these people's ability to make the best out of an often difficult situation.

 

[brett]

This might work for my SIL/BIL. They have always had new cars, two of them, in the driveway for as long as I can remember. Even when they were first married.

We used bikes for four years while living downtown. Both our vehicles are ten plus years old. We paid cash for both when buying them used.

This is one of the reasons why SIL/BIL may live in the cars (if it they not been re-possessed) when they retire at 70 or so. But at least they will be late model vehicles to live in.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

This is one of the reasons why SIL/BIL may live in the cars (if it they not been re-possessed) when they retire at 70 or so. But at least they will be late model vehicles to live in.

Lol, gently suggest to them a large van or SUV with fold down seats might be a good option for their next purchase

 

[NW-Bound]

There are quite a few bloggers I read who like to live in an RV as a lifestyle choice, and they do not work. Quite a few stopped their nomadic travel suddenly after a few years, and settled down in a house. Looks like they got tired of it, after seeing enough of the US.

And yes, there are also RV'ers who work as oil patch gate guards in Texas, or at sugar-beet harvests in northern states like Montana, North Dakota, etc... Being more mobile allows them to work different jobs, but some of them do only seasonal jobs.

[Yet] Another gloomy retirement article. (I hope this hasn't already been posted - I looked around a little and didn't see it.)

When Growing Old Means Living in Your Car, Working in an Amazon Warehouse

I wonder what catches your attention, as you are an European. Do people do this in Europe, or is this lifestyle mostly an American phenomenon?

 

[audreyh1]

There are quite a few bloggers I read who like to live in an RV as a lifestyle choice, and they do not work. Quite a few stopped their nomadic travel suddenly after a few years, and settled down in a house. Looks like they got tired of it, after seeing enough of the US.

Could be. We bought a house after five years full time RVing and we really did see a huge amount of the US in detail. Now we are more interested in overseas travel.

 

[JDARNELL]

I too follow this community on you tube and clearly a lot of people live this way out of necessity but there are others by choice. In fact a lot by choice. They have raised their families, became widowed, or newly single and have realized they want to do more and see more without the trappings of large houses, massive debt etc. Or maybe they are reliving their youth. I know some of the happiest days of my life was when I was young backpacking in Europe or knowing that all my stuff would fit into two bags and I could go on the drop of a dime. Now as my wife and I begin our planning to be empty nesters we are looking towards a nomadic or small home base with lots of travel lifestyle. Of course much more resources to utilize as compared to when I was in my 20s.

These people seem to take pride in their self reliance. Many of these people like the sense of community or the sense of controlling their personal interactions. Last January at the 'Rubber Tramp Rondevou' they had over 1000 people in attendance. The youtube link above to Bobs channel is probably the most unbiased view of this lifestyle. He lays out the good and bad and has for years. For him this lifestyle is what he enjoys and he is truly passionate about helping others.

 

[NW-Bound]

Could be. We bought a house after five years full time RVing and we really did see a huge amount of the US in detail. Now we are more interested in overseas travel.

I know you have settled down, but 5 years is not that long.

Another poster here, heyduke, started in 2009 and they are still on the road. However, I recall they once thought of parking that motorhome and calling it quit, but then kept going.

Can't believe it's 8 years already. I looked into getting an RV to try it as a travel style at about the same time they went full-time living in one.

I have not done an RV trip yet this year due to the long European trip. I may do a year-end trip later, but am busy with some home projects right now.

 

[NW-Bound]

The thread title and the referenced article say "Living in a Car", but an RV is not a car.

We have traveled for up to 2 months in our 25' class C, and it was quite comfortable. Many full-timers live in a larger class A or 5th-wheel trailer.

To see how one lives in a car, see the following youtube by a young man who lives in a Honda Civic, not even a van.

PS. Later, he upgraded to living in a U-Haul storage locker. All clandestinely, of course.

 

[Koogie]

I'm not even American and I found the article very politically biased.

Really distracts from whatever point it is she was trying to make.

 

[audreyh1]

I know you have settled down, but 5 years is not that long.

Another poster here, heyduke, started in 2009 and they are still on the road. However, I recall they once thought of parking that motorhome and calling it quit, but then kept going.

Can't believe it's 8 years already. I looked into getting an RV to try it as a travel style at about the same time they went full-time living in one.

I have not done an RV trip yet this year due to the long European trip. I may do a year-end trip later, but am busy with some home projects right now.

It might not be that long, but we traveled continually, going from one coast to the other and back each of those five years. So we saw a heck of a lot, often more than once.

 

[RobbieB]

I got hit up by RV bums for gas on the interstate. Yeah, get off to gas up the car and this guy (with a wife and family) in a big box on wheels comes over with a gas can and pleads for me to fill his can. I gave him 5 bucks worth. They hit you up while you're still pumping so it's harder to say no. I think the family scouts for the man and tells him when to approach and then gets out to look sad. Amazing.

Not old people either, younger than me.

 

[NW-Bound]

In an RV trek, at a rest area somewhere south of Bend, Oregon, I saw an old man with his decrepit motorhome asking for money. He had a sign saying he needed some money to fix the suspension of his MH, which was obviously sagging in one corner.

So, I stopped to talk to him, and he had a receipt showing what he paid for the necessary part from a junk yard, but needed another few hundred bucks for a shop to install it. He looked genuine, so I gave him some money, maybe $10. I was stopping for lunch, so could see him from inside my RV for about 1/2 hour. Not many people were giving him money.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I got hit up by RV bums for gas on the interstate. Yeah, get off to gas up the car and this guy (with a wife and family) in a big box on wheels comes over with a gas can and pleads for me to fill his can. I gave him 5 bucks worth. They hit you up while you're still pumping so it's harder to say no. I think the family scouts for the man and tells him when to approach and then gets out to look sad. Amazing.

Not old people either, younger than me.

hahaha, they knew you were loaded.

 

[kitesurfer2]

I lived in my van for 3 weeks...

 

[pb4uski]

I'm not even American and I found the article very politically biased.

Really distracts from whatever point it is she was trying to make.

+1 but I am American.

 

[Nemo2]

I lived in my van for 3 weeks...

Yabbut, where did the other three Yorkshiremen sleep?

 

[Bigdawg]

Reminds me of what I saw at Slab City, almost 40 years ago. Lots of retirees camping, most trying to live on insufficient funds.

Even worse were those living in refrigerator boxes closer to the Mexican border at that time.

Impossible. 40 years ago EVERYONE had DBP. Oh wait.

 

[Scrapr]

City of Portland has a problem with owners of beat up broken down RVs not being able (want to) pay to salvage them. So they list them on Craigslist for $50. And the homeless buy them. Then they park on the street in front of your house....for weeks. There are industrial areas that the RVs are lined up for blocks

Portland just announced a free RV disposal day.

 

[Amethyst]

And could walk through any employer's door, demand a job and get one on the spot! And buy a house when they were 22! It's everywhere on the Internet (google Old Economy Steve) so it must be true.

Impossible. 40 years ago EVERYONE had DBP. Oh wait.

 

[W2R]

Reminds me of what I saw at Slab City, almost 40 years ago. Lots of retirees camping, most trying to live on insufficient funds.

Even worse were those living in refrigerator boxes closer to the Mexican border at that time.

Impossible. 40 years ago EVERYONE had DBP. Oh wait.

And could walk through any employer's door, demand a job and get one on the spot! And buy a house when they were 22! It's everywhere on the Internet (google Old Economy Steve) so it must be true.

Yeah, ask anyone. All Americans had boatloads of money, and a free ticket to ride, right? Also nobody had to work two jobs while going to college, just to pay for it, and then end up with a degree and no job opportunities. Oh wait.

What impressed me the most about Slab City, was the attitudes of the people we met there (yes, we walked around all day there, and met and chatted with quite a few of them). Despite having almost nothing, and being old and sick with a bleak future ahead, they were not wallowing in self pity and seemed to be having fun hanging out with others just like them. They were concerned about one another and tried to help others there. Some were criminals, and the others warned us and told us who to avoid. Most seemed like nice people to us.

By the time we left, I was determined to not end up like them.

 

[NW-Bound]

City of Portland has a problem with owners of beat up broken down RVs not being able (want to) pay to salvage them. So they list them on Craigslist for $50. And the homeless buy them. Then they park on the street in front of your house....for weeks. There are industrial areas that the RVs are lined up for blocks

Portland just announced a free RV disposal day.

I recently watched a British movie on DVD called "The lady in the van (2015)". It was a true story about a crazy old woman who lived in a van parked in the suburb of London.

When the town chased her off the street, a man took pity and let her parked in his driveway. And that was where she stayed for 15 years. The good-hearted man eventually found out about the past of the woman, and that she used to be a talented musician.

The DVD may be at a public library near you.

 

[GravitySucks]

Living in this the last three weeks +.

Had a drunk claim the non profit I was camp hosting for was taking advantage of us destitute volunteers.

 

[Fermion]

You guys are too stuck up. I make $150,000 with a few clicks of the mouse and then go poop in a bucket and put cat litter on top. Heck ya!

We take a shower outside too (we did not build one in the RV for space/humidity reasons). I do use a couple of tarps so the deer don't see me private parts.