Living Car Free - Living Car-free and Home-free!

Zeppinger...Once you have reached the age of 18 you are an adult, and can be judged by exactly the same standards that one who has reached 50 can. If you are car free and house free and totally on your own, that is commendable. If you are using other peoples couches more that 30% of nights, you are a mooch, the same as you would be if you were 40 or 50...being in college makes no difference, college is for adults, not children.

Zeppinger...Once you have reached the age of 18 you are an adult, and can be judged by exactly the same standards that one who has reached 50 can. If you are car free and house free and totally on your own, that is commendable. If you are using other peoples couches more that 30% of nights, you are a mooch, the same as you would be if you were 40 or 50...being in college makes no difference, college is for adults, not children.

Ha! I dont know if you aware of this buy college is pretty expensive. Everyone in college is in someway or another a "mooch." You are either getting money from the government or from your parents becuase no one can pay their own way unless you want to be in school until your 40. Get over yourself.

Incentive to live home free is a lot less here in Haiti. I'm told a typical home costs about $5000 US, but homes here don't include provisions for electricity, heat, cooling, running water, etc. Cell phones are common but people pay for each charge at a small business run by somebody with a solar panel or generator.

If you like, you can read more about my stay in haiti (http://haiti-hope.blogspot.com).

I really enjoyed your blog and I plan to follow it throughout your stay in Haiti. You sure found a way to combine simple living, education, service and adventure in one "package"! Best of luck and keep in touch with us if you can find the time.

What's the story on bikes in Haiti?

The only difficulty with just a PO Box is travelling between countries. When you travel to another country, customs likes to have a street address of where you currently live, or they think you're a risk potential for trying to move to that country to obtain work.

If you're going to travel, get a street address ... even if it is your parents' address or something like that.

Do a realtor.com search in smaller 100,000-200,000 person cities that are up to 100 miles away from major cities (and often in college towns). You can find houses for as cheap as 5 grand or even 3.5 grand (I just bought one). They will need work and will probably be a little 2 bedroom ranch but it will provide that street address you need, and there's no reason you still can't "rent" it out to a room mate or two. Heck, 4 or 5 people of the same mindset could buy into it together for cheaper than the cost of a bike and it would be a home base with a street address for everyone. Yearly taxes on those things are like 500 bucks. Again, split 4-5 ways you're good.

You don't necessarily *need* to be house free in order to be "home" free. Just find a way to get what you need and leave the whole concept of making mortgage payments to the sheep.

Ha! I dont know if you aware of this buy college is pretty expensive. Everyone in college is in someway or another a "mooch." You are either getting money from the government or from your parents becuase no one can pay their own way unless you want to be in school until your 40. Get over yourself.

Dude I got through college and grad school twice and didn't mooch off anyone. I paid my own way undergrad and the first grad school. It can be done, just takes discipline and hard work.

As I said before, college students dont mooch off of each other. Its co-dependance and the only possible reason to try and label it as "mooching" is if you have a chip on your shoulder.

Its co-dependance and the only possible reason to try and label it as "mooching" is if you have a chip on your shoulder.

Or if you're an American politician, you call co-dependence "Hope" and "Change". :lol:

I have sneak-camped before (just for camping, not due to being home-free.) Large (not in the middle of a city) type of parks can work, stay away from places most people go like beaches etc. Don't use a campfire, get a little camp fuel stove and a small pot with a copper bottom etc.

I was biking on the seawall here in Vancouver a few days ago to go to work and saw some guys camping out on the rocky party on my way to Cambie bridge. They would be chucked out of there by the downtown "ambassadors" before too long, but I guess they were there all night in their tent without being harassed.

If I was home-free, I'd be looking for a location that was winter-free.

I guess home-free means "house-free" or (looking at it another way)... homeless.



I was visiting the Norwich, Connecticut area last weekend, and found where someone was living by the train tracks in a ravine-like area (steep hills on 3 sides basically), with a camp stove, cot, and large tarp. They also had a tarp over a large stack of firewood. It seemed ideal other than the cold winters, as you're mentioning. That'd be pretty rough/impossible.

My friend was saying the person had been there for quite some time, but couldn't speak to the winters, as he hadn't checked the area in the snow or anything.

You will probably use a lot more water if you wash clothes by hand. I guess if the water bill is included in your rent that doesn't matter as much.

As best I can tell, the water required to hand wash the way Haitians do it (once you're good at it) is the same as what it'd take to wash your laundry in a standard washing machine. (substantially less water&soap is required for expensive high-efficiency machines).

the best way is to use the bicycle to your advantage
and hopefully the person is capable enough

to constantly be on the move.

i've done this off and on

my favorite locales are Monterey to Ventura and back. i also venture a bit north
stick to the coast line for the most part.

laundry, is hugely dependent on the type of clothing you wear.

i really like drylite kind of stuff. Patagonia Capaline, etc...
Phels-Naptha soap!

If you take those $700 each month and invest them in an 8 percent annual return, it'll really add up. You'll have enough to do something like make a down payment on a house-$18,153-after two years. Five years of car-free living will net you enough.

What do you spend for alternative transportation modes, or is your (and your family's) time/comfort worthless and/or do you/they never venture beyond the range of your trusty bicycle, in order to invest all your "saved" money in guaranteed 8% investments??

BTW,
Why settle for such piddly returns with your straw man "investment" scheme?
If you invest $700 each month at a 50% return, it'll really add up even more. Send your $700 to me for a sure thing. Call me.

Bernie M.

As best I can tell, the water required to hand wash the way Haitians do it (once you're good at it) is the same as what it'd take to wash your laundry in a standard washing machine. (substantially less water&soap is required for expensive high-efficiency machines).

Nix on the soap, invest the "saved" money at 8%! Same goes on spending money for clothes or on food beyond the subsistence level. "Invest" instead! :lol:

I thought about living in the forest's of the western states, hunt on a mtb bike? Dont need to feed it, just keep a hand pump handy:)

moneyfree (http://zerocurrency.blogspot.com/)

and here (http://zerocurrency.blogspot.com/)

If you live in a mellow climate have access to a state park / beach / marina shower and a market close by to get food camping out is fun especially if its warm enough at night for you to sleep under the stars. The Mobile Shelter Bicycle Trailers tony makes look pretty cool too http://www.tonystrailers.com/mobileshelter/

cheers
Johnny

Nix on the soap, invest the "saved" money at 8%! Same goes on spending money for clothes or on food beyond the subsistence level. "Invest" instead!

You seem thouroughly convinced that the way that the lives of majority of the world's population (the ones who live on less than $2 US per day) are lives of abject misery.

You also seem to feel that anyone who suggests we take a lesson from how the majority of the world's people live is self-righteous.

I invite you to take a vacation among my friends in rural Haiti and see the beauty and joy in their lives, and in the life of anyone who spends some time among them. It requires a bit of openmindedness, but it's an absolute blast, and for very little money you can eat well, drink well, and enjoy the company of wonderful, joyful, friends.

I'm dead serious. Visit the folks I know in Haiti. I promise you'll be well taken-care-of.

Anyone at all who will be open to going without running water and electricity, and wants to try out how much fun a vacation can be where wonderful people abound, and where the trappings of material wealth are rarely to be seen, you are absolutely invited!

Your going to feel drained all the time.

You seem thouroughly convinced that the way that the lives of majority of the world's population (the ones who live on less than $2 US per day) are lives of abject misery.

You also seem to feel that anyone who suggests we take a lesson from how the majority of the world's people live is self-righteous.

I am convinced that the posters who think that every cent not spent by the majority of the world's population on anything the poster disapproves is money available for "investing", are economic dumbbells.

I'm dead serious. Visit the folks I know in Haiti. I promise you'll be well taken-care-of.



After reading this travel warning (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_917.html), I'd be suspect to even book a night's stay, and besides, I have a lot more of the U.S still to see.

You seem thouroughly convinced that the way that the lives of majority of the world's population (the ones who live on less than $2 US per day) are lives of abject misery.

You also seem to feel that anyone who suggests we take a lesson from how the majority of the world's people live is self-righteous.

I invite you to take a vacation among my friends in rural Haiti and see the beauty and joy in their lives, and in the life of anyone who spends some time among them. It requires a bit of openmindedness, but it's an absolute blast, and for very little money you can eat well, drink well, and enjoy the company of wonderful, joyful, friends.

I'm dead serious. Visit the folks I know in Haiti. I promise you'll be well taken-care-of.

Anyone at all who will be open to going without running water and electricity, and wants to try out how much fun a vacation can be where wonderful people abound, and where the trappings of material wealth are rarely to be seen, you are absolutely invited!

I doubt if I'll ever be able to visit Haiti, but I sure have enjoyed reading your accounts of it. Thanks for the great posts! :)

If there is any hope for this world, it lies in these wonderful people who live on almost nothing. They deserve our support, and I wish more people were willing to sacrifice a little of their plenty in order to make some lasting changes in the lives of the majority of our fellow citizens who have so little. A very small donation to a good organization can make life much better for a few people. Even better is the kind of personal friendship and help that people like you give so freely.

I doubt if I'll ever be able to visit Haiti, but I sure have enjoyed reading your accounts of it. Thanks for the great posts! :)

If there is any hope for this world, it lies in these wonderful people who live on almost nothing. They deserve our support, and I wish more people were willing to sacrifice a little of their plenty in order to make some lasting changes in the lives of the majority of our fellow citizens who have so little. A very small donation to a good organization can make life much better for a few people. Even better is the kind of personal friendship and help that people like you give so freely.

I haven't had a chance to catch up on cerewa's blog...yet. But we (my immediate family/church) do mission work in Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. I would love to take a trip to Cuba but so far it hasn't been possible. It is amazing how well people can do with what is provided. Too many people in the US are spoiled and short sighted.

Aaron:)

I just thought I'd chip in here with some of my recent experiences. As a background I've spent time homeless in my younger days but always in rural or natural settings never in the city. If you're unprepared it can be a strain and even dangerous but with the right previsions and preperations being homeless can be rewarding as an entertainment and learning experience.

I just returned from a 3 month adventure in homeless/carlessness. This one was actually a suprise. I moved out to the colorado Rockies with my bike, my car and my camping gear with the expectation to camp out all summer. Within the first week I totalled my car by rolling it off a cliff and in to the river, miraculously I was unharmed. As a result I took advantage of my situation. Quit my job do to the nature of the job I couldn't do it without a motor pulling me around.

So I hopped on my old 94 Specialized Rockhopper. Strapped my gear to the racks and didn't look back. The 3 months were some of the happiest I've had in years. The lesson is you don't need the nicest bike, the nicest gear, the nicest car or house to be happy. Ride Ride Ride. These kinds of adventures will teach you to enjoy the little things in life if you let them. If you stress and strain over the inconveniences of your situations they will bring you down but a carefree additude can go a long way.

On a side note I've taken my insurance to completely update the ol girl. My Rockhopper is now one of the baddest tourers you'll find and I'm happily riding my bike around Topeka Ks. That should be an experience as this is one of the most bike unfriendly cities I've encountered. Maybe I'll have reports on that experience later :)

Don't be afraid to shed your material goods and live life through what the world provides you. You might just learn a thing or two about yourself and the world around you aswell as some of the best people who roam it.

I doubt if I'll ever be able to visit Haiti, but I sure have enjoyed reading your accounts of it.

I'm a little surprised. Just a little. I thought you might jump at the opportunity to meet some wonderful, car free, and mostly fossil fuel free, folks in Haiti.


I am convinced that the posters who think that every cent not spent by the majority of the world's population on anything the poster disapproves is money available for "investing", are economic dumbbells.

I agree there are plenty of economic dumbbells in the world. Specifically, those who think that government has no place telling people what to do when artificial means are needed to internalize externalities. Your complaints about the "holier than thou" car free folks, and your lack of talk about solutions to ecological problems, makes you come across as a "pure-laissez-faire" type of person rather than an economically sensible "please internalize externalities" type of person. Extremism on the side of laissez-faire economics requires the same kind of economic illiteracy that's displayed by people who take the opposite extreme and advocate some kind of "command economy". (I guess both have similar results, too - that almost everyone gets pushed around and exploited by powerful people who have control of enough resources that they can pretty much run the economy.)

Doubt I would like this type of test lifestyle change. My daughters, wife, and in-laws were to be away one weekend and we had a longstanding issue with cockroaches in addition to ants that were beginning to become a huge nuisance. I put the two dogs outside for the night, bug bombed under the house and attic with more poison than recommended, and spent the night in a sleeping bag in the car (and it was still an uneasy feeling). I debated about staying in the car a second night, but ended up sleeping on the couch (and left the dogs outside, the poison was still a little much but at least I wasn't in the car again another night).

We still had ants, so I re-read the instructions and saw it would not work on the kind of ants we had (killed a ton of cockroaches, and the slugs/snails were leaving the house in drooves). I ended up buying a bunch of the baits and tossing those under the house, around by the trees, and some on the back patio. No more ant issues, no more roaches, etc.

Though I'll prob hit it with poison again next year, I'll make arrangements to stay with family (living outdoors or in a car is not fun for me).

...

Considering this is a "home-free" discussion forum there sure is a lot of information on how to get rid of insects from your home. Stay on topic please. :)

Well this is my first post in this thread!
I am currently between moving out of one house and into another and am living off the back of my bike! I do have a vehicle but i don't normally drive it and it is just a mobile storage unit that i have parked here in the city..... hmm maybe i should ride past it tomorrow to make sure it's intact.

I would like to add one item to your list of possible problematic outcomes. If in the future you ever plan to work for the government in a position that requires a security clearance, then they get very upset by periods of longer than a month with "no fixed address." They would actually prefer to see the reason you left each resident and a new verifiable address the following day (or at most a few days for travel time). Without these things they tend to start asking a whole lot of questions.

Just a heads up.

If I ever decided to work for the government in such a position I would have had many lapses in my "fixed address" far prior to ever living out of my bike. I have moved so many time there is no way I could ever remember all of my previous addresses for even the last 5 years.