Happier Abroad Forum Community

abcdavid01 wrote:So Richard decided to do just that – make do without everything else. He realized that his love of travel was more important that the kind of lifestyle he was living. He wanted freedom to do the things he really loved, and today he’s living his dream. Instead of using the money he earned to pay for stuff he didn’t need or use, he decided to use it on the activities he enjoys. He sold most of his possessions, left his flat, and decided to go homeless. All his possessions fit in a single bag, and he commutes using his bicycle. A couple of boxes of his important possessions have been left at his parents’ house but he says those aren’t important to him either. Today, Richard says it feels great not to be chained to one place or to his belongings.

Well, as much as I enjoy reading this sort of stuff, I have to ask one question ... would Richard be really able to do this in America, w/o a lot of issues?

For instance, I've known of folks, sleeping in storage units or in tents in the woods, to save on rent and such but have faced harassment and other problems, because unlike the UK, people don't live on the dole, the same way as in let's say Glastonbury UK, as they do here, stateside. There are many long term dole recipients in various places in Britain and they've sustained themselves for years on end. In the US, if you're not on social security disability, you're suppose to have a place to live in. Thus, Richard being healthy and young, is suppose to be seen in some line of work (or graduate school) and with a place to live in.

Right now, I sort of live a type of lifestyle as Richard, the difference being that I have cash in the bank, investments, a place near Boston, but have shunned dating AWs, and live a relatively free life but unlike Richard, can leave the country whenever I want, because I'm not hampered by financial considerations in terms of plane tickets, lodging, etc.

Well he had a job. It's freelance, but he has a good niche and I imagine it pays well whenever he gets a call. I don't know if he's on the dole.

abcdavid01 wrote:Well he had a job. It's freelance, but he has a good niche and I imagine it pays well whenever he gets a call. I don't know if he's on the dole.

Yeah, but I think this is more Britain than America. If he didn't tell everyone that he was homeless, probably no one would have noticed.

At worst, a freelancer in Massachusetts, splits a room or home, with someone else. There was a person, I'd once heard of, who was booted from a storage unit because the security caught him and didn't want him around, after hours. Well, he eventually changed his shift, and slept during the daytime. It's a lot more cloak/dagger around here, esp if one's not a paid for, disability recipient. For that, there a special residencies but many of them, have some sort of mental or physical ailments.

My dad's a disability lawyer, helping people get on social security. There's a hotel in the town where his office is where a bunch of shabby looking people will just wander the sidewalk everyday. He says there's a group home in some of the hotel rooms. I guess the town pays for it or something.

abcdavid01 wrote:My dad's a disability lawyer, helping people get on social security. There's a hotel in the town where his office is where a bunch of shabby looking people will just wander the sidewalk everyday. He says there's a group home in some of the hotel rooms. I guess the town pays for it or something.

Sounds like your dad's seen the spectrum of the underbelly of American society. I guess he deserves some kudos for having dealt with it for so many years.

Yeah, you might be better off looking for an academic type of position in legal studies