[fnord_too]

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I think you missed the most important and likely the most profitable panhandling spot of them all: by the church.

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I like this answer, though you are pretty much restricted to service times and lowish volume of people, so if you had to do all your begging time there it is probably not so hot.

So what criteria make a good begging spot:
High volume of passers by
Passers by who have change, spare money
Passers by who don't hate giving money to destitute strangers on principal (or due to fear)
Tolerance to beggars (i.e. not somewhere the establishment is going to call the cops on you).

I think a non essential shopping area (like a busy mall) would be good if you could pull it off. I think the psychological factor of your potential benefactors spending money on extraneous items while you are struggling to even eat is a plus. Tough question. (I think outside a bar is horrible though for many reasons.)