Being Homeless

[Jigsaws]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] cbloom. Go for it, mate. I'll be on the road again at the end of August.

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One major issue is mail / bills / not having an address. American Express used to be awesome for this but I can't find any info about it anymore on their web site; anybody dealt with this?

residency - I'm currently a CA resident, so I might have to go to some other state and get a drivers license there or something so I don't have to keep paying CA taxes

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I registered myself as living at my dad's address. Not sure whether that's an option for you. Maybe a friend could take your mail/bills?

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cell phone - is there a better type of phone/network that will work world wide? how about a cell that won't charge insane roaming?

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I gave up using a cell phone, but that's just me. Anyone where there's coverage, there's local phone shops that'll be cheaper anyway.

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health care - is there some kind of global health insurance that's worthwhile?

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I took out a travel insurance with Elvia, the Dutch branch of Mondial Assistance. I believe http://www.accessamerica.com/ is the USA branch. I didn't have to actually use the insurance at all, but the contract seemed reasonable and they were recommended to me by a few people.

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immunizations - I guess I should get a full round in advance to be safe

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Depends on where you're going to go, obviously. I got immunized against yellow fever, hepatitis b and DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus). Yellow fever immunization is required to enter some countries.

I also took enough malaria tablets to last me a long time.

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ATMs - is there still an issue with different networks around the world? a few years ago there were a lot of countries where I couldn't get cash with a US ATM card.

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There are three international ATM networks, Cirrus, Maestro and PLUS. My Dutch bank account is linked to Cirrus by default, and I didn't have trouble finding ATMs in the urban parts of South America. I don't know how well-covered the other networks are, but I think you should be fine with any of those. Take a couple of hundred in U.S. dollar cash and a couple of hundred in travellers' checks for if you get stuck anywhere. I never had to use the checks, but the dollars came in very handy when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere without an ATM.

[plzleenowhammy]

spare some change?

[WhoIam]

cbloom,
I've been doing this for almost a year and have been to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Laos, 1-3 months in each place. My first piece of advice is that there's no reason to live like a backpacker. I travel with two large suitcases crammed with clothes, a 24" monitor, a ukulele, etc. When I go someplace new, I'll look on Craigslist or local classifieds to find a house/apartment/condo I can rent for 1-3 months. This is slightly more expensive than a long-term lease but still a lot cheaper than staying in a hotel or even a hostel for the same period. My stuff is also a lot more secure. If I want to travel to other places in the country or region, I can just take a small bag and leave my mountain of clothes and electronics at the apartment. Obviously someplace like London or Tokyo is going to be a hell of a lot more expensive than most other places, so take this into consideration if you're on a budget.

As far as calls to/from the US, I like Vonage. I get to keep my US number and any voicemail I get is sent to me as an email attachment. A lot of people prefer skype, so you might want to look into that as well.

ATMs--haven't had a problem with my bank card or epassporte card.

Vaccinations--wouldn't worry unless you're going someplace really out of the way.

This is all I can think of for now. If you have any questions, PM me or ask them here.

[cianosheehan]

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cbloom,
I've been doing this for almost a year and have been to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Laos, 1-3 months in each place. My first piece of advice is that there's no reason to live like a backpacker. I travel with two large suitcases crammed with clothes, a 24" monitor, a ukulele, etc. When I go someplace new, I'll look on Craigslist or local classifieds to find a house/apartment/condo I can rent for 1-3 months. This is slightly more expensive than a long-term lease but still a lot cheaper than staying in a hotel or even a hostel for the same period.

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This sounds cool...but...are you not missing out on hooking up with loads of people along the way? I've found hostels a great way of meeting people and having fun. Whereas spending a few months in a rented apartment may be a bit lonely. You could be missing out on getting the most out of your travels.

[WhoIam]

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cbloom,
I've been doing this for almost a year and have been to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Laos, 1-3 months in each place. My first piece of advice is that there's no reason to live like a backpacker. I travel with two large suitcases crammed with clothes, a 24" monitor, a ukulele, etc. When I go someplace new, I'll look on Craigslist or local classifieds to find a house/apartment/condo I can rent for 1-3 months. This is slightly more expensive than a long-term lease but still a lot cheaper than staying in a hotel or even a hostel for the same period.

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This sounds cool...but...are you not missing out on hooking up with loads of people along the way? I've found hostels a great way of meeting people and having fun. Whereas spending a few months in a rented apartment may be a bit lonely. You could be missing out on getting the most out of your travels.

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Meeting people isn't that hard--I wrote a pretty detailed explanation in the "how to meet people" thread a couple weeks ago. If you get lonely, hostel bars are great places to make friends for the night. The whole backpacker scene gets really old for me, but if you enjoy it feel free to go that route. I've also lived with some 2+2ers and other people so I usually don't find myself spending several days in a row sitting in my apt wishing I had someone to talk to [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The best thing is to make friends with some locals and expats because these can turn into real friendships. These friendships become especially important if you're staying more than a month. I'm not some amazing networker or anything--it can get lonely, especially when first moving to a place, but with decent people skills you should be able to get a circle of friends together. This is even easier with sites like Myspace. You can usually at least find a couple 2+2ers who will have a couple beers with you and tell you about the local hotspots.

[Audi]

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One major issue is mail / bills / not having an address. American Express used to be awesome for this but I can't find any info about it anymore on their web site; anybody dealt with this?

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I've been PTing for 4yrs or so.

Regarding mail I changed my address to that of my parents before leaving and have them open my mail. I can then catch up on anything important when I phone "home". My folks are also able to scan any mail and e-mail it if I need them to. Don't know if this helps?

Being deliberatley homeless is great, extremely "free-ing".

I would advise travelling as light as possible, especially if you plan on moving around a lot.

[cbloom]

Hey Audi, I see you have a blog on this subject! Was the around the world ticket a good move?

Audi, are you a real "PT" in the sense that you're not paying taxes any more? Have you guys got foreign bank accounts and all that?

WhoIam,

yeah, I definitely want my monitor if I'm gonna be playing some poker. Poker on the laptop screen is not tolerable! Do you just lug your cases around when you travel? I assume I should get one of those power converter dealies too.

All you guys get furnished apartments or sublets I assume; is it a problem getting places with internet? (I know KKF has written about this before).


My parents are kind of lazy/busy so I don't really want to ask them to handle my mail for me. I think I might send it to my little brother and pay him $20/month or something to deal with it for me. Maybe I'll "move in with him" to get my address out of CA.


Basically I've come to realize that the US and Europe have become insanely expensive compared to the rest of the world, and living an ordinary life isn't worth it.

I've also become really fed up with the accumulation of "stuff". I feel like I keep buying more junk for my apartment and it's just more junk to move and it ties me down. It sucks though cuz now I'm gonna have to sell a ton of good stuff at a loss or get a huge storage locker.

[TheMetetron]

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Audi, are you a real "PT" in the sense that you're not paying taxes any more? Have you guys got foreign bank accounts and all that?

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What gives you the impression this is a good idea? It's certainly incredibly illegal unless you aren't a USA citizen in which case I made a bad assumption.

[Audi]

The RTW ticket was great value, something like 600GBP for 7 flights, definitely the most cost-effective way to travel. You have to predefine your dates of travel, but they can always be changed to suit (for free when I did it).

I'm British so am not taxed on gambling winnings, so I haven't given up my citizenship, nor do I have a second passport. Global Nomad would be a more accurate description I guess?

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Basically I've come to realize that the US and Europe have become insanely expensive compared to the rest of the world, and living an ordinary life isn't worth it.


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Couldn't agree more (though some parts of Europe can be cheap). "Lifestyle arbitrage" is the way forward, earn in USD/GBP/Euro/CAD and spend in Pesos/Baht etc etc.

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I've also become really fed up with the accumulation of "stuff". I feel like I keep buying more junk for my apartment and it's just more junk to move and it ties me down. It sucks though cuz now I'm gonna have to sell a ton of good stuff at a loss or get a huge storage locker.

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I gave leather couches widescreen TV and DVD to my folks (as a sweetner to me "dropping out" and becoming a full time degen) and stored the rest in their attic. Doesn't sound like this is an option for you?

Honestly, once you are free of this "stuff" you will feel like a new man. Take the hit if you have to sell at a loss, it's well worth it.

[Audi]

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It's certainly incredibly illegal unless you aren't a USA citizen in which case I made a bad assumption.

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You made a bad assumption. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]