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Comment by RyanAdamas | Hacker News Reader

I live in my car. It's awesome.

Oddly enough, I live in an even older Ford Fusion and it's really easy. Spend time at the Library, Starbucks and get a gym membership for showering. I work full-time and don't dick around with washing dishes or anything. Got an inverter and think of my car as a generator with wheels.

I took out my front passenger seat so I can lay down to sleep. Made it through the summer in the south and it was pretty bad, but you sleep while your body sweats and you deal with mosquitos and flies on the regular.

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For a single hard-working person, it can actually be a healthy and productive environment. I lived in my car at a FAANG parking lot when I started my career there. The money I saved and instead invested ensured my ability to afford a nice home in a good area for the family which I eventually started, and to lead the life I wanted to. It was a deliberate sacrifice, and it kept me hyper-focused on career and personal growth. But I do think being laid off and ending up in the same circumstances would produce a different perspective on the living arrangement. My point is, one's attitude and outlook on life is more important than the material foundations to it.

>> My point is, one's attitude and outlook on life is more important than the material foundations to it.

True!

That said, the material foundations are a bit different when building a safety net vs spending it.

That sounds great. When I was a teenager my dream was to live in an RV at Google Headquarters (maybe that’s still in my future, although I think they started cracking down on that a decade ago)

A room is $1k. Over 5 years that’s about $90k at a 7% annual return compounding monthly. So that’s the opportunity cost. But over that period that’s about $750k in post tax income which if you applied same compounding is 1.1 m. So that puts you at about 9%. Significant and reasonable if your car is already paid off, I suppose, since you won’t get that much for selling it.

Do you think of it as a choice, and what are the pros/cons compared to your feasible alternatives? What’s your long term plan?

It completely my choice. I had a two bedroom with cheap rent, but was unhappy with what life was becoming and living in my car feels more like living; even if it's just psychosomatic. Long term is to upgrade to a van and find a remote job in data science.

> don't dick around with washing dishes or anything

Is that because you have an income that enables you to purchase meals assembled by someone else?

No, I eat Budding Ham and Walmart cheese sandwiches + goldfish crackers and Aldi energy drinks as my 75% source + strawberries and bananas. My diet is mostly sandwiches and Taurine...

everyone should live as they want but tbh this sounds more depressing than the person in the article because the person doesn't glorify this way of living.

Perhaps you are super small and this is actually somehow comftable and you don't mind doing private stuff in a car in some parking lot (or at least you actually park in nature?) but you know you constatly live in someones else space. Starbucks, gym, library, work.

Why not take a little bit of money and do the van conversation much much faster?

It's amazing what you can get used to; the aspect of human nature despots take advantage of and systematize. Your aversion is understandable. The idea of privacy is just that, an idea. We don't really know if what we do is private anyway, as most of what we consider private can be easily spied on or deduced from observation.

Renting puts me in someone elses space too, just not in the same contextual way - but, functionally no different.

Yes we can get used to a lot of things but isn't that also an issue? People getting used to mold on a wall or someone sleeping in an unhealthy position on a car seat.

I personally also try to find a workplace were i can look outside into nature. I don't need to look outside today but i believe i have less risk of depression and more fun overall if my workplace is good.

Same thing as eating highly processed food: of course you can and than 20 years later when you are 50 and finally free, you have so many health issues that you can't enjoy it anymore.

Good luck anyway

Can you please get yourself a CostCo membership, if only for the hot $5 whole-chicken &/or $1.50 hotdog/soda combo. They also have freeze-dried 18oz strawberries for ~$13.00

I'll even let you become "my guest [FREE] membership". Get youself some tendies, bruh.

I have an older friend who lives around England in his Model S after a business partnership turned sour. He's also grandfathered on free supercharging.

It's not like it's the life he chose, but he seems to be doing all right.

How long do you envision yourself doing this?

What would be some nice-to-haves, and what would drastically increase your experience of living in a car?

What are some unavoidable extremely difficult realities that come with this lifestyle?

As long as possible. Heading south for the winter so I can continue. A lot of money would be nice lol, but I wouldn't mind getting a Master's Degree and having a remote job, upgrading to a van and living in national forests and visiting family/friends; as opposed to hanging out in Walmart parking lots and yelling at loud birds (which is mostly just for fun).

Unavoidable realities include, bathroom availability, no privacy, and little control (outside of moving) over neighbors in parking lots and weather conditions; which affect the mood more than you would think - rain is a real bummer in the heat.

Appreciate you sharing insights. Hope you can reach your goals soon.

In light of the manageable struggles, the image of you yelling at birds made me chuckle real good.

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