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Old 02-27-2009, 08:44 PM   #1
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Re: Living the Life

God bless your new son and your whole family.

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Old 02-27-2009, 09:37 PM   #2
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Re: Living the Life

....and the choir said...

Amen!!


-Ray
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Old 07-29-2009, 08:14 PM   #3
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Re: Living the Life

It will be hard to get 3months at a time worth of parking. Really the only 'universal' way that I know of that is pretty much fool proof is National Forests. The law says 2 weeks in one spot at a time but thousands of people LIVE in the woods. I have known of a few people looking at decades in the same spot in the National Forest. If you are in a location where that is possible then that is the only way to go.

If you are looking to spen money then I would say the way to go is campgrounds, especialy ones that cater to rv's. you can get decent rates for long term.

As far as security goes the two methods I mentioned above are the best.

If you somehow get involved in the local 'rubber tramp' community where ever you may be they will always know where the good spots are.

Since your girlfriend will be working as a nurse and you should have some funds coming in I will not waste too much time telling you about free methods. Stick with campgrounds.
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Old 07-29-2009, 08:33 PM   #4
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Re: Living the Life

Haha sorry, I fused two posts in to one......half of what I said was relevant to your post but forget the nurse thing. and forget the part about campgrounds, sounds like you are up to some 'testing of the waters'.

Yes, park somewhere and wait until they ask you to leave. This is good be you in a rest area or the Wal Mart parking lot. Mind you though that if you are getting kicked out of wally world it might be by the cops and they might want to search.

The MOST anyone will do in just about all cases is kick you out. You might get a ticket if you are dealing with an asshole cop but more than likely they will just ask you to leave. Especially if there is a child in play.

If you are simply overnighting it you have a myriad of options. Any truckstop, rest area, motel, 24 hour diner, roadside, and nearly anywhere else you could imagine is a good and safe place to park.

Long term is a lot trickier. Like I mentioned in the above post, the rubber tramps in a city always know. People that are scouting for places to crash in their vehicle as a lifestyle all tend to have the same style or 'eye' for spots. As such there is a good chance you may run in to some of these people in the vicinity of your spot. People on the road have a sixth sense for spotting others on the road. Other rubber tramps you meet can offer good advise, I suggest you take it when they offer it.

There are a lot of cities that have certain areas where people that sleep in their cars park them. Some places have pretty large areas where it is nothing but parked vehicles and people living in them, pretty amazing.

Be creative and remember that they are just gonna kick you out.
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Old 07-30-2009, 06:48 PM   #5
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Re: Living the Life

Ok, I see nothing about this in the original post, but others mentioned nurse and 3months...is she going to be a travel nurse? That's something I can help out with, as that's exactly what we're doing now.

#1. Parking. First assignment we stayed at a mobile home/rv park. $275/mo plus utilities in Houston, TX. Once we got the bill for the electric and water, it would have just been a few hundred more per month to stay in a regular RV park. With a 2 1/2 year old, the playground and pool would have been nice. You also want to move as little as possible, so your gf won't have to constantly take a different route home. Some hospitals do have electric and water hookups for RVs, and a dump station nearby, but the vast majority do not. If she gets an assignment at one that does have this, don't assume you'll get to use it (it's intended for friends and family of patients). Make sure it's stated in the contract that you get to stay on site. Now, the current assignment we're camper hosts for the school district in Anchorage, AK. Were supposed to be in a school parking lot for two months, then stay at a park for two months. The park for two months just fell through, but they're looking for an alternative. It's hard to beat free.

#2. Housing subsidies. They're tax-free, IF you're having to stay away from your tax home. If you're living in your bus, then the subsidies will be taxed like regular income (and thus, there's no reason to take it; see if the agency will roll it into her hourly, thus making even more money if she works overtime). You might try to claim her family's home as your tax home, but there's some hoops to jump through. First, you have to have ties to the area. Have your bank accounts there. Have the vehicles registered there. Return there occasionally after assignments. PAY RENT. Set up a formal arrangement where you rent a room for say $100/mo. They'll have to claim the $100/mo as rental income on their taxes. You should get receipts showing that you paid this per month. Actually pay the $100/mo. In return, you won't get taxed on the housing subsidies. A standard subsidy seems to be about $2500/mo, so if you're taxed at about 20%, that's $500/mo extra you get to pocket if you can get it tax-free. Well worth paying $100/mo for a room you'll hardly ever use. You also get to deduct travel expenses, including travelling to and from work every day (if you're living in your bus, then you can't deduct travelling to and from work; but if you're staying away from home, all work related travel while away from home is deductible).

I better stop this post before it becomes a novel. If this is what you're doing and you want more advice, let me know. If not, sorry I rambled on and on about useless info.
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