Recently I had made significant changes to my life. A few months ago I left a good job to go be homeless trash on the Appalachian Trail. I had a blast, made plenty of friends, and also managed to be gifted some injuries and scars. I regretfully had to leave the trail early because of an injury but while I was back I really missed the lifestyle I found in the wilderness. So I decided to do the logical thing and made myself homeless again. I thought I would share my journey here.
About a week ago I moved into my car full time. I had still a week left of work at a hotel so this was a good opportunity to see what car life would be like without being completely stranded. I didn't have to worry about forgetting something and being hours away from a store. Of course, there were things I needed to get over this week. The first being something for my food. I will admit that the first few days I ate out like it was nothing. But even with the cost of living being so low, eating out became expensive very quickly. I was able to find a good cooler and a nice grill at Walmart. I also picked up a nice travel pillow. Those along with some minor items and I was all set. Luckily for me, I do not need a lot and I already had most things. I happened to spend my first night in a Walmart parking lot. It was really nice. I was near a hotel that allowed me to use their bathroom when Walmart was closed. I then went to Panera in the morning to work on my computer and set things up for possible income. It did not take long for me to want to take a shower. While hiking I would spend many days without a shower but now I was in the "real world". I decided to first try out a truck stop. Pulling into the parking lot I noticed that there were plenty of people living out of their vehicles. This reassured me that I was not crazy for doing this. But entering the store I did not feel at home. This place was clearly focused on truckers. It was a fast pace place and the service was not that great. After possibly the most expensive shower I have ever taken I decided that I did not want to take truck stop showers anymore. The task for the day became finding out my expenses and ways to decrease them. To fix the shower expense I bought a Planet Fitness membership. For $23 a month I could take a shower every day. This was much more cost-effective. Another issue I had was the expense of things like wifi and charging my devices. I would go to Starbucks and Mcdonald's to work and charge my things but this was expensive as well. I had to buy something every time I wanted to do anything. Then I found out that Panera has a coffee subscription. and for $9 a month, I could just walk in, order my coffee or tea and go sit in the corner for hours a day. The last subscription I signed up for was a Kroger membership. After some google research, I learned that Kroger had the best deals and coupons. For now, my average day looks like this. I wake up in a parking lot and put away things like blankets and my pillow. I then head over to the nearest Planet Fitness. I put in a quick workout and take my shower for the day. I then complete any errands for the day. I make my way over to a Panera and order my coffee or tea and I work on things like setting up social media plans, learning skills, and getting familiar with video/picture editing programs. After a long day, I take a break and walk around a park or something and eat. Then I might go back or just head to where I might sleep for the night. I leave this town tomorrow and I hope to be able to do more hiking and exploring. Mainly because I love adventure but also it would make good content. So please stay tuned and follow my platforms. I plan to begin posting a lot in the next week or so. If you have not already please consider following my social accounts. I mainly post on Instagram @duwidthedruid.
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