Lets say you lost everything, how would you survive???

Lets say you lost everything, I'm talking like you had to declair bankruptcy, you for some reason didn't know 1 single person. No friends or family to help you. And the welfare department for some reason rejected your applications. And lets also assume you've exhausted your welcome at any souplines, or homeless shelters. You have no place to live, no car, no nothing.

The Items You have are:

- your shoes,
- the clothes on your back,
- a jacket that is just warm enough to be outside with at night.
- a hat

That's all you have.

And with your last dollar you got a bus ticket to a major city in the USA. But once you arrived you had zero dollars. And you don't know anyone in that city, nor can you call anyone. And you're already getting hungry and thirsty. And you just got off the bus at the greyhound station.

Tell us what steps you take to survive???

shelter?

reply to post by spartacus699


Why would I want to?

So... why did I spend my last dollar for a bus ticket INTO the city?

If I was stuck in a city, with only the items you listed, and exhausted everything as you had said..

I guess I would find a gas station..

Borrow the windshield squeegee from the pump...

Head to a concentrated traffic light and start cleaning peoples windshields for money..

bah, I don't know.

Has prostitution lost its lucrativeness?

-AA

reply to post by spartacus699


Okay go to the library and get on craigslist. Start doing random gigs. Moving labor jobs. Landscaping. Go to homeless shelters and eat free meals. Beg. Make bracelets out of palm fronds and sell um for change on the corner.

Sit at home depot and get labor jobs.

Go to the food stamp office.

Apply for grants.

Talk to people.

Hold a sign that says: "Why lie, I need a beer. Anything helps."

steal a loaf of bread so i can get sent home

reply to post by spartacus699

It's funny that you have brought this up, as I have been thinking of relocating, and this thread would be a good exercise for formulating a gameplan. S&F

First, assess my surroundings....locate food/water sources. Restaurants, Grocery stores and farmers markets are excellent places for locating commercially unacceptable, yet completely edible produce. I usually find a water bottle nearby that i can go inside said restaurant to fill. Never take more food than i need for a meal or two. It will weigh me down, become more a burden than a blessing. If i should find the need to carry more than i need, i share it. I will need the companionship that breaking bread brings, and one can always expand their 'net-work' where ever they are.

Shelter is important. This is tricky, as each area of each city has it's own 'feel' to it. What i mean is that in some areas of town, you feel comfortable, and in others not so much. Where i live, there are many 'cubbyholes' in the downtown area which, while known by the local law enforcement/security agencies, are out of the way enough that i am left alone as long as i don't leave a mess. Just like going camping, it is a 'pack it in, pack it out lifestyle. I have even slept in trees a time or two, till getting chewed up by ants caused me to change my mind.

Ok, you now have food in you belly, located a couple of places you might get a wink or two. Now is the time for supplies. The good will and salvation army are known for having donation drop-off trailers scattered throughout many cities, where there are clothes, tools, bikes, pots/pans etc dropped off during the night, to be loaded in the trailer in the morning. These items are give-aways, donated for the poor and needy. Since i am stranded in the city, broke and homeless, i am qualified and justified in taking what i need from here. My survival is at stake. I have found campstoves, tents, sleeping bags, back packs and various tools at these drop sites. If i am lucky, i may even get a sale or two from what you find. But again, i must be cautious about taking more than i can carry.

Next is the planning to get out of town ahead of everyone else before the SHTF, which in all reality, as long as i have clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, would most likely be me just turning towards the East, facing the mighty sierra nevada mountains, and putting one foot in front of the other, hoping for the best.

Okay I'm gonna try and figure this one out....

I'd start by looking threw local garbages for a pop bottle. I'm sure I'd find one eventually. If not then I'd ask someone if they could buy me a pop and or a meal. Hopefully I could at least find a container. Fill that with water. So I could last a while without always having to find a drinking fountain.

Next if I was starving I'd just go to the local food store. I'd pretend to go shopping but I'd just look things over and sample stuff out of the produce section and out of the bulk section. Just making it look like I'm testing it out, like smell it, feel it and then take a little bite so it just looks natural. But not to excess to the point where it's too obvious. Then I'd act like I just didn't feel like checking out and I'd leave. That and or maybe look threw food courts for people that might have left something on their plate. Just eat that.

I'd try and find a grocery bag, or even better a backpack. Should be easy enough. So I could carry my water bottle and anything else I could find of use. I'd look for someone who looks a bit down and out and ask them for advice. They probably know all kinds of stuff, like places to eat for free and stuff.

Then I'd scope around for some nook or cranny to use to sleep in. Like it could be a shack, an nook, an abandon building, a supply yard, or whatever I could find.

I'd try and find a place to get on a computer. Place ads that I'm looking for work, and or apply for ads. Then just check my email at the library and see what comes in. So hopefully find some temporary work. meanwhile keep applying for longer term work. And I'd place ads for small jobs that I'm offering to do for cash. So hopefully get a few dollars.

Maybe even go on a dating site and talk to girls and see if I could convince one of them to let me crash at their place. That would probably be my best angle. I think pretty quickly I could use that angle to get a roof over my head. Not that I'd sacrifice my values either. I'd just tell them I need a friend right now that's all.

Then I'd try and score a bike. With a little looking you often can find people that would give one away, or even let you just borrow it, if you tell them you really need it for a few weeks. So now you got wheels.

continue to look for full time work. Might have to try and find some abandon building to live in for a little while. That way at least you'd have a place to go if things went south with the girl. Then if I found a job I'd maybe try and save up enough to get a van. Once I could get a van I'd be okay. Because you could live in the van and you could do a variety of small businesses and jobs with the van.

So essencially the first few weeks would be the most challenging. Then the first few months after that. But likely by that time I think I'd have found a way to get back on my feet.

reply to post by occrest


Why don't you test that theory. Do this...

Place some ads on craigslist and or local classified ad sites in a random city.

In the ads you would ask for help such as....

1) Shelter: you give a sob story and you ask if someone would let you stay at their place, in their basement, in their camper, or their shed or any building they own for maybe a week or two max. See what people say?

2) Food: Ask to see if anyone would let you pick some food from their garden, and or their apple trees.

3) Ask someone to tell you what free services, food, shelter etc are available for homeless people in the area?

4) Ask for small jobs that you can do, and or place ads to offer small jobs that you're willing to do. (and then also for longer term jobs)

And just see what people offer or say? See what kind of replies you get? More or less just as a curiosity thing. So you could see how willing people are to help you in that area.

Then report back here with your findings. And tell us was it easy or was it just impossible??? I'd be curious.

I'm not sure what I would do in the states, but if I was in Europe I would try to befriend a gypsy/tsigani. Despite their bad reputation, many of them are very kind and know the ropes of surviving on the streets in that particular area. Also, the North African/Middle Eastern diaspora are often willing to help you back on your feet, as many of them know what it's like to be stuck on the streets. You'll naturally be networking too by talking to people.

Once I had some money, I would look for a hostel. If you're lucky you can find a hostel for around €10 (about $14). This usually includes breakfast. If you're REALLY lucky, you might even find a job at a hostel. This is actually pretty likely if you have a EU passport. For those of us with an American passport though, we're not much better off than the gypsies with no paperwork at all. In some cases you'd actually be better with no papers it seems.

There's always a lot of people to meet in a hostel though, so talk to them and I bet you could find something to help you take the next step.

I guess my strategy really comes down to making friends. There are many helpful, good people in the world if you're willing to look for them.

***OR: Try to find a commune or a place to do WOOFing.

Also, as far as sleeping, here are some strategies I learned...
1.)If it's too cold at night, just keep moving to stay warm and sleep during the day, preferably in a public park or at a beach where you won't draw attention.

2.)If it's still too cold during the day, or if you must sleep at night, search for exhaust vents. Many cities have vents somewhere on the sidewalks for underground machinery, and many of these vents blow hot air. Sure, you'll get some looks, but it's warm. It's probably best to sleep sitting rather than lying down as you won't be harassed as much, if at all.

How can you have worn out your welcome in a city you've just arrived in? Reputations do tend to precede, I suppose...

Maybe the first thing anyone should do in a survival situation is not be such a jerk that people who've never even heard of you already don't like you.

I would have started by getting as far away from the city as possible. I would figure out where harvest season is in full swing and travel there instead. There is quite a bit of migrant work in this country. It would put you in a job with other people, and give you the ability to be near food resources. You would also have the opportunity to travel the country until you found a place you like that fits you. The extra bonus is that the farmers or ranchers would be in need of the help, therefore rather than being a homeless indigent you are instead a valuable welcome resource to them. Oftentimes agricultural work can also provide room and board as well, so your bases are covered. You would also have the ability to make some money, thou not much, instead of relying on complete strangers for your sustenance and survival. One more bonus to this is that you would not be expected to show up at a job interview in clothing resources beyond your financial reach.

reply to post by spartacus699

First off, the things you leave me with are all somebody really needs in the worst situation in the short term (3-4 days). Water is pretty easy to get at a baseball park, at most parks for that matter, and containers are just lying around usually, but water bottles and the like are usually easy to find in a refuse can, or lying around an athletic field, pedestrian / bicycle path.
Food is only a little more problematic, but it's not so hard to find either, just find a store with an unlocked dumpster and be discreet about it. I have actually seen people fighting over dumpster diving before, stay away from people who think they are desperate, or even appear to be.
Fishing line and hooks are hanging in the trees along public water fronts usually, just go get it and go fishing with worms from under a nearby rock, or bugs from around the area.
Getting the heck out of the city is best, cities suck. Perverts who would try to take advantage of someone they see as having no power to defend themselves infest cities, they can be pretty annoying at times, and it is best to avoid them just so you don't lose your cool and smash their face, but then you could go to jail and get three hots and a cot...
Lastly, watch your surroundings, for safety reasons and because people drop money all the time, it's lying around everywhere, if you are watching you can pick up as much as $100.00 a day or so, I have and I didn't even need to scrounge for money, usually find at least 5 bucks though, which is better than nothing.
One of the best things not to do is freak out, because exactly what you need always shows up when you need it, because if it didn't you would have been dead long ago.

reply to post by spartacus699


Sorry, I responded before I read the whole post. I guess I would take a cue from other homeless and seemingly destitute people. Find a source of water. and head to the nearest Welfare office for my EBT card.

reply to post by spartacus699

And with your last dollar you got a bus ticket to a major city in the USA. But once you arrived you had zero dollars. And you don't know anyone in that city, nor can you call anyone. And you're already getting hungry and thirsty. And you just got off the bus at the greyhound station.

I heard that the new GTA comes out tomorrow.

reply to post by spartacus699


I would go to a park or a bookstore and with my charm and good looks, tell an attractive woman of my plight and ask her for money and a place to stay. In return I would be her slave. Done properly this strategy can yield impressive results.

Find the nearest Army Surplus store and steal the goods that I need so I can get the hell out of the city and go survive properly (and more safely) in the bush. Way better resources to live off of in the country.

The city is the worst place to be in a homeless/survival scenario.

Pfft.

And if I were to get caught stealing from the Army Surplus, then I get the added bonus of doing a bit of jail time where I get handed a free roof over my head, three squares, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, a comb, clean clothes, and a job that pays a couple of bucks per day. And the supplies I get to take with me when I leave (except the cute little orange jumpsuit).

By the time I get released a few months later, I'll have saved up some much needed cash to plan out my next step.

Win/win.

Well, to tell you the truth, a story on the news about a year ago, showed a woman on hidden cam driving a really nice car, smeared herself in dirt/mud, begged for money, and made about a $!000 (one thousand) dollars a day. Would I do it? NO. But apparently you can make money by doing NOTHING.

A friend of a friend is going through that now. I went with my bud to pick him up at the bus station two weeks ago I guess he has been used to it because he had already walked a few miles by the time we picked him up. I don't think he was sure we would come so he took things in his own hands.

At least this is Florida so the weather is usually nice. Hot as hell sometimes. He sometimes sleeps on the beach and once in a while someone will stay a few days. He sometimes gets day work on a fishing boat but it isn't steady. I know he has filled out apps all over town but one employer even told him he didn't feel comfortable hireling him because you can tell he is homeless sand in his hair is a dead giveaway. He has a cell phone, solar charger, some cloths and a small backpack. They have beach showers which he will use.

Honestly it's a tough spot for him and he is starting to wear out his welcome with some. I don't know him well enough to say if he is trustworthy or not I have my reservations. He definitely mooches but I can't say I blame him.

He has told me about making tomato soup from ketchup packets. He scavengers for recycling during trash days. You should see the stuff people throw away in beach towns. He makes money through eBay with some of it. Oh he managed to get a beach cruiser bike and has a cart he can pull with it. You can buy one at yard sales here for 5 bucks.

2 weeks and he's not doing to bad. The biggest problem he will probably face is if he burns those who are trying to help him. My buddy went to pick him up across town one day and he kept calling and saying he would be another half hour and it wound up being three. From what I understand it's happened before. That's enough to piss me off to where I wouldn't do more favors.


Anyway depending on what city your in will dictate what your options are. It will also depend on your character as to how much help you might receive.

My 2 cents.

reply to post by CranialSponge


If you get thrown in jail here if you have money they deduct it for expenses and there are no jobs. Maybe if get set to prison but then you aren't talking about doing months it would be years.

I would walk as fast as I could down the street, intersection after intersection, until I finally reached a gas station, at which time I would promptly walk up the paved driveway toward someone filling their car up in a b-line all while making psychotic faces scaring the crap out of them, but only at the last second I would grab the gas pump handle at the adjacent pump and spray my face, and light myself on fire.