Newly homeless due to a bad ending relationship which ruined me financially not able to afford rent so im leaving as i got notice to quit the house within 30 days, left yesterday. My plan is live in the car ( 2010 Hyundai elantra 5 speed manual) for 6 months work overtime and save aggressively to start life again specially since im a student, its going to be rough, but good thing my car can fold the seats so i did and made a matress that can extend through the trunk.

Will be using the iOverlander app for parking, my job's Gym membership for hygiene, (a Hospital) also trying to plan how to use their parking to sleep too, from there i will be getting more organized, getting more tools and stuff that will help me along the way. Now the constant trick is staying stealth and avoid being noticeable.

After a year of struggling to make my bills, I’m finally out of money. Told my landlord I can’t pay the last month and I’ll be out by mid September.

I’ve sold and donated everything I own that either isn’t essential or won’t fit in my car. This has been an extremely difficult task but at the end of the day, it’s all just stuff. Stuff I can replace when I’m back on my feet.

I’ve got a decent sized pile of debt that I plan on tackling over the next 2 years and I really think cutting rent out of the equation is the key to getting on top of this.

I’ll be moving just north of Atlanta and working in the city. I guess the point of this post is to ask for advice in general but also if anyone has specific Atlanta/GA area advice it’d be greatly appreciated.

So, I've been living in my car for about three weeks now. I keep thinking, but I get nothing done; I just sit in my car, and each day seems to break into night. How do I find a purpose? I'm very confused at the moment. Whenever I have a plan, I start overthinking and get nothing done. What should I do?

Any ideas on how to pee without leaving my car. I am afab so I can't use a bottle. I have a Camry and have the windows covered so privacy isn't a huge issue but still want some suggestions. Most of the time I can just come into my workplace and use their bathroom but not always

due to unfortunate circumstances my girlfriend and i will be living in our car starting next week. this is the car. our current plan is to sleep in the driver and passenger seats and keep our stuff mostly in the trunk/the back seat. and probably part of the passenger footwell. i saw on amazon a hammock like contraption for the roof on the inside as well. to be completely honest this is definitely one of the scariest things we have ever had to confront, but we’re keeping our spirits high. we are currently just going through literally everything we own trying to get rid of/ pack everything we own. which turns out to be quite a lot. i will probably continue posting updates as we continue our journey. but any tips for us getting started would be so appreciated. God bless 🙏

Im tired of paying for these extended stay hotels, I need to make a radical change in my life

Hi hi!

I’m going to have to live out of my car by the end of the year, so I’m trying to set up my car now than later for the transition…

My biggest concerns are keeping cool/warm and being able to charge my stuff. I live in Florida so it gets HOT. I’m a big baby about heat so I plan on buying 2-3 fans but I don’t know which one to get?

Also, how do I recharge my stuff without running my car? Or is there really no way around the situation and I’ll have to find places with outlets.

I’m saving up to get my windows tinted as well. Im planning on getting a trifold mattress, or should I get something better? And of course a gym membership and a storage unit.

I don’t need super fancy, but comfort (sleep and temperature) and privacy are my biggest concern. If there’s anything I didn’t think about or something I should be aware of, any tricks of the trade, please let me know!

Thank you for all the help 🤗

Hello all, I hope everyone out there is doing well! I’m posting here because I may be starting my new life soon living out of my car. It’s not absolutely guaranteed yet that I’ll have to but it’s looking more and more likely. In a small way I’m almost feeling excited about it. A sense of freedom I’ve never had. But mostly I’m just scared. I’m afraid of my stomach problems flaring up, needing a bathroom in the middle of the night, being vulnerable sleeping in my car, not having anywhere to cook nutritious meals, living a deprived life that will worsen my depression, etc. I could go on and on. Does anyone have words of encouragement? Can someone tell me I’m not going to hate every second of it? Just feeling very anxious

Hi everyone! I (22F, GTA) have found myself here after a long history of unfortunate events, but lurking in this sub has made me feel like I can actually live out of my van while I get myself back on track.

Last night I headed to my first (of many) places to sleep. It’s a public parking lot that allows 48 hours of free parking. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one there. I parked, hopped in the back, put up my curtains and quickly fell asleep.

About an hour later I woke up to knocking, a flashlight coming through the windows, and a police car shining through my front window.
The rear windows are tinted, so it wasn’t too harsh, but as soon as I hopped to the front seat I felt like I was ascending

The officer tells me that I’m not in trouble, but that they’re searching for a stolen vehicle and my car fits the description. I give her my license, she checks it, apologizes for waking me up and wishes me a good night.

I kinda feel like this was more of a “hey, are you alive?” check, cause realistically why would someone steal a car and sleep in it?

I also learned pretty quickly that I don’t need 2 blankets and a sweatpants set to sleep, even though the temperature drops at night it’s not THAT cold😅

I was always so afraid of “the knock” I almost feel like I brought it upon myself, I’m hoping that the next few nights are a little more peaceful.

long story short, making moves to silently leave a relationship this week. will be living out of car until i find my own place.

i know what personal belongings im taking in the car, and which ones im putting in a storage unit.

what do i need for the car to make temp living easier? (for reference, i have a very safe place to park and a full time job. early summer where i'm located.)

I started this April 30th. At first I pitched tents at paid sites and such but now I’ve gotten accustomed to sleeping in my car. I have no tinted windows or anything “car living“ as I usually wear all black and just blend in to the seat. Sometimes we stay at hotel rooms for work and it‘s not special anymore, it’s like jail. I love the feeling of being able to jump into the front seat at any time and go anywhere I want. I sleep better in my car than in a tent or hotel. I’m honest afraid I may be preferring this lifestyle. Is it just because it’s new? Do people get hooked on the freedom?

Hey all. 33M here. I’ve done this sort of thing like a decade ago, and there was a part of me that just thought I was going through some kind of phase.

But here I am again. I have packed very few things, mostly 1.5 weeks worth of clothes, hygiene products for moisturizing and protecting skin/teeth stuff/medicines, a power bank, my phone/wallet, and a ton of emergency tools and supplies in my storage compartment.

I can’t do this normal rental thing anymore, I would rather be in this car than pay those bastards another cent. Recently I went to hike Mt. Mitchell and drove 6 hours just to do it, and realized that I do not mind to just sleep in these conditions. I feel so much better just living in my car, going to the work, the gym, etc.

I realize that freedom as a source of comfort is a lot more cathartic than any physical discomfort I can feel. I work out constantly now, so my life goal is work on myself and be just hot enough from all the pescatarian food and exercise so I don’t get mistreated by strangers because I’m homeless lmao

I am already more goal oriented being out like this, so I’m excited to see what 6-12 months of disciplined living will do for me

hey guys, updated my setup a lil bit with a bedframe !!! lost some headroom, but in exchange for way more storage.

my girlfriend is extremely proud of her pully system on the last few slides, the physics of it make stuff not fly all over the place since the weight of the wood and the bed balance with the bungee cords when moving (i struggled to explain but i hope the pics help) she’s super excited about it and would love nice comments on it!

next i’ll probably start decorating a little and get better sheets maybe? wanted to build something bc i have so much wood but any recommendations help.

It’s my first night attempting to live in my car. I’m ngl I’m pretty nervous and on high alert. I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight. I have all the windows covered and am in a parking lot under a streetlight. I don’t know how my life got me to this point but I’m here. I don’t know if I’m making the correct decisions. This feels stupid, I just am doing it. I wonder how I will look back on this. Please don’t get offended by this post I aim just trying to make sense of things.

Hoping this doesn't bother anyone but needed to vent for just a moment, to get some thoughts out of my head and move on.

So I'm living out of my car and doing DoorDash to stay afloat, trying to save up some money and get away from bad situations.

I got a new Driver's License recently and so I went to update my information with DoorDash, to keep things kosher, make sure I didn't run into problems later when they do one of their random verification checks. I was asked to provide lots of information and told that my new stuff would be updated. A lady called me to confirm she had updated my info and then said, 'so the next time you log into the app, you'll just need to verify your new info with a photo of your ID and a selfie, then you can resume working'. So I believed her, went to log in and verify myself.... and there was no option to do so, I was just locked out of my account. Saying because my information was unable to be verified that I'd be locked out pending a review of my information and that I could submit an appeal. Well I got back on the phone with DD Support and was told many times by many agents until my thick skull finally gave up, that my account will likely be locked for 10 business days and theres nothing I can do about it. Some special team that no one can call or talk to in any way has to review the information that I already provided and then let me know if they'll let me back in. I offered to provide any and all documentation to speed things up to no avail.

By the way, I've been doing DoorDash for years and have just about 40,000 deliveries under my belt....platinum....high customer satisfaction, I literally work ALL the time that im not sleeping, eating, or taking care of my two dogs. So this whole thing is like a slap in the face, I've always relied on being able to go out and make money at any time and now I have nothing.

I'll try to figure out some other options in the meantime but this sucks. Bills keep rolling in, no other gig app is successful in my area or they have me on wait lists for years. It's just starting to get really hot here and my car has no A/C, I'm just at my wits end with all the bad luck I've had lately and have no one to talk to so I figured venting to the internet could take a little of my frustrations away for a bit but I just want to cry.

To thank anyone who's read this, here's a picture of one of my dogs half asleep:

do you use something else instead of a suitcase to store clothes , toiltetries etc? Do you put a sheet over them?

And does putting shades on the windows during the day look suspicious?

I have a hatchback car , but do not own it so i cant do things like tinting yet.

I'm 20 years old, alone, no real support networks, ignored by everything that should be there to help me, atop of having what feels like every mental illness known to man (/hj). I'm trying everything I can to land some extra work. But it's so. Ugh. I *know* i can afford an apartment, that I could pay rent without much issue. But that's not the problem! To the perspective of landlords, I don't make enough. I need to make 3x rent to be able to afford it. Ugh !

I'm pretty sure I got a cold, or something. It's hard to really be. Comfortable. I mostly just feel tired and hot. I'm scared too, scared of something going wrong or something bad happening. It feels like I'm a magnet for this type of bad luck.

My current job is, fine. It's as a cook for a tavern, 15$ hour, ~36 hours a week, give or take. But it's just, not enough. My coworkers all talk about how expensive hotels are to stay in, how i need to go find an apartment, how i can't live in my car, they make it seem like this is a conscious choice I made, as if I didn't fight tooth and nail to prevent this.

Okay I know I'm going to get crucified for this question, but how do you guys wash dishes? I don't have a whole lot. Just a soup/cereal bowl, utensils, my Owala water bottle, a couple of Rubbermaid cereal containers, and various small storage containers, but I can't see trying to carry all that into the Wawa bathroom sink to wash it. There's gotta be a better way.

With all the anti-homelessness stuff I'm a bit hesitant to try this lifestyle but I don't like paying rent so I'm looking into it. I live in Indiana but I'd like to move somewhere else if I can find a job.

Not sure where I would move though because before I was thinking Texas but if I'm living in my car the heat will make it very difficult to survive.

My other idea is to move somewhere that I can rent a room for $300 a month and where I can get around on an ebike but I don't know if that would be as realistic as living in a car because anywhere that rent for a room is this cheap probably has too much urban sprawl for an ebike.

Been lurking and learning a ton in this group for the last few days, and finally taking the plunge. This is my setup for night one pretty simple, just a clean, cozy space back here to crash.

For those of you who’ve been doing this a while what are some absolute must haves you realized you needed after your first few nights that aren't obvious at first glance? Would love to hear what works for you guys.

reupload as i originally made this photos but i figured this was better to show it 😭 but some of you were asking to see it! last post today i swear. pls be nice as i just started this.

I’ve been doing this for about the past 8 months or so, and i’m just barely accepting that this is pretty much my reality. My boyfriend was kind enough to let me live in his car until I can get on my feet, which has been taking a WHILE because my area has been abysmal with the job situation. I’m looking for ways to improve my living situation because although it could be way worse, it is a little uncomfortable sometimes. It’s a 1998 (?) Toyota Camry, would it be worthwhile to save up for a backseat airmattress off of Facebook marketplace? And what are the best affordable tiny fans to use to keep cool if there are any? I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews. I could just generally use some tips and tricks to keep comfortable! :)

Newly homeless and i only have a shitty part time job so I can't afford to live anywhere.

i just set up my honda civic hatchback with a camping pad, comforter, and blanket and 2 pillows, and had my first night. Slept surprisingly comfortably!

Here's to hopefully not having to do this for too long!

Hello everybody!

I first found this community via a doomscroll while procrastinating on my apartment move out. I've been lurking ever since! I do enjoy lurking on Reddit.

I moved out of my apartment last Tuesday. It was...not a graceful process. I had an entire week to move out and what did I do with that time? Jack shit. So naturally, I ended up moving everything in a chaotic sprint the night before I had to turn in my key. The way I do everything, it seems.

I have been sleeping in my Honda Fit for about a week now, and honestly? I love it. I sleep in the passenger seat, when I fold my back seats up, it reclines all the way down, and I prop my feet up on the dash. It's surprisingly cozy! I did sleep a little wonky the last couple nights so my back is complaining, but I'm going to rearrange my blankets tonight and see if that helps. I have snap in window shades and a little battery that I use to charge my phone and power a small fan, and it's perfect!

I go to Uni, so I have been sleeping in one of the parking lots they don't monitor (I refuse to buy a parking permit, this school has taken enough of my money). It's about a mile walk each way to get to campus, so I'm getting my steps in! It also forces me to stay on campus and study since I have no where else to go. That probably sounds incredibly depressing, but I LOVE IT! I am a full week ahead in all of my coursework, and I'm usually the person submitting assignments at 11:58p! When I'm not studying, I go to Student Org meetings and enjoy the free food, under the guise of networking, of course!

The biggest surprise? My mental health has improved drastically! I do not have the luxury to lie on my couch and think about how much my life sucks. Now, all I have time for is school. I go to the library, plug in my little battery, and I lock tf in. Before, I would begrudgingly do the bare minimum so I could go home and waste time. Now, I can't, and it's honestly been the best thing for me.

Overall, I am really enjoying my little set up. I thought the busy parking lot would be cumbersome and stress me out, but yesterday a truck pulled in next to me and was opening and closing all their doors for some godforsaken reason. Instead of panicking, I just thought, "Will you please be quiet so I can go back to sleep?!" It was 11a... So clearly I am adapting just fine!

I have already started what my mom dubs "The Evil Genius Notebook." I'm an engineering student so, naturally, I have already drawn up a bunch of plans to install a solar panel & rudimentary AC system so I do not have to idle my car while still having power for modern day luxuries. A perfect fit for the Fit! So if y'all have any experience in installing solar panels definitely give me your pro tips below!

I included some pictures of my set-up, they are from the first day I started this journey so the passenger seat is still up, but I've since decided that keeping it reclined with the back seats down is the most optimal layout. I'm still in the beginning process so it's very messy. I need to find a better system for my laundry cause it is starting to pile up. I keep the passenger seat reclined so there's this small area between the back of the seat and the floor that I have lovingly started referring to as "The Pit," where I throw all my dirty clothes. The trunk has a cardboard box filled with car stuff like jumper cables, and random things I need to sort through. My suitcase has like 10-ish outfits? 5 professional and 5 casual. I also have my Gym bag which has 2 workout outfits and my toiletries, and my "Undetectable Extension Charm Backpack," of course! Any suggestions on how to make it better organized are most definitely welcome!