2016 has been a shocking year. Britain leaving the EU. The U.S. presidential election. Los Angeles criminalizing vehicular homelessness mere hours after voters approved a billion-plus dollar measure to house the homeless. Even sports blew us away, with the Cubs winning their first World Series in over a century and Leicester championing the English Premier League at 5,000-to-1 odds. And that's just scratching the surface. Personally, the year was full of highlights and disappointments. My improbable reaching of the 4-year home-free, rent-free milestone passed recently, giving me a double-dose chance to review 2016 in the life of The Office Hobo. So here is, in classic Good/Bad/Ugly fashion, in descending...
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This week the City Council approved a ban on sleeping in vehicles in LA. The news was released just over 24 hours after voters approved Measure HHH’s $1.2 billion in homeless housing, a sneaky tactic for a controversial sequel to a law that was struck down two years ago. In short, the law criminalizes overnight sleeping in personal vehicles or RVs unless in specified commercial or industrial zones between 9:00pm and 6:00am. The ordinance will take effect if the Mayor signs it. Here are 10 reasons why he shouldn’t: The zone locations push homeless to the periphery. Most vehicular dwellers do their best to avoid brick-and-mortar houses, but the law takes it a step too far. Overnight parkers would be...
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The above video is an edited 5-minute teaser, compiling highlights of the speech for those who missed it live. This past weekend I traveled to Colorado Springs to participate in the annual Tiny House Jamboree. The event featured tens of thousands of spectators, over 50 tiny homes, and a slew of well-known names giving talks and workshops. Oh, and little old me, giving a Sunday talk on the stigma of small-space living for urban professionals. Though much of my focus during days leading up to my talk was devoted to crafting the final details for a solid presentation, I came away from the Jam with a few key takeaways. For those of you unable to attend--and those who did make the trip--here are my 5...
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"Where does 'presidents' go?" "Over here," I say, "in the politics section of 'social sciences'." "Man, these bookshelves is really coming together." Mike hands me the stack of titles on U.S. presidents and I file them into the top shelf. A month ago, the room was a shambles. Dusty boxes and random stored furniture. Discarded construction materials and scattered trash. A rotting apple. The downtown's Midnight Mission is a beacon of hope for many of Los Angeles' homeless, but their facility's library was little more than a disorganized book depository. Until now. My friend, Lori, came in to change that. Lori's non-profit aims to support local community efforts to solve problems of homelessness--among...
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It's been a haul. A year-and-a-half ago, I wrote a brief report on the benefits of the home-free lifestyle. After 500 or so days, a lot has changed. I think it's time for an update. In that now-dated post, I mentioned that "stress evaporated slowly from my life, giving way to creative thought and--dare I say--renewed youthfulness." Oh, how those days seem now so distant and fleeting! Not that I'm complaining. Lately, yes, I have experienced a higher level of stress than back then. But the changing of tides has brought with it positive trends. Namely, progress. Progress in the career I was so desperately chasing when this whole experiment began. These days, I welcome stress. It means there is...
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The 10 Best Books for Living Home-Free (And Those Wanting to Better Understand Those Who Do) Thinking about living a more intentional life? Already living simply and seeking some inspiration to continue your journey? Know someone who lives in her RV and want to read up on the greats to understand why on Earth someone would do such a thing? If you answered "yes" or "maybe" or "kind of I dunno quit asking me questions", this is the reading list for you. Disclaimer: Most literature that helps understand the reasoning behind giving up one's house or apartment and living home-free only indirectly addresses the lifestyle. Most relevant literature discusses voluntary simplicity as a general...
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Neigh! A horse bellows behind me as I wring out a newly laundered thermal in the basin, shaking it out before draping it over the fence to dry. The sun hurries off behind the hills surrounding our desert horse ranch, educating me once again on the finer details of wash-by-hand laundry—do it earlier in the day. I’ve been living here, in the Southern California desert, at the southernmost foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, for a few days now, but already it feels like home. I arrived here this past weekend, taking a private room in a part of the ranch’s barn which has been converted into a living space. My goal has been to (finally) finish this beast of a book I’ve been working on since I...
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The report of a meow rings out behind me as I open the fridge and reach for a plastic container of food. The label calls for ocean whitefish with organic emulsified kale, kelp, and bok choy. I'm hungry as a grizzly in Spring, but this food's not for me. No, for the first half of January I've been asked to cat-sit for a friend. And the cats always eat first. This gig calls for 17 days of all-out, no-holds-barred feline supervision, complete with two meals per day, medicine administration, and daily cat litter changes. These cats are old, too, so in truth I'm just here to make sure they don't visit Kitty Heaven on my watch. In cat years, these three gericatrics total 263 years, which gives them an average...
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There are few pursuits less rewarding than searching for affordable housing in Los Angeles. It was with a measure of reluctance I dove into searching for an apartment again. As described in a previous post, I'd grown weary of the demands of home-free living for the hustling urban creative professional. A stable homestead seemed like a plausible solution, even if just for a temporary stay. Plus, with my social life taking on a recent and unexpected vibrancy as of late, I was more and more deflecting questions about where I lived. Subconsciously, I started wondering if the right rental situation might be out there for me after all. After all, luck seemed to be on my side. I'd recently gotten a (negligible but...
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My return to full-time urban trucklife couldn't have been less smooth. Thanks to a bike thief attempting to steal my locked-up ride earlier this summer, I've grown reluctant parking the thing outside overnight. The problem is that, save for Dawn's garage in Calabasas, I no longer have a storage unit. Being that I really want the exercise, convenience, and youthful joy of taking my road bike to the streets, I have little option but to lock it up outside overnight... or sleep alongside it. Inside my camper. At risk of admitting my own absurd level of commitment to an idea, I'll post a photo of the tight squeeze below. Some might think this is a little ridiculous. And that's not wholly...
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