Back in 2019, before COVID, there was this looming feeling of something impending. Not knowing exactly what it was, only that it was going to impact the economy for better or worse. Erring on the side of caution, I planned for the worst and hoped for the best.
My mom had just lost her battle with a rare cancer (metastasized squamous cell carcinoma of the thymus) in November 2018. She named me and my brother as beneficiaries on an annuity which she had started for tax purposes and retirement. I used my half to buy an RV at the one year mark of her passing.
My 2020 resolution was to live life on my terms as best as possible because her death opened my eyes to the reality that I too will cease to exist one day and don’t want to regret the things I hadn’t tried.
I moved into the RV on January 24, 2020. This was known as the coldest night of my life. Being under the impression that I could sleep the way I had in my small one bedroom apartment that never had much heat, I recall waking up in the early morning hours in a fetal position so cold that I couldn’t even bring myself to get up for another blanket. I learned quickly to bundle up in layers and use more than one blanket in cold temperatures. Winter became easier as I eventually invested in a propane buddy heater. In the summer I use a portable air conditioner powered by my gas generator which also charges my e-scooter, portable battery for my hanging four watt christmas lights and to keep my phone and laptop charged.
A poster mid generation Millennial, I found myself lacking all the modern conveniences which I had previously taken for granted – running water being one. This leads to one of the common questions I get: “how do you shower?” which happens to be the simplest question to answer. The gym. The other common question I get is where do I park my 28 foot apartment on wheels. We all know parking in NYC is atrocious. I personally have found that industrial zones where oversized commercial vehicles like charter buses, trucks and school buses are frequently parked overnight is a safe bet. So long as the alternate side parking rules are followed and no disturbance, or mess, is caused, we are generally left alone.
I started out parked on the side of a cemetery for about a year, then I found myself under the Gowanus expressway in South Slope, and now in the beautiful neighborhood of Redhook. Over the years I adopted a dog, found another dog abandoned in the Washington Square Park dog run and suddenly became a twice blessed dog dad to the best dogs ever, Apollo and Onyx. At least one of them is always in the same room with me and they both wrestle for my attention.
Few people have the guts to ask me how I toilet. In all honesty, a five gallon bucket with bags. I do my business, tie up the bag and throw it away with the trash. “Do you cook?” Yes, but nothing heavy because smaller spaces get cluttered quickly and I’m not one for the cleanup. I have a setup for outdoor cooking where I use a cinder block as a rocket stove fueled with sticks I grab from the park while walking the pooches. My indoor setup consists of a folding rocket stove which is fueled by two, or three, sternos.
Water comes from a fire hydrant. On water day, I bring my monkey wrench, my two large water containers, two buckets and a gallon jug. It’s the same water pumped through apartments and houses. I use the buckets for cleaning, usually to rinse my cookware after sudsing and scrubbing but also for various other cleaning needs like mopping. For a single man with two dogs, as well as being a full time college student, the lifestyle isn’t so bad. The truth is that this lifestyle is not for everyone. It comes with sacrifices.
For me it had come down to being constrained by student loans, high rent and utilities I barely ever used because I was never home. I was working three jobs just to pay for all of that, with nothing but a place to crash and shower with rules on how I was allowed to live. Imagine that, working your ass off to pay a landlord for the ability to live in a space, but no pets, no washer and dryer, no guests for longer than three consecutive nights, etc. Compounding that with having to follow the demands and directions of employers just felt like I had no autonomy over myself let alone the life I was living.
So here I am now, a motorhome owner with the dogs I always wanted, the ability to have guests, and the autonomy which was lacking for so long. It’s true that I don’t pay rent, but there are overhead expenses and hidden costs which do add up. However, being in more control of those expenses is worth the added freedom acquired.
I kept working three jobs throughout the pandemic and saved a lot more than originally expected, but then the inflation took it all away and left me with even more credit card debt than ever before. Going back to school for a second degree was not only a beckoning choice but also out of necessity. I couldn’t afford my student loan payments anyway so it made sense at that point to double down, follow my dreams and get a second, more useful degree in fields which excite me: Communications, Visual and Media Studies with two minors Journalism and Film Production.
In order to create this life, I had to first break out of the 9-5 cubicle prison of monotony and mindless clickity clack with scrutinizing overbearing micromanagement designed to instill fear to keep workers in their place without feeling too empowered to ask for what they deserve. Living paycheck to paycheck is not living, it’s surviving. It got to a point for me where my time and autonomy became worth more than an employer who didn’t care about my wellbeing and kept me in a lifestyle of their choosing. It started to feel like I would rather go hungry than put up with the rigid senseless rules and slavery to the matrix we exist to tolerate. So I took a leap of faith, became a broke college student again and live day to day. The trade off is that I get to live in the now without fear and the oppression deferred to employers to carry out.
It really comes down to perspective. One could say I’m homeless, but to me home is where the heart and soul are found. Looking at it that way flips the script onto those following the herd into the abyss. Of course I don’t live in a brick and mortar home, but I’m still sheltered, fed and most importantly aligned within.
