Note that many of these problems can be substantially mitigated by living in a caravan (RV). In fact, there is a considerable population of American retirees who live in RVs. There are certainly trade-offs involved, but they make sense for some people.
Where do they put their RVs? Do they end up paying rent for that? (And: are RVs cheap enough that this makes sense for Clarity, who I take it is young and has little in the way of savings?)
Where do they put their RVs? Do they end up paying rent for that?
You can put your RV into an RV park and pay rent. You can also park somewhere (e.g. in the US Walmart is well-known for not chasing RVs off their parking lots) and once every few days drive to an RV station to refill, recharge, discard your black/grey water, etc. If you’re really hurting for money you can (usually illegally) dump your black/grey water yourself somewhere, get electricity from solar panels, and generally be pretty self-contained.
are RVs cheap enough
As usual, it depends. Old ones in bad condition are cheap :-/
Cheap to buy but presumably not so cheap to maintain.
Still, given Vaniver’s figures elsewhere in this thread and a plausible guess at the cost of minimal RV maintenance, it looks as if living in your car still does come out cheaper than living in a house or apartment. Those drawbacks seem to me to outweigh that, though, for anyone whose earning power isn’t too wretched.
That depends on your situation and preferences. If you are single, have a telecommuting job, and there is some wanderlust in you, living in a (travelling) RV can be an excellent idea. On the other hand, if you have a family with kids, a job that requires your physical presence, a tight social circle of your neighbours… maybe not so much.
Note that many of these problems can be substantially mitigated by living in a caravan (RV). In fact, there is a considerable population of American retirees who live in RVs. There are certainly trade-offs involved, but they make sense for some people.
Where do they put their RVs? Do they end up paying rent for that? (And: are RVs cheap enough that this makes sense for Clarity, who I take it is young and has little in the way of savings?)
You can put your RV into an RV park and pay rent. You can also park somewhere (e.g. in the US Walmart is well-known for not chasing RVs off their parking lots) and once every few days drive to an RV station to refill, recharge, discard your black/grey water, etc. If you’re really hurting for money you can (usually illegally) dump your black/grey water yourself somewhere, get electricity from solar panels, and generally be pretty self-contained.
As usual, it depends. Old ones in bad condition are cheap :-/
Cheap to buy but presumably not so cheap to maintain.
Still, given Vaniver’s figures elsewhere in this thread and a plausible guess at the cost of minimal RV maintenance, it looks as if living in your car still does come out cheaper than living in a house or apartment. Those drawbacks seem to me to outweigh that, though, for anyone whose earning power isn’t too wretched.
That depends on your situation and preferences. If you are single, have a telecommuting job, and there is some wanderlust in you, living in a (travelling) RV can be an excellent idea. On the other hand, if you have a family with kids, a job that requires your physical presence, a tight social circle of your neighbours… maybe not so much.
I would add:
A social circle who thinks RV are cool and not a sign of low status.