If I were too (hypothetically) leave the US with no cash...

To be blunt. Go to the UK hide your passport and other ID. Go to the gov. and claim benefits. Simple as that thousands do it every year. Morally it is completely wrong and disgusting but it works.

-Cauch1

PS don't do it have standards

You have to know your Skill set? Can you make money independently? Can you live off the land? If you require others to get by than you have two options: survive in the underground economy or the mainstream one.

Get a regular job or sell drugs or your body. If you want to go undetected, it's easier to find a job in the underground economy, though you risk getting picked up by the authorities and then you are done.

Best case is to find a legitimate business willing to take on some one with out the proper working creds, slowly ingratiate yourself into the society and make it nearly impossible for them to throw you out.

First off, I don't think anybody actually believed this was "hypothetical" from the start. I know I didn't. Secondly, I agree with the guy who suggested that the photograph in the Avatar be removed. If you want to show anybody what you look like, you can do that with U2U.

Originally posted by LordBucketMay I also suggest that if the city and state of residence and the clear full-face photograph of such a hypothetical person asking such a hypothetical question should happen to appear in their hypothetical avatar and member data on the very board they were asking such as hypothetical question...it might be in their best interest to remove those things.

I catch your drift but asking question ain't illegal, neither is researching a subject. This literally is all hypothetical until someone were to start doing such illegal activity. Not to mention there are legal ways of leaving the country on parole as I've stated, and since if I (or anyone) were smart, they'd wait til they were off parole to leave that way they could eventually, or really whenever come back to the US which would be preferred to not being able too.

But yeah I guess I'll remove the picture, although it's already been out there now, and there's plenty of other ways to link me to my actual identity, simply by tracing an IP address... so I don't think it really matters. My picture isn't really hard to find, and neither is most of yours.

Best place to hide is in your own country. Think 24 hour open hotels. And lots of such hotels and casinos in Vegas. Places with lobbies and bathrooms can be what it takes to find things liveable. For money just be a street entertainer with a hermonica or flute. Just put a box or a hat out to collect money from people willing to pay you for the entertainment for bus change and food.

What state are you in now? You can go to live with someone else that's willing to duck you off if you pay em off time to time. Be sure to give your computer to someone else so the police dont check and see you were planning what you were planning. Pitch a tent in someone's back yard and pay em off. That way you stay out their way and not so much in their home.

[edit on 31-12-2009 by Tormentations]

reply to post by Tormentations


All of this sort of stuff has crossed my mind, I think I figured out what I want/need to do. I guess I'll have to wait and see how it all turns out. Any more information is welcome though, and appreciated.

Happy New Years to everyone by the way!

I hear that Ireland, believe it or not, is easy to disipear into. Also the phillipenes and Andorra.

You could try the legal way. Go to somewhere like Switzerland or Austria and set yourself up there. Learn the language, settle in, get a job, etc. and most importantly get citizenship. Once you have citizenship you are very unlikely to be extradited thats just the way those countries are. You could try the same thing in South America but it won't be as easy for a white guy to have a normal life there.
If I remember any other ways I'll post them.

-Cauch1

Strangely I have planned this very option out in detail if it become needed. I have come up with a few routes to take.

You can either leave the country with a one-way ticket if you are not wanted or by purchasing identities, again how you leave depends on reason you are being leaving. It might call that you leave by traveling through different countries jumping borders etc.

Depending on skill sets and/or crime. Follow below.

a) Serious crimes which you will be chased.
Get to France as soon as you can. This may seem strange but please continue. Join the French Foreign Legion, when you join you are asked no questions, you are given a new identity and are enlist for a number of years, I believe four. After this you are safe from all prosecution, you have a new identity, money, something to show employers in your new life.

b) If you are leaving immediately and have no money.
This varies greatly on your skill sets and country of choice, I have planned a computer path since that is what I would pursue if I wanted a fast job. If I had time I would choose an engineering job.

Anywhere with general wifi availability. Begin applying for jobs for steady income camping out at various locations, optionally begin hacking networks for profit either as contractor or on your own. If you decide you want to live without a boss you can start a computer repair business, list ads on craigslist, etc get your name out and do your work.

c) If you have it planned ahead of time but still no money.
Find a forum that shares your interests ideally based in your target country, make friends, find job online, and discuss with your friend about staying with him for a few weeks when you move there so you are able to get on your feet. Attempt to secure multiple interviews for jobs before flying over or if your lucky secure a job.

Again this is if you go with no funds, funds open up a whole new arena depending on how much.

reply to post by ahddm


Thanks for the reply. All sounds like good advice if you really want to leave, and I am good with computers.

How come you get a new identity in the French Foreign Union? Could an American just got to Franch and do this?

Also, securing a job doesn't necessarily mean you get a work visa. Like you mentioned Ireland, I've been there before and the security coming into the country (post 9/11) was minimal, a quick passport check that was it. But staying there longer than the allotted time would more than likely result in them looking for you I'd assume? Although Ireland is awesome because it has so many rolling hills and places to escape too. Local villagers are welcoming to Americans (other than one I almost got in a fight with) and I'm sure I could find a job in a small village with some room and board. You have to have somewhere to live in Ireland it's too damn cold out to stay outdoors.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Form what I remember on my research the FFL will take anyone willing to sign a contract give you a new name, a passport and you become a citizen there were some conditions but well worth it if you were trying to escape something.

I am not sure about work visa issues, but it is pretty easy to find a job where you are not reported, and you can get by with that and apply for asylum during that process. Even if you do not secure a visa it is pretty easy to stay under the radar if you do not commit any crime. I have had relatives that flew here 10 years ago and are finally getting green cards.

Laws only prevent law abiding citizens from freedom, people who want to do something generally will.

Regarding living outside, I think we as humans are lucky in that we adapt pretty well, a good panhandler can make anywhere between $50-300 a day which is more than enough if you just wanna get by.

If you are a outdoors man, you could panhandle a few days and purchase an axe and a .22lr and live on your own in the woods on small animals. Hell you could build log cabin and live in there if you really wanted to, start with a small camp and you can have a full log cabin within a few weeks.

Put into a situations where we have to make do we can achieve a lot with almost nothing. I can probably do anything I want without any money except for convincing my fiancé I am not crazy.

[edit on 3-1-2010 by ahddm]

reply to post by ahddm


Ha, very true. Although I'd much rather not have to make my own shelter by hand, but it is something we blindly accept rather than stop and appreciate (having pre-built homes).

So in some aspects I have somethings going for me, but you really have to look at my life in a skewed position. Dept=more dept=slavery, simply put. The Fed can suck it, and hell so can the state.

Originally posted by ahddm

If you are a outdoors man, you could panhandle a few days and purchase an axe and a .22lr and live on your own in the woods on small animals. Hell you could build log cabin and live in there if you really wanted to, start with a small camp and you can have a full log cabin within a few weeks.

He is talking about leaving America and the rest of the Western world is not so relaxed about guns. He can't just show up in some other country and expect to be sold a gun.

-Cauch1

reply to post by Cauch1


Yeah unfortunately me, or anyone else would rather not have a gun with murders that could be tracked back to it (which can happen when buying illegal weapons). If I were to leave the country and live out in the woods a gun or a weapon would needed to survive for the most part (i.e. hunting, and for safety).

However, a knife can be used to do all of that if you know what you're doing, although I admit I am not a knife expert, I'm sure it would save my life in many conditions.

I still think about this whole concept a lot, especially lately, maybe once the weather gets better around the globe (although yes it's hot in a lot of places all year around) it would be better to start off a new life, just in case where ever I live doesn't have heat, ya know?

a one way ticket, no money and no contacts at your destination will get you kicked right back out of a lot of countries. might as well save the airfare and head south, overland.

i joined just to post this to ya.
normally i just read the postings but when i saw yours i figured, what the hell, someone in my situation and he wants to leave too.

hey
don't sweat it.
i've been running for 2 years and have found this site very interesting.

ic.org

i too have been thinking of jumping to another country because i'm sick of it here. currently i'm trying to get a sailboat off craigslist or from a salvage yard. then my plan is live on the boat, make repairs, and stock up for departure.

i've found the craigslist volunteer adds helpful too. there is always something in central america where you can get room and board for work.

my only fear is going alone down there.
if you want PM me and we can talk more privatly.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Go to Mexico by land, you can cross the border with no issues, at least you use to be able to, but i am not sure now.

Once in Mexico, buy a bus ticket to Jalisco state, then head to Ajijic, is a very small and famous town, with a lot of old Americans folks, your English skills will come very handy there, that's a good choice, and its a nice place, you will have most of the things you are used to so there's not a lot of pain in leaving the US. You can get a job selling stuff or as a gardener or whatever comes up, since you know English very well, some shops could hire you to handle non-spanish speaking costumers, stay out of big business and work only for cash, most small business will pay you by cash at the end of the week, stay out of trouble, don't make enemies that could advise the police about you being illegal and all that. You can get a small room for 50 bucks a month or something like that, go live in the poor part of the town, make local friends and be cool and you can even get invited to live in on their houses, provided you pay a small monthly fee,you can stay for a long time, maybe not cool if you like to keep to yourself, but it will be a lot better than living on a crappy empty and dark room all by yourself.

You need to make it there first, along the trip there could be check points and if you are asked for ids or whatever, game over, so you first need to get there safe, and i am not sure if there are a lot of check points on the north side of the country, will ask some friends about that and let you know.

I know there are lots of retired people on that town, and that there are more towns like that all over the place, but this is a small town where an american can go unnoticed as the town is full of them, all of them are usually rich and have big houses so you won't be bothered if people think you are also living on the very expensive side of town.

Linky here: www.ajijic.com...

Good luck finding a new life when things get messed up, it is sometimes good to start all over again don't you think?

Kai

[edit on 9-1-2010 by Kaifan]

Im ex FFL
You can join the legion and sign a 5 year contract. After which you can further enlist, or leave and if you leave then you can get a french citizenship. Stay in France and live there. Im a brit so i came home. You also with french citizenship can stay any where in the EU.
Or as some one has already mentioned, just come to the Uk and lose your documents and claim asylum. Ireland is also a good idea.

Well, I know this isnt what you asked, but, I cant help myself.

If all you have are some misdemeanors and some unpaid fines, it seems to me the action of fleeing the country is greatly out of proportion to your situation.

I dont know how huge the fines are, but if they arent in the 5 or 6 figures, perhaps you should consider working two jobs for a while, paying them off, and being done with the whole mess.

It seems to me the solution to being in trouble with the law is rarely to break more laws. Unless you are in danger of being executed or something. But for fines? It isnt worth risking the trouble you may get yourself into violating both your own countries laws, and then the laws of yet another country.

Just my two cents, and I'll shut up now.

First you need to reach the coast. That’s not that hard, even if you are in the middle of the country you can hitch hike. You could always walk too. If you don’t currently own clothes you could wear a trash bag to the Salvation Army and get them to give you a pair!

You can look for different fruits, nuts, berries and tubers along the way to eat if you have no money. JayinAr here on ATS knows a lot about those things, he would be happy to tell you what to look for and how to find it.

Most donut shops throw out their yesterday’s donuts around 4 or 5 am in the morning, a lot of bakeries do the same, so if you don’t mind dumpster diving you can always do that to eat while you make your way to the coast.

You can also walk into small mom and pop restaurants or convenience stores and offer to do a few hours of work for a meal or a couple of hot dogs and nachos.

Once you get to the coast you are going to need transportation.

Lord David Baron De Rothschild plans on sailing across the Atlantic this spring in a raft made entirely out of empty two liter plastic beverage bottles. He’s the richest man in the world and sure he will have his 435 foot motor yacht following him, an aircraft carrier, and a submarine and a fleet of helicopters, but the concept evidently works well enough for a photo op.

So maybe grabbing those stale donuts will get you in the practice of dumpster diving to round up enough bottles to make your own ocean going vessel.

If not don’t despair and start making the rounds of marinas and new boat dealers. A lot of times they sail boats, especially sail boats for the rich and aimless who have purchased them in one place and want them delivered to another, or who have their boat one place now, but want to fly down to the Caribbean to meet it.

It might take a few weeks to find someone who needs an extra hand on deck but chances are you can line something up swabbing decks and cleaning rails. Boats out at sea get covered with a paste of salt water that’s really nasty as it dries in the sun and is highly corrosive so someone is forever having to clean parts of the exposed deck.

So you don’t need a lot of skills.

Just tell them that you have no papers and to put you ashore anywhere there is a sheltered inlet, or cove. You might have to swim part of it, or you might get lucky and they will run you ashore on a raft or a launch. If you have to swim part of it to get to shore, just put your valuables in a zip lock bag and clench it in your teeth works like a charm.
I recommend Central America because its almost always warm year round and there are lots of fruit trees that grow in the wild, mangos, bananas, coconuts and lots of other passion fruits full of a lot of vitamins and proteins. You absolutely will not starve and because the weather is temperate you will not freeze.

You have to watch out for infections in the tropics though; athlete’s foot, abscessed teeth, rashes, and cuts can flare up quick in the warm humid air.

Costa Rica is probably the best place, there are a lot of Americans down there, including a bunch of anti-government types that flocked down after 9-11 realizing it was a false flag and thinking the end was near.

Most of them are pretty bitter these days that the crap hasn’t hit the fan yet and they could use some cheering up and some news from home.

They will help get you situated and learn how to say important things like “papers, papers I ain’t got no stinking papers”.

As long as you haven’t done anything seriously wrong, most third world law enforcement can be bribed for about 5.00 to 10.00 U.S.D., Playboy and Penthouse Magazines and other Paper Porn works excellent too.

You will want to head into the wild, and fashion yourself a hut, a hammock and a cistern to catch fresh water, and a clothes line to hang your clothes, and make spears and booby traps, all of which can be done with a good outdoors knife.

Eventually you will want a secure communications system which can be made out of cans with holes in them attached to a string, the vibration of your voice can carry over it so you can communicate with other people!

You will want to take along a soccer ball, preferably made by Wilson so you can call it Wilson because Spaulding is just to geeky to fashion into a head with some palm frond hair that you can draw a face on with charcoal from your camp fire. This will be your new best friend and trusty companion.

If you get really lonely and want to go bestial most people claim pigs are the closest thing to the touch of human skin. You will want to look for a domesticated one because wild boars have sharp quills much like porcupines.

Though if you are masochistic in nature go for a porcupine, heck it’s not like anyone is going to know.

Eventually you can befriend some natives who will teach you the art of hunting with blow guns and how to fashion your own darts and to use native plant saps as poison for them, remember though always to blow and never to suck.
Eventually you might even be able to trade one of the natives your pig or soccer ball for a real woman.

You might though end up having to pierce several parts of your body with bones from the pig.

WARNING if they invite you over for dinner the first time and there is a huge kettle big enough to hold an adult human with boiling water in it…RUN FOREST RUN.

Stay tuned tomorrow and we will learn how to launch coconut satellites into orbit and use natural crystals as death rays!

Good luck!