Why don't the homeless live in the bush?

This thread is sort of inspired by another thread about homelessness.

Anyway.. I was thinking.. If I were homeless and finding work was no option as I keep hearing is the case for many... I would go the state forest or national park.. far away from the beaten track.. and live of the land.
In Australia.. there are many places you can camp for free that have toilet blocks and shower facilities.. these are often near a river or beach that you can catch fish in... and if you were far enough from the beaten track you could grow some crops I'm sure..

Why don't more people do this? What attracts people to the cities when there is no work prospects? Rent and living is more expensive in cities .. thus if you can't get a job there is no point being there. A welfare cheque would go alot further in the bush .. you only need to buy some tinned food [SNIP]. If you have a few buddies who are broke too.. you could form a small society in the bush...

I guess one reason is legal.. some camping may be free but you cant camp indefinitely or permanently... If so however.. just camp until you get moved on and go to a different spot... and so on.. ?


Anyone ever thought of this?


EDIT: I just realized this is in the wrong forum.. its not about ancient civilizations. Can mods move it to appropriate place?
I guess it could have ancient civ theme if consider camping is kinda like ancient living. .

reply to post by bigdohbeatdown


I would quickly change your OP or I see it getting deleted....read the T&C.

Back on topic living out in the bush isn't as easy as you think.

In the bush there less people to beg from and drugs are way harder to get.
Also how many liquor stores are there out there not to many. Most of the homeless are fully capable and smart people they just suffer from some mental conditions and addictions. But they are our brothers so maybe we should look out for them a little more, instead of wasting tons of money on bs governmental projects.

Many people do that!

Personally I'm glad not every single homeless person lives in the wilderness, though it could create some gypsy tribes I wouldn't mind jamming with.

Thing is, people love their city and don't want to leave. Family, friends- it's enough to keep folks in the worst of places.

I lived in the tenderloin in SF, right smack dab in the middle, luckily the apartment was pretty nice and affordable. What I saw out of my window however was not so nice.
Waking up to a loud gas brake out the window: Firetrucks in the morning, spraying down homeless people sleeping in cardboard boxes.

Really a drag, if I was any of them I would have left long ago. A rotted out tree in the hills is better off.

reply to post by bigdohbeatdown

In my younger days i was part of the Crustie movement and lived in the wilds of Wales, we were classed as NFA (No Fixed Abode) and I had the very same thought.

Of course it would have been much easier to live in a city, as another poster has said - easy access to what you need but the flipside is the ever present threat of danger, violence and abuse. If you know what you're doing, the countryside can provide you with all you require to survive but it does take commitment and energy. Which I think is the clincher here - a lot of homeless people would just rather pick out of a trashbin or beg to strangers for instant gratification than work at a sustainable solution.

I guess the answer is that there is a wide spectrum of homelessness, some choose to do it out of idealism to make a positive change in their lives while others are a victim of their circumstances.

A mental health professional in Texas who worked only with people who had to depend on the state for mental health help -

Told me that somewhere between 80-90% of all homeless people are either mentally ill or substance abusers. Most of them also only became homeless because they exhausted all means of family/friend support (or never had any to begin with).

The percentage of people who are ONLY homeless because of job loss is very, very low.

That may change as the economy tanks, but that is the current situation. I think most people who are resourceful enough to do what you suggest - and have the desire to do it - are already doing so.

reply to post by boymonkey74

Back on topic living out in the bush isn't as easy as you think.

Living in Austtralia I have to agree with you for the first time on ats

reply to post by bigdohbeatdown


Don't be deceived by some of the homeless, a lot of them may seem poor but with that a lot have more money than your average joe and would rather beg than spend their own fortune.

reply to post by bigdohbeatdown


Living off the land for more then a week is a lot harder then you think unless you really know what you are doing and it is a lot of work too. Most people have no clue what it entails. If you think it is just like camping out and catching some fish to eat you are sadly mistaken...

Originally posted by DarknStormy
reply to post by bigdohbeatdown

 

Don't be deceived by some of the homeless, a lot of them may seem poor but with that a lot have more money than your average joe and would rather beg than spend their own fortune.

edit on 7-3-2013 by DarknStormy because: (no reason given)

Sorry, but I call BS. Sounds like something Fox news would say frankly.

I've worked with homeless organizations and food banks for many years and can agree a great many have addictions. As for the "mental" issues, anyone in the mental health INDUSTRY is likely to say this and almost anything these days can be called a condition.

Still haven't met a single one with their own "fortune"

I will say this though, a great many are just plain lazy. When you can get food, clothing a place to crash within walking distance and can beg for a few hours to get a little cash...for some, it's good enough. It takes considerably more effort to pull yourself out of that situation and some just don't bother.

Originally posted by AthlonSavage
Back on topic living out in the bush isn't as easy as you think.

I have a mate living out bush in a caravan. Hes not homeless but chose to live that way after his mother died. She left her Melbourne home to him which he sold and became very rich. If you have the money living out the bush would be a piece of cake, for a homeless/poor person though they wouldn't last very long.

Originally posted by hawkiye
reply to post by bigdohbeatdown

 

Living off the land for more then a week is a lot harder then you think unless you really know what you are doing and it is a lot of work too. Most people have no clue what it entails. If you think it is just like camping out and catching some fish to eat you are sadly mistaken...

Totally.
Too many people have these 'fantasies' about what 'they would do' and its not well thought out and in most cases would end in utter failure. There ARE people out there who could live off the land in a national park (and avoid being caught) but 99% of us couldn't make it long.

I am a pretty realistic person. I have done extensive camping/hiking and grew up in a family that took pleasure in outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. In a situation where I had to wander into a national forest with a backpack , tent and fishing pole- I MIGHT make it a month.

There is so much to "living off the land" and most of us do not have the skill or knowledge... Again, some do- And for some this might be a viable option. If I were ever faced with homelessness I would be trying to fix the problem and taking off into the woods (at best) keeps you alive but with no prospects of fixing anything until you are injured or too old to continue mere survival. I would choose a homeless shelter, look for a job and attempt to get back on my feet.

Originally posted by Paschar0
Sorry, but I call BS. Sounds like something Fox news would say frankly.

I've worked with homeless organizations and food banks for many years and can agree a great many have addictions. As for the "mental" issues, anyone in the mental health INDUSTRY is likely to say this and almost anything these days can be called a condition.

Still haven't met a single one with their own "fortune"

I didn't say all of them, but I have heard of a couple of cases where the people don't want to spend their money and would rather beg lol

reply to post by DarKPenguiN


Yup a couple of years ago myself and a pal tried to live off the land in Yorkshire we lasted 2 weeks lost a stone and ended up trying to catch wood pigeons to eat, my clothes were wet most of the time due to the rain everyday and I was grumpy as hell.
My pal keeps on asking me If I want to do it again.....nope.

-This guy did it...www.imdb.com...

He died, but he actually did what you were saying. he was actually brilliant and a hell of an outdoors man. He did some pretty amazing things and lived a pretty amazing life and at any time could have pulled up stakes and probably been a millionaire.

-But alas, he had a pretty short life.Tragic really, but he was happy and did what he wanted. I would imagine the skills he had was in the top .001% of the Nation (USA) .

Interesting movie and book about his life. I highly recommend it.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by DarKPenguiN

 

Yup a couple of years ago myself and a pal tried to live off the land in Yorkshire we lasted 2 weeks lost a stone and ended up trying to catch wood pigeons to eat, my clothes were wet most of the time due to the rain everyday and I was grumpy as hell.
My pal keeps on asking me If I want to do it again.....nope.

LOL-
I feel you. Even long term camping gets rough. I am good for maybe a week and that is bringing supplies and provisions. Used to go hunting up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a week with a group of friends and by weeks end we were ready to go.

-Its alot of fun so long as you can leave when you want to. =P

Because you can easily catch hypothermia if you don't know what you're doing and have no supplies.

Most people that go camping have tents, lighters,food, clean water, on and on... Homeless people tend not to have the money to buy these things.

And guns, do you want to get ate by bears? attacked by a coyote? and have no defense?

Originally posted by DarKPenguiN
-This guy did it...www.imdb.com...

He died, but he actually did what you were saying. he was actually brilliant and a hell of an outdoors man. He did some pretty amazing things and lived a pretty amazing life and at any time could have pulled up stakes and probably been a millionaire.

-But alas, he had a pretty short life.Tragic really, but he was happy and did what he wanted. I would imagine the skills he had was in the top .001% of the Nation (USA) .

Interesting movie and book about his life. I highly recommend it.

If he was a brilliant outdoors man why did he die of starvation?

McCandless had been dead for more than two weeks and weighed an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg). His official, undisputed cause of death was starvation. Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of a phenomenon known as "rabbit starvation" due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting

en.wikipedia.org...

His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune.

^Sounds like he was quite the opposite.

Funny that people think you can just up and head for the bush in Aus.

It's crown land. You're trespassing. You get fined.

You get caught catching food and you're likely going to get done for theft, also.

They've made it so you cannot live without being tied to the government in some way... so the only alternative is to live within the confines of that framework, existing WITHIN society, but WITHOUT society.

The amount of waste that is actually good food is also a factor in where people without any other means will stay. It's a lot easier to dumpster dive than it is to catch something.

The only people I've ever seen begging are drunk or obviously affected by something, and they don't care at that point if they are angry at you or not... so they are the ones you remember.

Most of the homeless people I've known were like rats. Invisible by day, and only around at night when it's quieter. Especially in Perth, where at 6pm the entire city goes into shutdown, more or less.

How is someone with no money going to get a trip into a far enough away area of bush that they are not going to be hunted by the authorities at every turn? They cant. And if they do, how do they get back if they need something urgent like medical attention? It's their grave otherwise.

Basically, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.. the only way to win is to play the game... which means slavery until the end of your time. Effectively. you're either in a winning position to break free of it all, or trapped by it in the first place.

Makes me laugh to see people think that there are billionaire homeless people whod rather beg than spend their fortune.

I mean, don't we all just wish we could spend the night in some alley way stinking of piss and crap, covered in cockroaches and avoiding the stares of passersby who look on with disgust... I know I'd rather keep my cash warm and safe than spend it........ such a luxurious lifestyle huh.

Originally posted by winofiend

Basically, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.. the only way to win is to play the game... which means slavery until the end of your time. Effectively. you're either in a winning position to break free of it all, or trapped by it in the first place.

Never a truer word said.
Totally agree