How hard is it to disappear

i think about this sometimes and i think it would be pretty hard.

20-30 years ago. maybe a touch more like mid 70's i think you could have done it pretty easily and still be somewhat on the grid.
you could move to a small type town in an out of the way state. you could probably get pretty decent work and be paid under the table.
back in them days, restaurants and garages and such hired people like that all the time.
even into the mid 90's i think it would have been possible. when i was 18 i worked at a junkyard and was paid under the table.
dude didnt even take my ID or social. i got hired cause a guy i knew was tight with the owner.

anymore though that stuff is hard to come by. the hardest part of it i think would be the money side of it.
how/where are you gonna get cash?
if you use any sort of card, even prepaid you are leaving a trail.

interestingly enough, a guy i work with was talking about this last week and he said he read somewhere that albuquerque is one of the best places to disappear.
dont know where he read it or what makes it so easy there but that is what he said

You'd need access to plenty of cash, ditch your phone bank cards or anything similar. Europe would be pretty easy to move across (open borders) your exit out of the U.S. And destination would be the last electronic trace of you so think of a central destination such as Luxembourg or Brussels. Once in southern Spain you can cross into North Africa pretty easy. Once there you've pretty much disappeared. A lot of UK ex military take that route in order to get to the ports around the Persian gulf when taking on maritime security work against pirate action keeps them under the radar.

a reply to: amsterdamn87

I recommend reading book by Abby Hoffman STEAL THIS BOOK..(don't steal it) its free online.

From the hippie days...full set of instructions and tons more ideas!

PS Great book...don't try everything...it was a different time then. Good luck.

MS

a reply to: mysterioustranger

that was a cool book.
doubt any of it would apply this day in age though

How hard is it to disappear

It's pretty hard to not be found if there is any effort in looking for you in conjunction with you trying to establish yourself back in society where there would be checks in place.

Before this terrorism thing, getting a new ID would be a major hurdle past. Nowadays having a brand new ID would mean there are new checks in place to make sure you are who you say you are.

If you are off the radar totally than it's pretty easy and not trying to get a new passport / bank account etc.

a reply to: amsterdamn87

The difficulty, or rather the majority of it, would be largely about leaving behind loved ones, assuming they were not in a mood to follow suit.

If it were not for the people I have in my life, I would have been off into the hills years ago, years and years. Personally, the way the modern world operates makes me sick, and I hate every part of it. But life without my loved ones would not be life, just existence, and existence is not enough for me.

a reply to: amsterdamn87

The book Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur is a true story about a man who intentionally disappeared. It is very compelling reading.

Easy to do, hard to sustain. It's really dependent on how determined you are.

Loved into the wild, the movie was great too.

a reply to: amsterdamn87
My only question is...Why would you WALK there? o.O

originally posted by: Pillywiggin
a reply to: amsterdamn87

The book Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur is a true story about a man who intentionally disappeared. It is very compelling reading.

yeah.
too bad he wasnt up to snuff on what plants could poison you.
i didnt read the book but watched the movie.
i felt bad for the dude. the way he died.
not sure if this is true but the movie said there was a spot where he could have crossed the water not too far from where he was camped out.

let that be a lesson. if youre gonna fade out into the wild, you better know how to survive.
dude got hungry and ate a plant that was poison and he suffered his way into death.

truebrit, i get what youre saying. i could leave everyone and everything except for my wife and daughter.
i have brothers. a mother....
walking away from all of them would be the easy part. i dont feel too much of an attachment to my family. i wouldnt even say i love my brothers. i hardly ever see them.
i love my mom but it is not some deep love. i know she loves me but i dont think she likes me all that much.

my brothers btw are half or step. i have always felt that when my mother looks at me she sees my father.
we resemble each other. she said we have the same mannerisms...use the same lingo. etc
i think she just cant get past it

anyway, i think the walking away part would be easy. if i had to go to someplace like the due from into the wild, like alaska, i couldnt survive.
in a city i would be fine but if i had to fend for myself...like hunting and prepping my own food...things like that..i would be done for

Having a vehicle makes it a lot easier since you have a place to sleep, it makes it easier to blend in, and makes it easier to get out if a place becomes inhospitable. Panhandling can get you in trouble, but usually people just ask you to leave. In that time you can easily make enough to fill up your tank and move on. If you ever end up doing that (or anyone else who is reading this), remember that remote places like truck stops are usually nicer to travellers than cities. Some cities are an exception, but others will try to throw you in jail. If you run into the police, be respectful, assert that you are just travelling through and you plan to leave immediately, and don't show any fear. If you can't get a vehicle then hitch-hiking or travelling by train are options but both have their own strategies and dangers (I haven't tried either). Having someone you trust and/or a dog makes things a little bit safer. Sometimes you have to choose between freedom and security/comfort.

If you feel you need to leave your family, tell them why you are leaving and try your damndest to make it back. Families suffer when you leave them but sometimes the wants/needs of an individual don't go along with the wants/needs of the family. It's not a pretty situation but it is very common.

a reply to: mysterioustranger
I have read the book, found alot is out of date,(personally) but it did help with a couple of things.

a reply to: TrueBrit
I agree with you 100%, before I met my wife I was planning to drift around the world, I figured I could spange enough for a passport, and just hoof it around the old fashion way. But with the kids at home, I feel like I've been pretty tamed and can't really do much now until children become of age.

a reply to: Pillywiggin
I haven't read the book but from what I can gather it seems pretty depressing.

a reply to: Mousygretchen
I need the exercise and learned a while ago, you find much more, including resources. With a car you go around and decide where you want to stop. On foot your forced to go through places.

a reply to: hololeap
In a car, I'm an extremely easy target. I got pulled over last year for "not having tags" on a new car, while driving my daughter to school, (which was a mile away), yeah I don't have a license but the cop just looked at me and right away the lights went on. If it wasn't for my wife being sick and my daughter being in the car, and my compliance, I most definitely would of been arrested and put in jail. I got lucky and was given a ticket.