Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?

I don't like either political party, but that doesn't mean they are equal in how terrible they are, too many people try to equivocate.

We absolutely should do more to castigate people by party line, especially when their beliefs are based on propaganda. The Republican party is destroying the future of this country. The Republican media and formal political party have convinced the majority of its members that people who need help are lazy welfare queens, and that government can't do anything efficiently. It is a great narrative, and it is not factually true.

Charity is ineffective, have you looked at how they spend their money and how much goes to fund-raising and operations? Very few charities actually do anything meaningful. Government is what does the hard work that keeps states and the country running. Not to mention the number of funds given to charities with dubious missions, such as convincing women not to have abortions, or megachurches trying to buy a jet so that Christ comes back and the world ends...

Charities are badly run band-aids that are trying to hold the country together. It isn't a good thing, it is another sign of how far we have sunk in taking care of our people. That is money that should have been collected via taxes and actually deployed to help educate people, help them afford health care, etc etc.

I would urge everyone to start castigating people by party line before it is too late.

Well, it is summer, so there's that. Your compute situation is unfortunate but your rental situation is surprising. Three days, court, eviction? I was always under the impression that there were some number of weeks involved with a legal eviction having some process before the sheriff can come knocking. Clearly I'm mistaken and/or there's a longer story there.

You have to keep the faith and cannot allow yourself to spiral out. Find grit. It is frustrating but you're going to have to temper that. You seem to be doing the right things so do keep on keeping on. If homelessness is truly a risk then you and your spouse will need to dig deep, reach out to friends and family if possible, identify any root that you have and cling to it. Maybe that's just each other but hold onto it regardless. You're already taking inventory so you're already planning and adapting. Camping seems like a good suggestion. Reach out to some agencies if you haven't already. The more people working your case the better your chances will be. RH got my foot in the door after a (not so) nice five month shutout that started early in Sep. 2001 when myriad opportunities locked down tight literally overnight. I was at the end of a nice, well earned six week vacation from tech after our startup shut down. Just lying around. I regretted that little timeout for the next few months, to say the least. The money was about done and stress was running pretty high for a small family. You'll pull out, man, keep your chin up, your eyes peeled and don't balk if an offer comes up short. Find a comfort zone and shore up. You'll need a way to keep your comms open, for sure. I think that's all I've got. Good luck and god speed.

I know the feeling, in fact a little over two years ago I posted something similar on HN and got 0 responses. It’s always empowering to finally acknowledge that there is no safety net.

Forget computers and engineering interviews, start looking for any and all work that pays. If all else fails, go to McDonald’s and work there until you save up a little. Once you have an income restart your job search.

If you go homeless that becomes a social stigma that’s hard to come back from, so do EVERYTHING in your power to avoid that.

Oh, and find an apartment you can afford.

If you want someone to talk to, you can give me a call (send message first to morgan@wilde.work).

Lots of good advice here already. Some of what's below repeats what others have said. The main thing is avoid becoming homeless. I can't stress that enough. However, if you really can't do that, then here's some advice:

1.) Don't Panic!

You're about to have an adventure. Make it fun. You're not crazy, you don't have face tattoos(?), you've got skills. You won't be homeless for long, if at all. Keep your attitude in check.

2.) Head West before Winter!

If you're still out and about by then (unlikely) do not mess with that Colorado Winter. Brrr! Come out here to CA, OR, or WA. I didn't used to believe in seasons, not really. Growing up I saw them on TV, of course, but they were something that happened to other people, like tiger attacks. I spent a Winter in CO once. Once. Fuck that.

3.) Go camping.

You can camp for free in National Forests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Forests_of_C... This is a huge country and much of it belongs to you. Take advantage of that.

4.) It's really hard to starve in America.

I mean it's really fucking hard. There are food banks, Churches, and other places that serve meals or give away food. Usually there's a list that you can get from a local homeless aid group or something. We throw away huge amount of food too, I know there are "freegans" in CO.

5.) Ask for help.

You're doing that here, now, but keep it up and ask everywhere and everyone. Being too proud is a stupid way to stay homeless. You've got to have some friends or family, eh? If my friend had no place to go and didn't ask me for help (that I'd be glad to give) I'd be pretty sad when I found out.

6.) Avoid drugs and drug users.

You cannot trust a meth-head. At all. They will steal your stuff and sell it to get drugs. Don't let them in your car, don't let them watch your bag while you pee, etc. No matter how nice or cool they seem, nor how much they seem to have their shit together you cannot trust a meth-head.

One weird idea: Consider starting a blog so we can all follow along and root for you and send help. ;-)

(And for goodness' sake, when you're back in the green, save 10% of your gross and put it in index funds, you silly man!)

Ya and there is prob a racoon that fucked a bear out there too :). Good for that racoon! Yay for finding insignificant details that pale in comparison to the big picture.

Do you want to stand on the deck of the titanic pointing out all the little boats that are still floating or talk about the HUGE boat that is sinking under your feet?