I kind of did something like this for 6 months.
After I graduated (a scary number of years ago now) I felt rather lost and aimless (like most arts graduates) and didn't really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go.
So I voluntarily chose to be homeless and wander. I didn't see it like that at the time though (that would have been a bit crass). I can't remember what my real motivation was at the time, it'd be too easy to say something like 'find myself', because that'd be both right and wrong.
Anyway.
I spent my time going from town to town along the south coast. Sometimes I'd only spend a night in a town, sometimes a week or two. It would all depend on what opportunities and situations offered themselves. It's fair to say that I existed solely by taking part in illegal activities. Mostly just petty acts of theft. But seriously crossed the line a couple of times. Learnt a few tricks of urban survival (man), but I won't mention them since they are illegal and there's no need to give details.
Urban areas offer good opportunities for all manner of down-at-heels gain. Mostly because of the increased number of people (and, therefore, waste) in towns and cities. I never slept rough in towns though. If I couldn't find somewhere to squat then I headed out of town into the countryside for the night - easier to hide and disappear and not be woken by someone beating the living daylights out of you for things you don't have.
I found smaller cities/towns better than large cities - it's not easy to walk out of London for the night, but you can wander in and out of Portsmouth pretty easily.
I managed quite well. Never really went hungry (well, not THAT hungry). But that may because I knew I could end it at anytime (a quick phone call home would have got me away) and, therefore, my motivation was high at all times. And I've never really had too many problems breaking some laws, to be honest.
Others have mentioned how 'going feral' and being a moral chameleon are important factors. And that's absolutely right. Was in my case. With all the laws and restrictions in place, it's hard to see how you couldn't be in that situation.
After I graduated (a scary number of years ago now) I felt rather lost and aimless (like most arts graduates) and didn't really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go.
So I voluntarily chose to be homeless and wander. I didn't see it like that at the time though (that would have been a bit crass). I can't remember what my real motivation was at the time, it'd be too easy to say something like 'find myself', because that'd be both right and wrong.
Anyway.
I spent my time going from town to town along the south coast. Sometimes I'd only spend a night in a town, sometimes a week or two. It would all depend on what opportunities and situations offered themselves. It's fair to say that I existed solely by taking part in illegal activities. Mostly just petty acts of theft. But seriously crossed the line a couple of times. Learnt a few tricks of urban survival (man), but I won't mention them since they are illegal and there's no need to give details.
Urban areas offer good opportunities for all manner of down-at-heels gain. Mostly because of the increased number of people (and, therefore, waste) in towns and cities. I never slept rough in towns though. If I couldn't find somewhere to squat then I headed out of town into the countryside for the night - easier to hide and disappear and not be woken by someone beating the living daylights out of you for things you don't have.
I found smaller cities/towns better than large cities - it's not easy to walk out of London for the night, but you can wander in and out of Portsmouth pretty easily.
I managed quite well. Never really went hungry (well, not THAT hungry). But that may because I knew I could end it at anytime (a quick phone call home would have got me away) and, therefore, my motivation was high at all times. And I've never really had too many problems breaking some laws, to be honest.
Others have mentioned how 'going feral' and being a moral chameleon are important factors. And that's absolutely right. Was in my case. With all the laws and restrictions in place, it's hard to see how you couldn't be in that situation.