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The Google Employee Who Opted For a Truck Over Bay Area Rents (dice.com)
Nerval's Lobster writes: A little over a year ago, Google employees on a Quora thread announced they'd discovered an interesting way to live in the ultra-expensive Bay Area: Rather than pay for conventional housing, they resided in trucks and RVs parked near (or on) the company's campus, and took advantage of corporate perks—including free food, gym facilities, and dry cleaning—to get by on a day-by-day basis. Now one Googler, Brandon S., has taken to his blog to describe how he engaged in a little off-grid living within sight of Google's high-tech headquarters. First he spent $10,000 of his Google signing bonus on a 2006 Ford truck with 128 square feet of room in the back, which he filled with a bed, dresser, and coat rack. Google pays for his phone, and he uses the company's gym and cafeterias to eat and shower. For those Bay Area tech pros who think Brandon's lifestyle sounds appealing, his list of drawbacks includes "social suicide," the inconvenience of not having a bathroom or fridge in close proximity, stress, insect infestations, and the upfront costs of purchasing a large-enough vehicle. On the other hand, he's also using the cash savings to rapidly pay down his student loans.
Many older folks would be well advised to learn from his example of lower living standards leading to debt reduction and enables us to have better things in the long term.
Yeah... fuck those old folks who think they deserve to not be homeless! Homelessness should be considered the new base line for the standard of living in the USA! Land of opportunity, motherfuckers!
There's a BIG difference between choosing to live like this and being forced to because you have no choice, or didn't you catch that part?
Plus, in my experience, most "old" people who have nothing but SS, did not choose a lifestyle that allowed them to save for retirement when they where capable of working (Such as my mother and step father). Not to be confused with those retired folks who lived within their means, saved for the future and although they don't have money to burn, have enough to live and enjoy their older years (like my father, stepmother and maternal grandmother).
But hey, nobody is responsible for their own lives anymore in this country I guess. The poor cannot help it and the rich got that way by doing wrong... So much class envy liberal tripe..