# Best City in America



## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

Here's my dilemma:
I'm an 18 year old high-school dropout currently working as a stockboy in a rural supermarket between Buffalo and Rochester, NY. I'm tired of having to sell my time and my freedom in this desert, and I've saved enough cash to get a bus just about anywhere in this country, to get myself situated.

I originally considered NYC, but I hear squats are increasingly unavailable.
The Pacific Northwest has always held a particular charm for me, but I've never been there.

So, my question is; what city/region is most friendly to squatters and vagabonds? I mean in terms of housing availability, concentration of radical milieu, police enforcement, etc.


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## stove

I'm out in Montana, can't particularly reccomend Bozeman, but I was living up in Burlington, VT for a while and it's a pretty chill place.

Just out of curiousity, where in western NY? Went to RIT for 5 long years, I've traversed that area pretty well. F*king hate NYS troopers on 90...


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## Ravie

oregon! NOT california... cops are bad. i hear washington can be a little depressing. but i'm going to portland, oregon first off because its good. dont go to eugene unless you want stds lol but really, the west coast is THE shit. and you dont have to worry about a huge city like LA where no one cares of you die on their door step as long as you do it quietly.


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## Angela

DostoevskyLovesDoobies said:


> So, my question is; what city/region is most friendly to squatters and vagabonds? I mean in terms of housing availability, concentration of radical milieu, police enforcement, etc.



Squatter friendly in my experience is usually rural areas, not cities. City squats just don't seem to last long in areas where real estate is at a premium. In terms of where you'll find the most squatters and vagabonds per square mile though is definitely in the cities. Kinda contradictory ain't it. I'd probably recommend that you stear clear of NYC unless you know folks that can help point you toward good places, it's a very big city with a very high cost of living. West coast is nice, although the bigger cities have gotten way over gentrified in the last number of years. This includes Portland, Seattle, Victoria BC, definitely San Francisco and most of the other mid size or bigger cities. Their all livable though if you do a little looking. Sorry if this doesn't seem very helpful but there's no perfect squatter utopia out there, every place has both pluses and minuses.


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## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

thanks for the suggestions. i've narrowed my selection of possible destinations from "anywhere" to oregon/washington. i guess the beauty of the itinerant life is that if it's not what i expect, i'll go somewhere else.


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## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

my town is called perry, it's a shit-stain jerkwater in wyoming county.
there's no dearth of abandoned buildings here, but that's really the only positive.


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## Angela

DostoevskyLovesDoobies said:


> my town is called perry, it's a shit-stain jerkwater in wyoming county.
> there's no dearth of abandoned buildings here, but that's really the only positive.



That would be a big positive if it weren't so fuckin cold in that part of NY in the winter. But maybe that's just me, I like solitude. But yeah, it seems like places with lots of abandoned buildings are usually abandoned for a reason. Western North Carolina is pretty nice though if you don't mind a little bit chilly in the winter(not as cold as where you are now though). The area around Boone/West Jefferson has some pretty nice places to squat but also has lots of travelers and college students in the area.


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## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

i've been through north carolina, but never really stopped to smell the roses. i spent 5 years in nashville when i was a kid, and i'm a little wary about returning to the south.
at least it's warm there.


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## Angela

DostoevskyLovesDoobies said:


> i've been through north carolina, but never really stopped to smell the roses. i spent 5 years in nashville when i was a kid, and i'm a little wary about returning to the south.
> at least it's warm there.



That's what people tend to think, if they've never been up in the mountains of the south in the winter. It's always hilarious to see the tourists in shorts in February freezing their asses off. It can get pretty chilly, as in well below 0 degree Fahrenheit windchill temps. I don't think Nashville is very representative of the south though. I've got a brother that lives near Nashville and loves the area but I've never liked it very well. Here's some pretty picture's from last February near Boone, NC.


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## Shoestring

*Right-on,.....last time I was in Burlington, VT, ....there were tons of neat squats out on the west-side of Lake Champlain on the New York side! (where you take the ferry across the lake, that is)......Only like 15 to 18 miles out of Burlington.......*


stove said:


> I'm out in Montana, can't particularly reccomend Bozeman, but I was living up in Burlington, VT for a while and it's a pretty chill place.
> 
> Just out of curiousity, where in western NY? Went to RIT for 5 long years, I've traversed that area pretty well. F*king hate NYS troopers on 90...


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## eatmonksus

i would highly go against washington. i live in seattle and know this place sucks. Yakima, Spokane, Everett, Seattle all are pretty squatter unfriendly and full of nothing but filler culture. This state sort of sucks the soul out of you. Definitely go to Oregon.


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## Speedy

Maine fucking rocks, except it can get pretty cold. But people are so chill. They're all just a bunch of old hippies and outdoors people. When i was hitchin through there i had so many people stop that had driven by me and then decided to turn around and offer me a ride. Christ I dont think I even saw more than one cop.


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

actually san francisco is a good place to squat. There are some places that if you get a fine that you would normally not get if you had a house ex.-drinking in public (if you had a house youd drink there), peeing in public, repeat offenses of sleeping. you know..that organization will take care of it for you. A bunch of crusties and scumfucks stay in golden gate park it tends to get cold at night, but a nice place to stay with a bunch of hide outs. Also if you go to haight and ashbury and spange, you most likely will get smoked up its pretty cool, the cops have other things on their hands than to worry about spangers


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## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

i definitely want to see san francisco. it was tales from the haight (diggers, abbie hoffman, the "summer of love") that made me think about anarchy and "dropping out" in the first place.


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## mkirby

Me too, but the last time I was there, haight street was full of overpriced stores, and the mcdonalds at the end was like a hive full of methheads. 

Although, I suppose it's worth checking out. Definitely go to City Lights books, and buy some foccacia from the little bakery by washington square park. Defuckinglicious.






DostoevskyLovesDoobies said:


> i definitely want to see san francisco. it was tales from the haight (diggers, abbie hoffman, the "summer of love") that made me think about anarchy and "dropping out" in the first place.


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## bote

I don't have a "best", but this thread needs the words tucson, Minneapolis, and New Orleans in it.


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## ben-david

ArrowInOre said:


> It can get damn cold, but it can get DAMN hot too...



spoken like a true oregonian


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

mkirby said:


> Me too, but the last time I was there, haight street was full of overpriced stores, and the mcdonalds at the end was like a hive full of methheads.
> 
> Yeah, its still pretty much like that but there are some pretty cool fuckin people there if youre around for a lil bit. free food all over the place and great for spanging.


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

ArrowInOre said:


> Golden gate park was a mecca for us when i was there in 90-91. (read my story, 'Over the hill" ) Funny that while the faces change, the area is still the Height...Is Chabella's Burritos still by McDonalds on Height and Stanyon? Yummy goodness all wrapped in foil, droooolll droooollll.



No, sorry to say that is no longer there I think its some kind of tat shop or head shop I cant remember. There was this really nice organic food place there too but it went out of business because the owner of the place they were renting hiked up the rent crazy after 15 years. it sucked


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## XVIII

i doubt i need to mention this but stay out of Idaho or at least Ada county. There's some squats here for sure all the upper floors of most of the old buildings dowtown are vacant but not many people will help you and the cops are the worst. They're all really bored and like using their guns as much as possible and if they find out you're from somewhere else it'll just make things alot worse. I know quite a few people that have been arrested in the yard as well.


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## DostoevskyLovesDoobies

XVIII said:


> i doubt i need to mention this but stay out of Idaho or at least Ada county.



idaho sounds very unappealing.


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## XVIII

ArrowInOre said:


> Tried Boise once, vowed off Idaho unless I was in a fast and direct moving vehicle. "Nuff said..In fact anyone I have ever met that was from the state, said pretty much the same thing. (I knew a chick named Carry up there, years ago, drove a canary yellow late 70's caddy...)



yeah its pretty bad. i've heard alot of people talk about how we have one of the highest cop to citizen ratios in the country but its possible that is totally fabricated. also all the guys i've met that live downtown are really territorial (?) and will try to get you out of "their parks" if you try to sleep there.


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## RebeccaSoup

Me personally, I'm not a fan of the bigger cities in the northwest. (At least for street living, I hate being chased off the sidewalks several times a day) I hated squatting in Seattle. The collectives in Portland are almost worth the hassles spanging... But almost not. Living in the couv(vancouver, WA) worked out for a hot minute though. Plenty of houses to squat and a bike ride away from the max.

But I'd go for Eugene, Bend or Olympia.


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## rumple

Let me say a few things about Vancouver, WA! 
There is not shortage of train riders thanks to the BNSF and close proximity of the UP in Portland, and the "new train" that is CAP transit (ride it and see). It is home to Super Taco Express, the best taqueria in the NW (100 health score rating for you "germ" nerds). It is the oldest incorporated city in the NW. Vancouver WA is also the landing site of the 1937 Trans-Polar airplane flight! The mayor DESTROYED coffee mugs that Starbucks sold because they had pictures of portland on them. Where else can you watch an 18th century Blacksmith hammer iron into bar then 5 minutes later catch a train EB or SB? IN summation: That town rules!! BEST city in AMERICA!!


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## rumple

19th century blacksmith. Sorry.


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## bote

The best city in America is Montréal, hands down. Whatchyou think about that, eh?


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## kai

bote said:


> The best city in America is Montréal, hands down. Whatchyou think about that, eh?



it's about time someone brought up how little that imaginary line means!! montreal is definately the sin capital of camerica.


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## sharks77

kai said:


> it's about time someone brought up how little that imaginary line means!! montreal is definately the sin capital of camerica.



dont you mean its "aboot" time?


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## Gypsybones

Das Burgh


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## bote

schön


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## arkface

why not check out buffalo? there are a few squats around there and plenty of rust belt mansions rotting away. you should visit. fun people.


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## L.C.

for someones first time i would say new orleans hands down. if you get stuck you won't freeze. tons of food lots of money and a lot of movement if you don't want to travel on your own. also squats as far as the eye can see.


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## finn

Well, in New Orleans, most of the time you won't freeze, I've been there in a night two years ago when it actually almost went down to freezing. You probably will want to set up a squat as soon as you can though, walking around with a huge backpack is going to be trouble.


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## rideitlikeyoustoleit

Two cities I have noticed that seem ridiculously easy to squat are Syracuse NY and Houston TX. Houston I had some experience with, but in Syracuse I just stayed under bridges, because the weather was just so damned nice.


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## genghis braun

Gainesville, FL. pretty chill city, kinda fast-paced, but not too much, not too much of a police prescence and a few squats hanging around. there's a university campus that you can take advantage of, and TONS of free/really cheap shit to do there.

yeah, I have pride in my hometown...


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## ben-david

New Orleans, Louisiana- Best City in America


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## rabidpossum

winona, muthafuckin minnesota. brattleboro vermont is sweet as well. both those places are great for easy as fuck camping and meeting crazy locals to cause a ruckus with. and they both have pretty sweet productive communities doing cool shit as well.


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## ladybug

Seattle was my easiest place to squat/find a squat. So many up in University District. And coppers are lenient. In Portland I didn't find any, but i know there were some, it's just people dont like newbies moving in.


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## pandapanda

kai said:


> it's about time someone brought up how little that imaginary line means!! montreal is definately the sin capital of camerica.



I live in montreal and i've gotta agree....
most residents take a bizarre pride in that reputation. you can live here for pretty cheap too


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## sprout

I am pretty suprised there has only been talk about coastal cities, if I had my choice I would stay off the coasts as much as possible.
Tempe, AZ
Denver, CO
Lawrence, KS
Minneapolis, MN
Bloomington, IN

As far as the coast goes:
Pittsburgh and Philly, PA
Providence, RI
Asheville/Swannanoa, NC
Richmond, VA

These are just a few cities I found it extremely easy to get housed up in or find a good squat. Met great people, didn't have any trouble, found food, always had something to do, and promised I would return.


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## oldmanLee

LaCross,Wi. and probably Bangor,Me. Both rather laid back,both have real seasons,and both have their unique joys.Bangor in the winter,snuggled down in a bunch of wool with a great dog,hot coffee and the hiss of a three day noreaster.LaCross with the Missip a cobalt blue,the houseboats gently rocking,and the world's greatest saloon.


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## lice

anywhere in colorado 
santa fe NM
taos NM
flagstaff arizona but watch out for methheads but i guess thats everywhere nowadays
anywhere that isnt the south


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## yarn and glue

oldmanLee said:


> LaCross,Wi. and probably Bangor,Me. Both rather laid back,both have real seasons,and both have their unique joys.Bangor in the winter,snuggled down in a bunch of wool with a great dog,hot coffee and the hiss of a three day noreaster.LaCross with the Missip a cobalt blue,the houseboats gently rocking,and the world's greatest saloon.



Sold!


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## Nym

ima have to say
the coolest city 
in america to me is
Chattanooga, T.n.
i had a great time 
and theres a lot happening there.


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## keg

Honolulu


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## Jackal

Minneapolis.


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## metalsquatter

i would not suggest cleveland ohio ppl r dicks and cops are real layed back but alot of crackheads and so on


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## Hollywood

heavens_fall said:


> Das Burgh


stillersburgh




anyone been to landslide?


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

I'd actually have to say nola...I know alot of people have bad things to say about it, but theres more out there than just the french quarter, the ninth ward is pretty friggin awesome and its nice when your not beligerent drunk...almost everytime I went through the trash cans for meals and what not, I never got handed less than a 5 at some point..this dude rolled up in a bmw and handed me a 20 and said "I've been there and know how it is" and it has hundreds of squats nowadays too...squatted a cops house last time i was there


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## livesworthliving

depending on what time of year you plan on heading out. i recommend san diego california the weather is great this time of year hardly rains and people are extremely giving around this time of year. san diego is known for some of the best beach towns like oceanside encinitas, pacific beach , and ocean beach. if you do ever make it down ask around to local punks about the sewer shows in san diego i've had the opportunity to see phobia skarp, and a ton of other bands in the sewer s of san diego.its also a great starting point to head north or east for spring.


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## whaleofashrimp

in general minniapolis...warm anfd friendly peole,good kickdowns,lots of resources and different drugs
as for squatting
atlanta has alot of squats
but it's not nearly as cool as minniapolis


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## Jackal

whaleofashrimp said:


> in general minniapolis...warm anfd friendly peole,good kickdowns,lots of resources and different drugs
> as for squatting
> atlanta has alot of squats
> but it's not nearly as cool as minniapolis



Word. Except you spelled _Minneapolis_ wrong.


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## jobe

dude! Just go to BUFFALO!! theres a awesome squat there! and plenty more places to start a squat! shit Ill even take you around...


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## Hottboxx

i like santa fe NM, Portland OR, las vegas,NV eugene OR, A-U-Burn Cali........and so on


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## barnaclebones

oldmanLee said:


> LaCross,Wi. and probably Bangor,Me. Both rather laid back,both have real seasons,and both have their unique joys.Bangor in the winter,snuggled down in a bunch of wool with a great dog,hot coffee and the hiss of a three day noreaster.LaCross with the Missip a cobalt blue,the houseboats gently rocking,and the world's greatest saloon.



sigh. you speak the truth.


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## crisfuck

i live in rochester and i need to get out of here quick. if your about to leave let me know i'll join you . i tend to be helpful


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## JungleBoots

DETRIOT!

more vacated houses then you can shake a stick at, police would rather avoid squatters all together out here tbh. they got waay bigger problems to deal with than a bunch of relatively peaceful kids making use of what is left to waste.

the music scene is kinda quiet but the more i look into it the more i find venues, organizations and just all around cool people. tons of space for fun, neat festivals. winters are mildly cold, weather can get bad, but its generally pretty comfy all year round. no need to worry about earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, or massive forest fires. shits pretty chill.


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## Psychonaut

lice, apparently you've never been to Olympia or the outlying regions... almost as chill as Eugene. Swing by some time. You might change your mind about Washington.


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## drybonezz

Detroit is SO easy to squat in because most of the houses are abandoned. Also, there are a lot of really nice houses that are abandoned since our economy is so terrible. You could even buy a really nice house for as low as $500 and just pay property tax once a year and then it wouldn't be illegal to be there.


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## littlejasonsandiego

thers 60,000 abandoned buildings in baltimore MD ive been told and would not doubt it. many medical studies and still easy train rides in and out. many are too fucked up or instead of boards on the windows and doors they are bricked. but fire escapes and the space beetween buildings are pretty prime for entraneces. it can be dangerous there but strenghth in numbers will prevail. gets cold but not as cold as a lot of places still not as warm but a nice medium. dont be fooled to think theres a mecca though...


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## drinkycrow

ABQ NM... do it.


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## graven

Anyone know how Roanoke, VA is these days? Last time I was there it had a lot of potential good squats and a decent scene.


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## DirtyErik

I dont know any real squat in Boston but I hear New England is a good area so squat. The funny thing is recently i saw a number of people set up camp and squat right and the middle of harvard square in cambridge with cops all over the place i asked them how they pulled it off and they claimed they knew the owner of the store they were camping in front of (a leather shop) unlikely. But they said that the cops in boston/cambridge really didnt seem to have a problem with people squatting. did i mention it was end of semester at harvard and cops were out busting parties like crazy.


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## deadlypeace420

i used to go to a camp in perry ny, thats a pretty place.


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## Often

This. My friend in Pittsburgh pays $480 a year to occupy her house and no one messes with her.


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## Often

drybonezz said:


> Detroit is SO easy to squat in because most of the houses are abandoned. Also, there are a lot of really nice houses that are abandoned since our economy is so terrible. You could even buy a really nice house for as low as $500 and just pay property tax once a year and then it wouldn't be illegal to be there.



see above


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## shwillyhaaa

olympias my favorite....mainly because i enjoy the rain, love the music scene, plenty of squats, woods for camping, a good downtown with plenty of hippy kids and punks busking along 4th ave, weeds good, people are friendly, college a bus ride away with plenty of stupid college kids to fuck with and the college is good for dumpstering after last term as well, gay bars, normal people bars, dumpster values and the 1 dollar "free for us" bin, cops are chill as long as your chill to them, kurt cobains old house is a squat,seattles a bus ride away, lacey and tumwater are good to go spange at a ralphs if you really need money, the artisian well, the runaways with daddys money who then buy you beer cause they wanna be cool with the street kids, the church next to the library that has dank food on sundays, media island the anarchist library, sizzizzis the 24 hour trippy as shit cafe, and plenty of random people who like run on sentences and knit hats... :]


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## paddymelt

Nola, ny, sf, pdx, & austin


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## Up ze crust and ze doom

NC is pretty good about it, try Asheville. In the NC part of the Appalacian, if your options get limited with squatting there's always an ample amount of woods to crash in. You have to worry about the snow a little in the winter though, it usually doesn't get below the 20's.


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## poboyrich

Im in nc whats a good citi I've be in ws fot ok shelter but no seen and bab people


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## bastardo

dirty_rotten_squatter said:


> I'd actually have to say nola...I know alot of people have bad things to say about it, but theres more out there than just the french quarter, the ninth ward is pretty friggin awesome and its nice when your not beligerent drunk...almost everytime I went through the trash cans for meals and what not, I never got handed less than a 5 at some point..this dude rolled up in a bmw and handed me a 20 and said "I've been there and know how it is" and it has hundreds of squats nowadays too...squatted a cops house last time i was there


 
Nola is probably the best city for all of the vacant houses and the weather, even though it gets HOT. Your best bet is Nola East, in Chalmette, where lots of 2+ story houses still lay abandoned, although you'll find abandoned houses everywhere in Nola. You'll be far away from all the action, but at least you'll be out of Orleans Parish 'cause if you get arrested, you won't spend the night in third-world OPP. It helps when you're not drunk and/or high, because it's easy to make a clean getaway. 

There are a lot of resources in Nola. Hit up the Iron Rail in Marigny and you'll meet a bunch of dudes who know the area and where to acquire necessities. If you're fucking starving, you could always hit up the Hare Krsna house on Esplanade on Sundays at 7pm for some free grub. 

Like what dirty_rotten_squatter said, the hospitality from the locals is awesome.


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## boojie

shit... you should come through rochester for a bit if you haven't already set out on yer travels yet. there's a bunch of active anarchists and community projects goin on. we just opened up a radical community space last year called the flying squirrel. we got a good sized crew researching potential squats and constantly doing scouting missions. a couple squats have been recently established this way for friends/comrades/folks who need a place to stay. 
we're always lookin for more help!


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## moe

this thread has been quite informative. i love you all.


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## panik

boone, NC (people are pretty cool, so sooo sooooo pretty there) but that's not's really a city. no trains and kind of out of the way of things I guess.
missoula, montana (best town ever, in my opinion) also not much of a "city" though.

The farthest north I've been on the eastern side of the country though is binghampton, NY. I want to go up to maine and stuff pretty bad.

EDIT: it won't let me delete this. I honestly didn't even read your post at first, I don't know about squats or activism or anything in boone. police aren't that bad though. I would just delete this as it doesn't really help you with your questions but it doesn't seem to be an option. oops.


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## beermilkshake

Up ze crust and ze doom said:


> NC is pretty good about it, try Asheville. In the NC part of the Appalacian, if your options get limited with squatting there's always an ample amount of woods to crash in. You have to worry about the snow a little in the winter though, it usually doesn't get below the 20's.


 

The NC mountains are definitely not a place to be sleeping outside in the winter time. Its gets below zero up here during the harsh point of winter. And last year there was as much snow as up north.


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## Crocodile

I love Richmond, Virginia. I ended up living there for a year, and I feel extremely comfortable there. You have lots of really great shows, good sign flying if you know where to go, an island with cool abandoned buildings on the south side of it, and the people are super nice. The Acca yard ain't what it used to be, though. Now they have two bulls and they've been ticketing kids at the super wall like crazy.


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## panik

I've semi....half-assedly....tried to live in richmond twice so far. Every time I go there I like it less, though.


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## moe

ive heard sweet shit bout richmond, im catching out in less than a week, that place might be a destination


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## robbaked

right off the bat i'm saying NYC cause of the resources. Eugene cause it's mad laid back and Pittsburgh cause my experience with the laws seem to be in our favor. Portland, New Orleans and Austin are said to be decent.


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