# At loose ends in ithaca



## thesombrerokid (Jul 9, 2011)

Hi all.

sublet running out in ithaca. job search soul sucking. dont want to go back to new jersey. anyone know alternative ways to live around here? Im new to this in general, though not particularly new to camping, new to finding viable spots for long term camping. if anyone knows anything about the area specificially in terms of any alternative housing or alternative employment, a farm to work on with room and board thatd be amazing. Also, general tips for surviving in a semi-rural environment after not only the idea of particpating in our shitshow economy has become obviously rotten, but also my attempts to do so have only lowered my self respect and been entirely futile, etc. Same old disenfranchisement story...

Ive seen the world from a few different angles, but never from the open road or the wilderness. I have trouble letting go of roots entirely. I dont know how to take that leap, psychologically or practically. any tips of any kind for doing this in a fairly stationary manner, and safely off the grid or without running into serious trouble. Im really new throw anything ya got at me.


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## Zonkers (Jul 9, 2011)

A good idea if your in a rural area (and around times like now when its haying time) is to hook up with farmers for a little work. You'll get at least a meal and maybe some money too. Check in the local papers classifieds and craigslist but mostly just keep your eyes open. If you see some guy on a tractor balin hay and lookin like he could use help, theres your chance.

Churches are always good in rural areas bc there not overloaded with the needy (yet) like their counterparts in the cities. You can get at least some grub and maybe a place to crash for a night. You probably wont find many busking opportunities in small town environments tho, but try a village park on a weekend night if your good. My advice though would be to keep moving. Potentialities get exhausted soon when sedentary, and your chances of something happening stagnate fast in one small area. After more than a month in a place, I am usually already consciously fearful of becoming a local homebum.

As for letting go of roots, thats impossible. You can never change where you grew up, but you can change the acceptance that it was only stage of your life that no longer has to define you if you dont want it.

Isn't Ithaca around amish country? Perhaps they have something to teach about living off the grid.


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## plagueship (Jul 10, 2011)

you could check out WWOOF as well as going up to random farmers. there's an herbalism school in ithaca that i know a few crusty traveler types have gone to; trying asking around there? maybe you could pull a classic college squat at cornell or ithaca college?


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## Beef (Sep 1, 2011)

i know of some spots around town... i am personally trying to leave again soon before it gets too cold... i just gotta take care of some things. there are a ton of abandoned houses that nobody cares about. used to be some squats but everybody left town. and like you said there is always camping, but winter is around the corner.


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## treatment (Sep 26, 2011)

walk outta the ithaca commons take a left to walk toward the library. past the gas station/beer store and past the auto dealership thing there's a bridge. sleep under it.

ithaca has too many fuckin homebums. the kind that want to be your friend.


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## Beef (Oct 3, 2011)

Under the bridge got busted up... people around it started to complain apparently.


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## treatment (Oct 3, 2011)

When did that happen? I was there for like two weeks a few months back, the cops came down once, looked at all of us and all our Food Pantry food, and just walked back up to the road haha.

We were pretty reserved though, not a lot of yelling and being retarded. I know lots of homebums go under there to shoot bath salts and try to stab each other though so it's totally realistic that it got blown up.


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## Hillbilly Castro (Oct 3, 2011)

How are the dumpsters down there? I feel like they must be great. I haven't been there since I was a young kid, but I remember tons of really chill health food places and resturants. I ate at "the mate factor", there were some cultish types that ran the place, some sort of jesus-hippie people. Really strange, but they might know something.


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## Beef (Oct 9, 2011)

cops got real serious about everything all of the sudden they even started patroling the wooded areas near town and arresting anybody they found camping. I think one of the problems was the crazy people doing the salts and losing there minds and ending up at the hospital and also the fact that the woods were getting so populated. a bunch of people got busted though.


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## Murf (Oct 9, 2011)

Theres good squats around wilkes-barre pa , and its not too far from town. you get a good mix of rural and small city


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