Aspiring Teenage Hobo

[RattleFly]

So, put simply I'm new to this. I've never traveled on my own before, and spending the earliest years of life in the ghetto, I find it hard to believe that I could do this alone.
It would be very helpful for some tips on what to do, who/what to avoid while traveling.

 

[Deleted member 20]

You can do anything alone!! Dont sell yourself short, dont sell yourself cheap; hell just dont sell yourself. I dont advocate for teenagers to become runaways but there is lots of info to be learned on living above your circumstances regardless what they are. Good luck, read the rules, stickies & be safe!

 

[Kim Chee]

I thought it was lack of aspiration which led people to become hoboes.

Try the search function to see if you get the answers to the questions you have. Otherwise, there are a lot of people here who can help if you have a specific question.

 

[Tude]

what @highwayman said. And I do like what some others have stated recently about total researching here on videos as well as info that is in the different sub forums about equipment and what ifs and what to do's. Lots of good stuff is here. Do your research - but also I'm resounding with what highwayman stated - not advocating for runaways. Be smart and stay safe.

 

[Kim Chee]

I've read and reread her post. I don't see any references to age (not that I'm advocating hitting the road too soon either).

 

[Deleted member 20]

Aspiring Teenage Hobo

 

[SnakeOilWilly]

Teenage can mean 18 to 19 in which case travel all you want, but if you're 13 - 17 don't leave if your parents love you cause believe me they will be concerned (and might file a missing persons report, which you don't want) However some parents are fine with their kids traveling. So if you are underage and have loving parents make sure they're OK with you traveling.

If you are underage check out the threads on here about underage travelers and runaways (do a search)

Anyway welcome, have fun, and be safe on the road!

 

[SnakeOilWilly]

I love the profile pic BTW.

 

[Tude]

@SnakeOilWilly yer cool!

 

[SnakeOilWilly]

@SnakeOilWilly yer cool!

Why thank you, yer cool too.

 

[CelticWanderer]

Listen to everyone when they say don't leave till your an adult. bein a runaway on the road can be a bitch, you put yourself and people you might come across at risk. Hold out if you can, but if not, just go do it man. pick a direction, find a destination, and just start movin.
Trust your gut, if it feels sketchy it is, someone offers you a ride and they wig you out, don't get in the car. I learned that the hard way. Do research on here, but as much as you do nothing can compare to learning out there. Rainbow land gets a real bad rap for alot of good reasons but that was the first place I went to and I learned a whole hell of alot and met a lot of real cool folks.
Just stay on your toes and follow what your gut tells ya and you'll make it alright.

 

[eskimo]

be prepared

 

[wombatt]

There are two scenarios under which it's ok for a young person to travel, if your parents or guardians are familiar with the culture and are cool with you traveling or if you are in a genuinely unsafe and unloving environment in which you are abused and mistreated. also even though normally hitching is considered the safest option as a minor it is just as if not more risky than riding trains. Keep that in mind and stay safe.

 

[Hillbilly Castro]

I mean, if your living situation with the parents is intolerable - like, you're getting abused and shit - and you have no one else you can go to to live with, I get it if you travel before hitting 18... but outside of that, ya, I'm with everyone else saying you should wait. I traveled a bit before 18 and people avoided me like the plague once they knew my age.

 

[Deleted member 20]

I was traveling on excursions at like 12-13 years old riding my bicycle 100s of miles. I never ran away & was very independent at that age. Now with an adult child & another 10 year old I can see how that behavior done by my children would make many people scared in our family if they behaved like I did. I guess I have a different perspective to when I was a teenager, now. My mom knew that she could not control me & authority was going to be resisted by me & not worth fighting it. She had life insurance on me into my late 20s because she always thought I was more high risk than all of my siblings & she feared when I died she couldnt afford the burial. I cant be too selfish now in my adulthood & gotta realize that there are others who suffer from my actions. I cant just runaway as an adult even though at times I want to. I keep my travels to weeks & months & retain a home base with family, apt, work & non traveling friends & fam. Peace to all & dont take any of the shit I say too seriously. We all know the difference between right & wrong at any age & when we MUST travel to be true to ourselves.

 

[Hillbilly Castro]

Damn highwayman, your mom had insurance on you as a kid? That's wild.

 

[Deleted member 20]

Yup & we were poor, lol. Even more funny is that she kept it on me well after I moved out of the house while 4 of my other siblings never had life insurance policies. Perhaps I will outlive em all but doubtful. I just push the the envelope more often but my luck will surely run out one of these days. I always wanted to go out with my boots on in a ball of fury.::eyepatch::

 

[RattleFly]

Damn, thanks for all the advice. I think I'm gonna go more small scale for the meantime, squatting in abandoned neighborhood houses and shit, keep within the borders of this town. I figured that traveling at this age would only fuck me over, it's better hearing it from folx who've been around than from folx unfamiliar with the culture.

 

[wombatt]

yeah and when squatting you can make some cool connections that will help if you want to travel later. stay safe and warm.

 

[Matt Derrick]

Damn, thanks for all the advice. I think I'm gonna go more small scale for the meantime, squatting in abandoned neighborhood houses and shit, keep within the borders of this town. I figured that traveling at this age would only fuck me over, it's better hearing it from folx who've been around than from folx unfamiliar with the culture.

How old are you? Also we have lots of squatting info here (obviously), do you have any like minded folks in your area?