From MA with eyes Westward

[Rivers]

Yo!
Im not great at making friends and meeting new people but I'm taking some tips from other introductions and will figure it out as I go/grow
Rivers (21) from MA here
Basically been a townie since I moved here at age 4, grew up around a bunch of the same people and made some great friendships along the way.
One reason or another led me to losing my way,
I decided to drop out of school and pursue work. I figured I could just learn as I went but what I learned was that life only becomes less accommodating the older you get.
I've done anything from waiting tables and cooking to painting and landscaping. All sorts of entey level stuff but I really like visual arts and design. Photoshop and creative projects.
Some back story I
Grew up with my mom (dad bailed early) but she moved back to Brazil when I was 17 so I've been living with friends and family on and off since then.
Recently had to move out of my buddy's apartment and got screwed for some major cash which put me in the position I'm in now,
Nowhere to go without the proper gear to be comfortable (luckily the nights are still warm around here)
I've been looking into travelling with little money and trying to gather advice from wherever I can find it. I lurk a bunch of reddit subs and other forums/websites on vagabonding, backpacking, rubbertramp/vandwelling and just general urban survival etc

I just need a bit of direction or at least a direction to look in and I'll take off running.
Thanks for your time!


Feel free to ask questions, Thanks!

 

[Koala]

Hey, welcome to StP! Greetings from the MA/NY border

Sounds like you definitely got the right mindset to be able to travel on the cheap and do & see some amazing things, so don't even worry.

How do you plan on traveling around? Yeah just reading up & reserching is perfect preparation to leave. How's your gear looking?

I also gained a lot of insight from reading member's travel blogs before going off on my own adventures.

Stoked for you to hit the road! You'll learn super fast once you're out there, you'll be a pro in no time.

 

[Rivers]

Thanks for the kind words!
Im most likely going to hitch/train hop to get from place to place. I don't really have anything as far as gear goes. Ive wanted to travel for a while but it wasn't really set in stone, now it's kind of by necessity as opposed to a singular decision I've made so I'm starting from the ground up. Need to outfit myself, get a shelter/sleepsystem in place and figure out how I'm going to find work while I'm out and about. I want to head west and see California for the first time, maybe make it to Hawaii if I can (surfing/paddle boarding ftw!)
Other than that I'm kind of concerned about water and food but I did a bit of dumpster diving the other night (Dunkins dumpster croissants ftw!) And I got lucky and found some waters in a cooler at a job site but that's only cause I know the area around here.but if I can get a water purification system I should be golden.

 

[Koala]

Yeah awesome hitchwiki.org is awesome for intro hitching stuff and advice for hitching in/out of specific towns and cities.

If you've got just a lil bit of money I bet you could get a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent/tarp for real cheap (there might be gear selling/gear trading groups on Facebook depending where you are, or people getting rid of stuff on Craigslist). If you stick to places that stay warmer in the winter you won't need to gear out too badly either.

Sweet good find on the Dunkins! I think most places will have water, if you just carry an empty waterbottle or 2 and you can fill up as you go. Even in bathroom sinks.

Hawaii sounds like a sick destination! What sort of job experience do you have? I think most traveling folks can usually find some temp work pretty easily. I've always wanted to try out working a temp job at a National Park, or fruit farm, or something.

Also did you design your profile pic? Cause it's awesome!!

 

[Rivers]

All kinds of experience when it comes to work, I've worked all levels of restaurants from maintenance to supervisor, manual labor from landscaping and farm work to paint and construction, retail and other basic stuff like that.
I didn't but that's the kind of stuff I like to do on photoshop, I made a couple of them for my friends when I was in an art program recently and they came out pretty good but I just had that saved on my phone so I used it. It is dope though and plenty of cues I can use for my own stuff.

 

[creature]

greeeeetttiiinnnngs...

how far from easthampton???

 

[Rivers]

greeeeetttiiinnnngs...

how far from easthampton???

about 276 miles ::

 

[creature]

o jeesh..
well, if there's any movement west, & you aren't too far away.. 30 miles or so, post up..
PM me & I'll give you my #, in case..

 

[Rivers]

Won't know if I'll be in your area till I am but if East Hampton is on course I'll ring ya