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Featured From one squat to another through the countryside

almostvicious

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I've lived in squats for the past two years.

It's a way of living thats always been dear to my heart and has brought me a lot of friendships and experiences. I lived in one particular squat for almost a year, so last march I decided it was time to move.

from here:
37332-d6b6958b1a7bc6b7f24e847e5b5655e1.jpg


to there:
37333-c8b399e41020e67d4b24cf503b77c5c2.jpg

by foot. It took me a week. A lot of things happened along the way. I camped in the fields in the middle of nowhere, so I spent a lot of time soaking in the sun (as pictured here), writing about my days, and taking polaroids to send to my friends as postcards.


37335-c31514e7c17596e4d86fec5f75488638.jpg

One night it started raining very hard and I had only packed a crappy tent so I had to go to the nearest city to find shelter. Surprise: After 10 minutes of wandering through the streets, I found another squat (I didn't even know there were that many in this country). I arrived in the middle of a party. There were gigs in the basement, and it ended up being one of the best nights I've had in a while.


37336-41ec06e9e2e52b6ca273661682eecb17.jpg


The next morning I went to explore the city as an attempt to find a store where I could buy something that would cure my massive hangover. I arrived at a lake, so I spent the rest of the morning chilling by the water. (Pro tip: go put your feet in a cold lake if you want to wake up)


37337-881b3441d939ec7a36ebec28c7f0a1fa.jpg


Saturday was the last day of my trip. 30 kilometers till I reached my final destination. Halfway through, I was at the top of a mountain, and the view was breathtaking.


37338-8b6f71dc720e4c9c2b8b921c32ebf038.jpg


(And for the sake of turning this story into something that could be in a movie: I sat there for an hour listening to the soundtrack of Into The Wild. And I cried of happiness) Yep.

It was pretty late when I finally reached the squat, and my friends surprised me with a bonfire and some beers. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better life.


37339-8cbaaa4fc1e9ee7dd5f02325a25282bb.jpg


Today marks two and a half months since I moved to "La Planque" (The Hideout). We may not have electricity or hot water, but we have food in our plates and cans of beer in our hands every day and I think thats fucking beautiful. For the rest, if you're ready to get your hands dirty and be a little creative, you'll feel like this is the nicest place you've ever lived in.

There are too many beautiful things in life to stay in the same city your whole life. As my father once said: Adventure awaits, you'll thank me later for pushing you out of the house. Two years later here we are, thanks dad. Book about my adventures coming soon. And its only the beginning.
 
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Matt Derrick

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That's really awesome. I love hearing stories like this. Great pictures too! You should post some stories/pictures of your current squat!

I liked this so much I've made a few formatting corrections and added it to our featured threads section!
 

almostvicious

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That's really awesome. I love hearing stories like this. Great pictures too! You should post some stories/pictures of your current squat!

I liked this so much I've made a few formatting corrections and added it to our featured threads section!
Oh, thanks :)
Yeah I'll probably post some more about where I live now, it's almost our three year anniversary and we're organizing a festival
 

Leo Cristo

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I've lived in squats for the past two years.

It's a way of living thats always been dear to my heart and has brought me a lot of friendships and experiences. I lived in one particular squat for almost a year, so last march I decided it was time to move.

from here:
View attachment 37314


by foot. It took me a week. A lot of things happened along the way. I camped in the fields in the middle of nowhere, so I spent a lot of time soaking in the sun (as pictured here), writing about my days, and taking polaroids to send to my friends as postcards.


One night it started raining very hard and I had only packed a crappy tent so I had to go to the nearest city to find shelter. Surprise: After 10 minutes of wandering through the streets, I found another squat (I didn't even know there were that many in this country). I arrived in the middle of a party. There were gigs in the basement, and it ended up being one of the best nights I've had in a while

The next morning I went to explore the city as an attempt to find a store where I could buy something that would cure my massive hangover. I arrived at a lake, so I spent the rest of the morning chilling by the water. (Pro tip: go put your feet in a cold lake if you want to wake up)

Saturday was the last day of my trip. 30 kilometers till I reached my final destination. Halfway through, I was at the top of a mountain, and the view was breathtaking.

(And for the sake of turning this story into something that could be in a movie: I sat there for an hour listening to the soundtrack of Into The Wild. And I cried of happiness) Yep.

It was pretty late when I finally reached the squat, and my friends surprised me with a bonfire and some beers. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better life.

Today marks two and a half months since I moved to "La Planque" (The Hideout). We may not have electricity or hot water, but we have food in our plates and cans of beer in our hands every day and I think thats fucking beautiful. For the rest, if you're ready to get your hands dirty and be a little creative, you'll feel like this is the nicest place you've ever lived in.

There are too many beautiful things in life to stay in the same city your whole life. As my father once said: Adventure awaits, you'll thank me later for pushing you out of the house. Two years later here we are, thanks dad. Book about my adventures coming soon. And its only the beginning.
I totally need to head out there asap. I want to squat in Switzerland so bad lol
 

Matt Derrick

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Hey, um, so, idk how to start this but basically The Hideout is getting evicted next month. Guess it's time for a lot more of backpacking after a year of stability.
Will keep you all updated but for the moment RIP my sweet sweet home.

Ah that sucks! I just got the pics on your article back up. Maybe you should take some pics of the place before everyone leaves? You could post a new thread here about it so it least it'll be documented for future generations of squatters...
 

townes

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that is incredible!

I've never left the US but I have met a lot of Swiss travelers.

The conclusion I have reached through conversations with these people is that the Swiss really take care of their citizens. And that is why they can have nice things like this squat.

They can put up a sign advertising their squat without fear of who it might attract because..... Because it's Switzerland and that's the way it is, I guess.
 

almostvicious

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that is incredible!

I've never left the US but I have met a lot of Swiss travelers.

The conclusion I have reached through conversations with these people is that the Swiss really take care of their citizens. And that is why they can have nice things like this squat.

They can put up a sign advertising their squat without fear of who it might attract because..... Because it's Switzerland and that's the way it is, I guess.

True hahah, all the squats I've ever lived in or seen have massive signs like "yep. We're squatting this building. Hi."
 

almostvicious

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Montreal, Canada
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almostvicious.tumblr.com
Ah that sucks! I just got the pics on your article back up. Maybe you should take some pics of the place before everyone leaves? You could post a new thread here about it so it least it'll be documented for future generations of squatters...

I will! Planning a massive post to tell the story of this place as it is without sugar coating it. I want people to understand that squatting is freaking cool, and the only thing that makes it possibly dangerous is all the people in society that are very much against it lol
 

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