generic new kid intro with questions and shit

[Contraceptron]

I think I actually made one of these a while back, but...

My name's Steve, I reside in downstate NY, and I've been extremely interested in traveling and breaking out of the shitty routines I've found myself in for the past 3 years. I have no interest in accruing a mountain of debt from college, nor do I have any real interest in working a medial cashier position forever, primarily because I've experienced both lifestyles and found no joy in either. Last summer, I took my first foray into bumming around on my bike, lasted 3 weeks alone with no prior planning or route in mind, and left feeling better than I ever have before. Everything I've been doing since then has been an exercise in mindless repetition, "comfort", and stagnancy. I feel like I'm wasting the only time I'll ever be this disease and pain-free sitting on the computer feeling exhausted, doing nothing with my friends, and working a pointless job 40 hours a week.

I would love to commit more to this lifestyle, train hop, find like-minded people and traveling partners, but I honestly don't know how to start. The fact that I've had zero support from my family and friends whenever I bring up the topic of traveling plus my lack of experience and knowledge has honestly scared the shit out of me. I'm hoping that joining this community will help me get the insight I want, lead me to try new things, and find a lot of great places to visit.

If there's a thread of basics/general info, I'd really appreciate a link... otherwise, would anyone be willing to give me an idea of how to start?

 

[circlepantz spagett]

wanna make friends that travel? its easy. go find them and get drunk with them. or smoke them up or something.i dunno, thats how i met most of my friends just passing through.. they were all pretty friendly people. if your really meant to do this, you should have no problem fitting in. when i first met a group of traveler kids i wasnt judged. and that was fucking refreshing. some of my friends can totally relate to me, on the standpoint of feeling like.. life at home isnt doing much for me. im depressed and i felt confined in these walls. my life isnt the life my parents planned it out to be. actually its pretty fucking opposite. my friends at home are very sheltered and are horrified when i hang out with homebums and traveler kids. theyve never been exposed to that before. so they dont understand. Its heart breaking when i talk to friends i trust about why i love traveling and being truely free and theyre like, "yeah, id totally like to travel some day..i just have responsibilities..i gotta pay rent here.." they all look at homelessness like its the worst thing ever. but right now, i would gladly trade my warm house to be with my best friend in her squat. i fucking miss her.
AAAAAAnywayz, i understand exactly how you feel at this point in life. and its best to do what you feel is right. and by do what you feel is right,i mean geeet the fuck out there and live life to the fullest. :}

 

[CXR1037]

Why do you want to train hop?

Anyway, if you want to start, figure out what you want to do and just research it like crazy. That's the responsible route. There are so many great resources here - just look for yourself. In fact, the biggest bit of advice I can give you, and any n00b, is:

BE INDEPENDENT.

I still struggle with this. I'll call people for help in yards I'm unfamiliar with. It's natural. But don't expect me to give you any info if you're just some stranger looking to escape the sad reality you've made for yourself. Do your own research. Do your own reading. An example: I spent over three months of heavy research before my first train ride, and I was still blown away with how little I knew.

Realize that by traveling in this way, you'll be dealing with an array of emotions. The preconceived romantic notions of train-hopping are mostly true. It's a great feeling to stand up on a freight car in an unknown place and spread your arms out, letting freedom push itself through you. But realize to get to that point, there's waiting, horrid amounts of waiting, sometimes. You'll be dealing with people who are little more than human excrement. You'll be dancing on the fine lines of hypothermic and/or dehydrated. You'll be picking up misdemeanor tickets.

There's no shame in working a 9-5, 40 hr/week job if it's what you want to do. Just like there's no shame in traveling if it's what you want to do.

Just make sure it's what you want to do.


And good luck finding like-minded people. The majority of kids I run into are either punk rockers with the preconceived (and false) notion they've nothing left to do with themselves or societies worst dropouts. If you're looking for Jack Kerouac, hang out at cafe's, not freight yards.

Or you can just say fuck it, head to the local yard, and get on the first thing you see moving, but I don't advise that at all.

 

[MrD]

It's a great feeling to stand up on a freight car in an unknown place and spread your arms out, letting freedom push itself through you.

=']
>read threads
>profit like crazy

 

[weegee]

"There's no shame in working a 9-5, 40 hr/week job if it's what you want to do. Just like there's no shame in traveling if it's what you want to do."

How refreshing to read.
It took me a very long time to decide that any form of travelling was what I wanted to do, even try.
I have long been interested in trains and hitchhiking etc, but it was a hard decision.

My family would have supported me, and my friends wouldn't have judged me, but I sometimes worried that I wasn't strong enough or capable of doing it.
I'm a small girl, I go to shows with kids fresh off of the trains and I always felt judged. I always expect the kids in my home town to judge me for leaving, and the kids I travel with to judge me for being too mainstream.
I am different than the kids you would expect to see out there, but that's okay.
Ultimately I realized that it's okay to go out and travel, and it's okay to be scared or to want to stick with the normal life of those around me.
I made the right decision, though I'll probably settle down one day. It's just nice to hear that even had I chose differently, it would have been okay.

Never make a decision you're

 

[smallratbigcity]

Hi Steve its nice to meet you. I'm John I live in Boston. I think many of us feel the same way even if no one here says so, I know plenty of people who feel the exact same ways. I am currently in a position where I like my job and want to keep working to save money for a new bike, but I still have ambitions of travel in the back of my mind, I just have'nt been phyched on the idea of anything because of the winter weather. I have met some people who have hopped freight and most don't like talking about the details of how the did it and how they knew which train to take, but most revealed what yard they left and arrived at, which is some information you could probabely get from some travellers. Once I rode my bike for just 2 days and slept in the woods before arriving at my destination, with little prior planning just like you, and thought it was fun and have yearned for another trip just like that. Also for a period of about 3 weeks I lived homeless in Boston, just to keep a job I had which did'nt pay enough to get an apartment, I kept my sleeping bag and bivy sack in a big bag and my bike that was all I had, and I slept by the river each night, I just did it with no planning. I think that as far as information and planning goes, anything is possible as long as your with a friend and/or travel partner, thats how I have always felt because things like harassment from the police and the threats of the wild seem less scary when ur with a buddy. As far as asking ur family about life decisions and bum traveling I think you know it can be helpless, and I know that is true every time I talk to my dad about what options he think I can do in life we always get nowhere, it can be really tough talking to people who just will never understand the same emotion of feeling stranded and empty. Family members already have an idea of you, that was formed in the past that they can't forget and listen to what you have to say about urself in the presnet, they knew you before you knew urself and knew the world u lived in. I wish I had more information to tell you but thats all the thoughts I have right now, I hope you eventually get out there and find ur bliss, maybe we will meet up to bike around on long trips.

 

[Missy]

I think this is one of the better threads here.

 

[Dmac]

train hopping is cool

 

[Rambler]

Pretty much everybody nailed it ^. I had been planing to train hop for about 3-4 months. Countless hours online google mapping the rail routes out of my town, hanging out at the tracks getting familiar with it, scavenging gear.. I just left yesterday morning because the night before I just said fuck it, im tired of waiting for "the right time" ill make it the right time. It was amazing, everything I thought it would be. Granted I got caught and went to jail at my second stop. Thats a shitty feeling when you do this to be free and end up in 8x10 cell with 3 other dudes, horrible... Just be smart and try to ignore what your friends think of you. If this is really you buddy, go for it.