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>People often ask where it’s legal to park an RV. And the answer is, generally, “Wherever you can park your car, I can park my RV; as long as it fits, doesn’t

by jan_g 17y ago

>People often ask where it’s legal to park an RV. And the answer is, generally, “Wherever you can park your car, I can park my RV; as long as it fits, doesn’t obstruct signage or right of way, and doesn’t spill into another space where spaces are marked.” The law in most of California is that vehicles under 45 feet and used for non-commercial purposes can park anywhere any other consumer vehicle can park. Interesting. This is not the case over here in Europe (at least in the parts of it I've been to). You get fined if you sleep overnight in your vehicle outside designated areas (like camping sites, specially RV-dedicated parking lots, etc., all of which you have to pay, of course). EDIT: of course you can park everywhere, I was referencing "sleeping" part of the article.

SwellJoe 17y ago
Sleeping in the vehicle is another matter; but since it's not obvious someone is sleeping in the vehicle, I suspect one can get away with parking legally and sleeping illegally enough of the time to make it worthwhile (if a ticket for sleeping in the vehicle costs, say, $75, then as long as you don't get ticketed more than once every three nights, you'd come out ahead over an RV park). There are other benefits to RV parks, including the convenience of not having to run the generator for power, not having to dump and refill water, and probably having better Internet, so I'll probably end up staying in parks about 75% of the time. I'm paying $41.50, including utilities and Internet, per night here in Morro Bay, and this is a pretty pricey area; my house in Mountain View cost $71.50 per night, and didn't include utilities or Internet. So, I'm still coming out way ahead.
- mmt 17y ago
  $71.50 per night is upwards of $2k/mo. Although it doesn't seem unreasonable for a free-standing single-family home, it strikes me as a little high for only a thousand square feet. Then again, I'm cheap^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal. More to the point, I'm curious if you priced out what a 250 square foot apartment in Mountain View would cost, if it's even available.
  - SwellJoe 17y ago
    More to the point, I'm curious if you priced out what a 250 square foot apartment in Mountain View would cost, if it's even available. I'm not doing this to save money, though that will be a pleasant side effect. I wouldn't be willing to live in 250 square feet, if I couldn't consider the whole country my living room. I agonized over all of the stuff I've had to give up, and I'll probably do a post about it, entitled something cheeky like, "Remembrance of Things Past" or "Requiem for my Things". The loophole isn't that it's super cheap to live in an RV (though I guess it can be); the loophole is that I get to travel all the time while living my mostly normal life, running my company, cooking in my own kitchen, sleeping in my own bed, etc. and as a huge bonus, I'll probably spend about $800 less each month on housing.

by jan_g 17y ago

SwellJoe 17y ago

Sleeping in the vehicle is another matter; but since it's not obvious someone is sleeping in the vehicle, I suspect one can get away with parking legally and sleeping illegally enough of the time to make it worthwhile (if a ticket for sleeping in the vehicle costs, say, $75, then as long as you don't get ticketed more than once every three nights, you'd come out ahead over an RV park). There are other benefits to RV parks, including the convenience of not having to run the generator for power, not having to dump and refill water, and probably having better Internet, so I'll probably end up staying in parks about 75% of the time. I'm paying $41.50, including utilities and Internet, per night here in Morro Bay, and this is a pretty pricey area; my house in Mountain View cost $71.50 per night, and didn't include utilities or Internet. So, I'm still coming out way ahead.

mmt 17y ago
$71.50 per night is upwards of $2k/mo. Although it doesn't seem unreasonable for a free-standing single-family home, it strikes me as a little high for only a thousand square feet. Then again, I'm cheap^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal. More to the point, I'm curious if you priced out what a 250 square foot apartment in Mountain View would cost, if it's even available.
- SwellJoe 17y ago
  More to the point, I'm curious if you priced out what a 250 square foot apartment in Mountain View would cost, if it's even available. I'm not doing this to save money, though that will be a pleasant side effect. I wouldn't be willing to live in 250 square feet, if I couldn't consider the whole country my living room. I agonized over all of the stuff I've had to give up, and I'll probably do a post about it, entitled something cheeky like, "Remembrance of Things Past" or "Requiem for my Things". The loophole isn't that it's super cheap to live in an RV (though I guess it can be); the loophole is that I get to travel all the time while living my mostly normal life, running my company, cooking in my own kitchen, sleeping in my own bed, etc. and as a huge bonus, I'll probably spend about $800 less each month on housing.