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Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?

• bg4 8y ago
  After you get back on your feet please work toward an emergency fund with 6 months living expenses in it.
• sitzkrieg 8y ago
  sadf
• sitzkrieg 8y ago
  I'm in Colorado and I have a laptop I'd be willing to give to you (its a little older - 2011 but works fine and has a fresh linux install on it) if you would like
• keyle 8y ago
  Why has this been knocked off the front page all of the sudden?
  • sschueller 8y ago
    It appears to have been flagged. I think it should not be flagged regardless of the OPs post as the information in the comments is very useful.
• drunkenmonkey 8y ago
  0. Save your money for laundry and storage. 1. Food pantries will provide food. “I have a food emergency.” 2. Call the local homeless shelters, mental health clinics - anywhere that deals with indigent populations. 3. Recognize your bravery for putting ethics over money. 4. Work your way into a low-income housing situation. Many ethical thinkers live this way. 5. Don’t get paranoid or angry. You have dignity. 6. Join a church which is full of intelligent and relaxed people. I recommend Catholicism. 7. If you have to ask for something, ask for it with a smile. People want to help each other. 8. Family sticks together. Sincerely, A programmer who lived homelessly for years
  • djaouen 8y ago
    This is literally the only helpful post in this thread. The rest of the posts are nothing but, “Sorry, but...” posts.
• auslegung 8y ago
  This sucks! I'm so sorry to hear man. I've spent a lot of time with people who are homeless, which has caused me to think about this very question though I haven't had to put any of this into practice so grain of salt. - Get a membership to a cheap gym so you can use their shower (and potentially wifi) if the shelter doesn't work out. In many areas it's possible to get a membership for $10-20/month. Clean your clothes in the shower with you. - Try really hard not to feel desperate during interviews. We make worse decisions when desperate. Easier said than done :( - You may need to buy a laptop, which will suck, but hopefully you can find something good enough and very cheap on Craigslist? If you can't get a laptop, consider public library or internet cafes (if those exist there). - Food is going to be tough. Canned beans will become a close friend. Also canned soups/stews. Peanut butter, cheap produce. You may be able to find edible plants nearby. Free samples at grocery stores? Bulk sunflower seeds are cheap. Lifted most of these food ideas from a thread on reddit btw.
  • platinumrad 8y ago
    I'm not convinced that OP needs a laptop but a $100-150 old Thinkpad or low end Chromebook will get you pretty far these days.
    • Something1234 8y ago
      A chromebook is not good. A cheap t410 or t400 would be best.
      • dochench 8y ago
        Why is a chromebook not good? Battery life is excellent and if crouton is setup, make an excellent low end dev machine.
        • bwb 8y ago
          its like trying to code on an ipad, it can be done but that doesn't make it the best choice.
• DavidThi808 8y ago
  Please apply at www.WindwardStudios.com. We're looking for a brilliant senior full stack developer.
  • noarchy 8y ago
    Thank you for letting OP know about the opportunity. I do hope your interview process is more streamlined than some of the horror stories we hear about on HN. OP is probably not going to be benefited by having to jump through many hoops.
    • homelessdev 8y ago
      > jump through many hoops this right here is why i don't have a job yet -- suddenly being a good programmer isn't enough, you have to be a good algorithmic competitive programmer. Code challenges with intensely difficult algorithms (i'm talking 3 to 8 per interview) are making all of you employers pass over good devs, and making me homeless. This is the new brainteaser and 5 years from now people will look back and realize its a terrible judge of someone who will be programming a fucking website. edit: i'm not going to post my resume or portfolio here, but if you saw what i'm capable of and where i worked in the past you would be shocked that i'm having issues finding employment. also i should note: i'm 36... but i'm sharper and know more now than when i was being paid 96 to 105k in my 20s.
      • nybblesio 8y ago
        I want you to know you're not alone. I've been programming for 30 years and I cannot find work. I have hundreds of hours of video showing what I can do and it doesn't matter. Because I don't approach toy problems on the whiteboard like companies expect, I'm a loser. This is something the HN community should really start paying attention to. You may be employed now and it may be great but something rotten is happening in the industry and it's only getting worse. I have a MacBook Pro from circa 2013 I can donate to you if you need it. I'll make sure my email is in my profile. Otherwise, if you'd just like to speak with someone who understands (some) of what you're going through, let me know.
  • 8y ago
• codebudo 8y ago
  Have you applied for unemployment? State benefits may not fully pay the rent but should help. You'll likely need to supply proof that you're looking for work but that sounds like your plan anyway.
  • bequanna 8y ago
    With some exceptions (hostile work environment, etc.), unemployment typically won't pay out if you quit a job.
    • deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    • homelessdev 8y ago
      unemployment approved me as the reason I quit was valid (HIPPA violations)
      • DoctorOetker 8y ago
        perhaps these were symbolic breadcrums after you revealed your allegiance with the people instead of the corporation? if true, this helps explain why you have a hard time finding an IT related job. if true, this insight may help you find a job by selectively applying for IT work at civil right-ish places (EFF, small civil right-ish law firms, etc ...) as they may be less prone to discriminate on your past "offences", with the upshot that you might feel more at home in such a job than elsewhere?
  • homelessdev 8y ago
    Sadly unemployment was very low and I already chewed through it in under a month
    • deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    • deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
• upbeatlinux 8y ago
  Can you link to your Upwork profile? Have you tried https://www.gun.io/ https://www.gun.io/ ?
  • jamestimmins 8y ago
    Have you used Gun? If so I'm very curious about your experiences, as I've heard very mixed reviews.
  • staticautomatic 8y ago
    +1 on linking to the Upwork profile.
• megaman22 8y ago
  Why would 3 days late on your rent involve a court date and eviction? If I recall, the last few leases I signed had clauses like a $25 late fee for up to a week overdue. And as a landlord, at least here in NH, if somebody doesn't pay immediately, and you want to get rid of them, you have to deliver a written demand for rent, which allows X number of days for response, before you can commence eviction proceedings.
  • quiq 8y ago
    It'd be really shocking to me if this happened in the US without some prior history/grounds for eviction. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure most states have pretty pro-tenant laws when it comes to these sorts of things. OP- if this is nothing but 3 days late on rent, check your lease and your local laws. I can't imagine many places in the western world allow eviction from an actual residence over something like this.
    • civilitty 8y ago
      Unfortunately, Colorado's eviction laws are not as pro-tenant as California's or other Western countries'. Based on a cursory search, it doesn't take more than 30 days between the missed payment and a judge ordering a sheriff to evict you in person.
      • quiq 8y ago
        Damn. My bad for not reading the post carefully. One would hope there would be other recourse than negative online reviews.
      • tapvt 8y ago
        But a late payment (only 3 days!) rather than a missed one. A court appearance seems very heavy-handed to me. I'd hope the judge will see that.
        • civilitty 8y ago
          The thinking probably goes that it's only a late payment if the tenant makes an agreement with the landlord, in which case the landlord wouldn't be giving them notice to vacate. If it has gotten that far then it is a missed payment because the tenant couldn't (or didn't try to) reach an agreement in time and it resulted in the tenant breaking the lease. I think many leases include provisions for late payments for this reason, even in states with pro-tenant laws.
• araes 8y ago
  - Public libraries can help with the job search if they offer free internet access - If you don't mind camping, its an extremely cheap way to live, and a gym / YMCA will help before interviews. - If you have any friends / family, ask them if you can crash. Have a friend who lived this way for ages. - If it comes to it, there are often abandoned structures that are reasonable for keeping rain off. Lived in an abandoned office building for a month at one point. That one was really lucky. Had a gym, water, and electricity still! - Apply, apply, apply. Set a goal. X applications a day, where X is probably 3+. Beat that goal every day. - Be humble, but not desperate. If its reasonable and will pay bills, worth it. - Be willing to move. Frankly, CO is really expensive. People scoff at AL (cur. loc.), but it has NASA, Army, most 3 letter agencies, and every gov't contractor known to man. Also, rent is $400-600 and a house can be found for $30000-40000 if you're not picky. - Sell all your stuff. Flea markets, craigslist, ebay, whatever works. - If you get a job - save. There is no reason to lose a job and then only have $400. - Send me a msg (email in profile) if the AL thing sounds reasonable. Used to be in software and a contract mgr., can at least look at whats around. Can't promise, as I left to walk the earth a while back.
  • greenyoda 8y ago
    > Send me a msg (email in profile) FYI, your email is not displayed in your profile. The "email" field in your profile is only visible to the moderators. If you want to publicly share your email address, it needs to be included in the "about" field.
    • araes 8y ago
      Thank you. Was not aware. Figured if I included it in the info it was viewable. Changed.
  • oldsklgdfth 8y ago
    Sidenote: how does a place like AL have so much government money poored into it?
    • schoen 8y ago
• RickJWagner 8y ago
  First, sorry you're in this spot. I hope you have friends/church group/family support to help you in this time. If it were me, I'd probably have both myself and my wife take whatever 'second' jobs we could (Wal-Mart, fast food, etc.) for nights/weekend income. I'd reserve my 9-5 hours for a full-press job search. Good luck to you. Your skills are in demand, so hopefully this won't last long.
• ajeet_dhaliwal 8y ago
  How resonable is the person/company you rent from to secure an agreement to stay on despite the late rent? You have had a job before and based on your background clearly have the potential to be earning again soon. It’s not like the situation is hopeless for them, if they can wait it out you will be able to pay. Is moving in with family or friends temporarily possible?
• bwb 8y ago
  Doh I am so sorry to hear that :(. Do not blame yourself for not finding a job, guilt/blame is just going to hurt you here. Be confident when you do those interviews and submit those applications, just because you have gotten unlucky so far in finding a new gig does not in anyway reflect who you are. Do you have anyone you can borrow money from to cover you for a while? Family or friends? That would be the first option I would suggest. Do you have family or friends who have a spare area you can crash to sleep at least? Can your wife drive for uber/lyft while she is looking for a job, that can bring home some money and if you own a car that might work. That could help you get back on step 1 possibly. You might also look in Boulder, as there are a ton of jobs here she could get instantly and then quit once she finds something closer to Denver to avoid the commute. There are some good resources here: https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-human-services/community-outreach/denvers-road-home/homeless-help-resources.html https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-human-... *It might not hurt to call and see what options they have. There might be some city programs in this situation to get you in something for 30 to 90 days until you are back on your feet. Another option is to camp and use the shower system someone mentioned. A tent is cheap and it is a warmer time of year to get away with that. I hope it doesn't come to that. I salute your ethics in quitting the last job, but I would urge you next time to build a safety net and put ethics second to "survival". I can understand if they were killing or hurting people, but customer data is just a modern day problem we don't know what to do with as the definition of privacy evolves.
• bwb 8y ago
  Also, just to make sure, you know about the Built In Colorado job board right? https://www.builtincolorado.com/jobs?f[0]=job-category_developer-engineer https://www.builtincolorado.com/jobs?f[0]=job-category_devel... I worry their process will be slow but I want to throw that out there. I also would just mention that you quit your last job because your manager was bad, I would not mention you quit because of data privacy concerns as that can raise red flags I would imagine.
• bradgnar 8y ago
  This story does not make sense
  • homelessdev 8y ago
    which part?
    • drunkenmonkey 8y ago
      Don’t worry about the haters. Focus on getting things like you want them.
      • mr_spothawk 8y ago
        holy f*. this is the best advice I've ever read on the internet
    • deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    • IanDrake 8y ago
      How have you been an engineer for 15 years and still: - Rent an apartment - Don’t have a few laptops laying around - Don’t have any savings while having no kids Each item above, on its own, is normal but all together doesn’t make sense. For the last 15 years you should have been making 60-200k and you obviously didn’t sink it into a house, computer hardware, or savings. Where did it all go? That’s why this doesn’t add up, to me at least. I’m not saying you’re lying, but that I can’t figure out how you got to this point.
      • bradgnar 8y ago
        precisely
      • samatman 8y ago
        There are any number of life circumstances, from a failed startup to poor health, which could account for this. None of which, I'm eager to add, are any of your goddamn business.
• Luxyadian 8y ago
  Sorry I am not helping. But 15 years full stack. Sounds at least 15K RMB/month here in China Chengdu. homeless in the USA? Just cannot understand how this would happen. sorry again for not helping. Maybe after you get better, some day in recent years, move to China?
  • scruffyherder 8y ago
    Yeah, there is plenty of English teacher types, if OP has a degree there is always China.
    • Luxyadian 8y ago
      Sorry but I meant dev work... if you still think only English teacher, then I am speechless.
  • pothrowaway 8y ago
    (throwaway because electricity is out and I'm on mobile, no access to password database) I'm surprised you're surprised. We get similar stories on HN from time to time and they are almost always developers in America. I'm not passing judgement but it seems OP was not able to save much month to month. Earning doesn't automatically scale with years. As most here suggest, OP should resort to contacting everyone they can expect to care. If that support network falls through then they are really left alone. It is very rough to "fall off the tracks." Homeless aren't all drug abusers. Personally I think programming is not necessarily a safe career choice here.
    • senorjazz 8y ago
      the parent stated they were in China. Whilst I am making a huge generalisation here - I have found it to true from extensive travel. Lots of people from non-western countries have a mythical view of the west and especially the west. Most of this will come from stylised tv / films where everyone lives in a mansion, doesn't have work problems and live is just perfect and the roads are lined with gold. I remember when my now wife came to the UK for the first time "wow you have poor people too!". She had been brought up seeing postcard perfect depictions of quaint little village hamlets. But the misconception is both ways. Many people from the UK are shocked to find out that in the tropics you have rainy miserable grey overcast days - as we are brought up with postcard perfect Caribbean seas, palm tress, blue skies and full sun... Anyway I digress, I can quite understand why someone from China would be surprised at homeless and poverty in the US
• ApolloRising 8y ago
  Step 1: Setup a Go Fund me so people can help you out. Step 2: Get your resume on linkedin, ziprecruiter, indeed.com and msg all the tech recruiters you can find on linkedin. Step 3: Reach out to family if you have any to let you stay with them while you are doing a job search. If not see if a good friend would do that. If not see if you can at least put your wife up with one of her friends so she is safe while you look for a gig. Also look on craigslist for part time programming jobs. Not great money but it is something. Ask for half up front so you don't get stiffed. Apply to everything here: https://www.indeed.com/q-Computer-Programming-l-Colorado-jobs.html https://www.indeed.com/q-Computer-Programming-l-Colorado-job...
  • hackits 8y ago
    Step 1: Setup a Go Fund me so people can help you out. Number one reason why I don't use Go Fund me. Step 1 should be getting your shit together not relying on other people.
    • bwb 8y ago
      We are supposed to be an American community, not a bunch of people who don't lend a hand when someone makes a misstep or hits a wall. I am disgusted how selfish such a huge chunk of this country has become... half this country can't remember what empathy is, and they have slowly destroyed our social safety net. I want the government to do more to help people in this type of position get back on their feet so that they can live a good life, and contribute to our country and tax base. I want my taxes to go UP to pay for that, in conjunction with lowering the massive defense spending we have. If you are lucky enough to have parents or family who can help you out awesome, but not everyone has that. If you are lucky enough to never make a misstep so deep you can't recover on your own, awesome for you, not everyone has that. What do you want him to do? Build a time machine, go back in time, and not make a series of mistakes that helped lead here?
      • bmelton 8y ago
        > half this country can't remember what empathy is Not that I disagree with your overall point, but while I might be being overly sensitive here, I think it's implicit that 9 times out of 10, when someone refers to "half the country", what they mean to say is "the half of the country not affiliated with the political party to which I am affiliated." Yes, there are selfish people, but largely, that selfishness is not evenly divisible by party line, and the castigation of "the others" should be minimized, in my opinion, as most Americans, left, right, or center, are honestly trying to do what they feel is right. As it sits, Republicans are statistically quite charitable[1][2], to the point that 9 of the 10 most charitable states are red states. Yes, perhaps they see a different role for government than you do, and yes, I think that the parent to your comment was indeed acting selfishly, but that doesn't necessarily conflate to partisan beliefs, nor should we attempt to correlate individual behavior to partisan causation. [1] - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/giving-back-_n_3781505.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/giving-back-_n_378... [2] - https://www.nationalreview.com/the-home-front/which-political-party-more-charitable-nancy-french/ https://www.nationalreview.com/the-home-front/which-politica...
• jayec 8y ago
  If you want to send me an email with some more details about your experience, etc I'd be happy to reach out to some recruiters I know and see if anyone has anything going. jaye at claruscomputers.com.au
• prawn 8y ago
  If you get desperate enough to live in your car, this might be a useful resource: https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/ There are a lot of lifestyle/travellers on there, but also people doing it out of necessity.
• ggg9990 8y ago
  It doesn’t help now, but in the future please do not quit a job because the company is behaving unethically. It will eliminate 80% of employers.
  • greenyoda 8y ago
    If they're forcing you to do something that you know is criminal (e.g., stealing from a customer, tax fraud, etc.) it's much better to quit your job immediately than to risk going to prison. If they're not asking you to do something criminal (merely something that you find unethical), start looking for a new job and quit when you have a firm offer lined up.
• scott00 8y ago
  If you haven't talked to your landlord, talk to your landlord. If they sent you a summons after three days, I don't have high hopes, but it's worth a shot. Explain your situation and see if there's anything they can do for you. Maybe they'll let you stay until they can rent the place. Are you someplace you can drive for Uber or Lyft? It's not great money, but you can probably earn enough in the month you have left to buy a cheap laptop and pay for food, a cell phone, and a gym membership after you get evicted, which should improve your ability to keep applying for jobs.
• bmelton 8y ago
  There's some good (and other) advice already posted in here, and I can't think of anything to add to that, so I won't belabor the point... but if you run out of other options, and can find your way to the Annapolis, Maryland area, I've at least got a relatively empty basement that you're welcome to occupy until you get back on your feet. This would also put you in commuting range to Annapolis, Baltimore, or DC, which are all fairly ripe with job opportunities for talented engineers.
• mamcx 8y ago
  - Not have conections with old customers/employers? You could try to ask if wanna some help. Is surprising how often work come from old work... or just people that barely remember you - Customer support and/or pc maintenaince or similar is seriously in need for a lot of small-medium companies. This can lead to coding very easily. See around where you live and note how many companies are. ALL OF THEM NEED SOMEONE LIKE YOU. Not all of them will say yes, but well, you could try!. - Do you have other abilities san coding? Having any job look like is more important than having the job you want. ------ I don't know how things are in USA but where I live (Colombia) is kind of easy to survive - and VERY well- selling street food. One time, I make a bit more than my prior jobs selling tasting meat (was not unemployed but wanna get a bit more). I know someone in California that sell spicy food in jars and live very well. My mother is Chef and have helped some friends in bootstrap a food bussiness around easy-to-made food. One of them, sell Hogao (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogao) in jars and made to support his family just with this. Their situations was even more desperate, for sure. You could put to advantage you/wife extra amount of time. As my naive understanding of the USA situation, nobody have time!. Can you provide a service like prepare lunch boxes, take care of pets, clean houses, or anything similar?
• drogonmead 8y ago
  Just wanted to say that I'm very sorry that this is happening to you. I hope that you and your wife find a way out of this.
• seorphates 8y ago
  Well, it is summer, so there's that. Your compute situation is unfortunate but your rental situation is surprising. Three days, court, eviction? I was always under the impression that there were some number of weeks involved with a legal eviction having some process before the sheriff can come knocking. Clearly I'm mistaken and/or there's a longer story there. You have to keep the faith and cannot allow yourself to spiral out. Find grit. It is frustrating but you're going to have to temper that. You seem to be doing the right things so do keep on keeping on. If homelessness is truly a risk then you and your spouse will need to dig deep, reach out to friends and family if possible, identify any root that you have and cling to it. Maybe that's just each other but hold onto it regardless. You're already taking inventory so you're already planning and adapting. Camping seems like a good suggestion. Reach out to some agencies if you haven't already. The more people working your case the better your chances will be. RH got my foot in the door after a (not so) nice five month shutout that started early in Sep. 2001 when myriad opportunities locked down tight literally overnight. I was at the end of a nice, well earned six week vacation from tech after our startup shut down. Just lying around. I regretted that little timeout for the next few months, to say the least. The money was about done and stress was running pretty high for a small family. You'll pull out, man, keep your chin up, your eyes peeled and don't balk if an offer comes up short. Find a comfort zone and shore up. You'll need a way to keep your comms open, for sure. I think that's all I've got. Good luck and god speed.
• morganwilde 8y ago
  I know the feeling, in fact a little over two years ago I posted something similar on HN and got 0 responses. It’s always empowering to finally acknowledge that there is no safety net. Forget computers and engineering interviews, start looking for any and all work that pays. If all else fails, go to McDonald’s and work there until you save up a little. Once you have an income restart your job search. If you go homeless that becomes a social stigma that’s hard to come back from, so do EVERYTHING in your power to avoid that. Oh, and find an apartment you can afford. If you want someone to talk to, you can give me a call (send message first to morgan@wilde.work).
  • pucke 8y ago
    "McDonald's" will not hire just anybody. I lived in Seattle for almost 8 months before finding a low-level wage job. The McDonald's argument is what entitled people say to poverty stricken people who are suffering. Also "find an apartment you can afford" is hilarious and patronizing. I make enough money in the industry I have worked in for over a decade to not really be able to afford a 140 square ft efficiency.
    • anoncoward111 8y ago
      Totally agree re: "find an apartment you can afford". My parents we're laughing their asses off when I told them "it is not easy to find a room for $600 in NYC with a month-to-month lease". They thought I was brain dead. It just turns out that they haven't apartment hunted in 30 years.
    • ummonk 8y ago
      They will in today's job market (which isn't typical). Hiring for unskilled labor is incredibly tight.
    • mgkimsal 8y ago
      Talked to a local business owner here. He started a small restaurant because, after having moved here and looked for a job for a year, he couldn't get hired. Big box stores, grocery stores, other restaurants. He's ... probably early 50s, and was looking to just be a good employee someplace, clock in, clock out... and could not get hired. He's always been a hustler, and that probably comes through in the interviews, and they pass on hiring him. So... the "go get a job flipping burgers"... isn't always as easy as it's made out to be in many regions. For the record, he's now flipping burgers in his own burger place (made his own job, basically).
• carapace 8y ago
  Lots of good advice here already. Some of what's below repeats what others have said. The main thing is avoid becoming homeless. I can't stress that enough. However, if you really can't do that, then here's some advice: 1.) Don't Panic! You're about to have an adventure. Make it fun. You're not crazy, you don't have face tattoos(?), you've got skills. You won't be homeless for long, if at all. Keep your attitude in check. 2.) Head West before Winter! If you're still out and about by then (unlikely) do not mess with that Colorado Winter. Brrr! Come out here to CA, OR, or WA. I didn't used to believe in seasons, not really. Growing up I saw them on TV, of course, but they were something that happened to other people, like tiger attacks. I spent a Winter in CO once. Once. Fuck that. 3.) Go camping. You can camp for free in National Forests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Forests_of_Colorado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Forests_of_C... This is a huge country and much of it belongs to you. Take advantage of that. 4.) It's really hard to starve in America. I mean it's really fucking hard. There are food banks, Churches, and other places that serve meals or give away food. Usually there's a list that you can get from a local homeless aid group or something. We throw away huge amount of food too, I know there are "freegans" in CO. 5.) Ask for help. You're doing that here, now, but keep it up and ask everywhere and everyone. Being too proud is a stupid way to stay homeless. You've got to have some friends or family, eh? If my friend had no place to go and didn't ask me for help (that I'd be glad to give) I'd be pretty sad when I found out. 6.) Avoid drugs and drug users. You cannot trust a meth-head. At all. They will steal your stuff and sell it to get drugs. Don't let them in your car, don't let them watch your bag while you pee, etc. No matter how nice or cool they seem, nor how much they seem to have their shit together you cannot trust a meth-head. One weird idea: Consider starting a blog so we can all follow along and root for you and send help. ;-) (And for goodness' sake, when you're back in the green, save 10% of your gross and put it in index funds, you silly man!)
• gremlinsinc 8y ago
  Just wanted to chime in, I'm in Utah and can totally relate. (My car will be repo'd next friday if I don't have enough, and we're struggling w/ eviction possibilities too. For me, I had an employer not pay me 2 months of wages.. 14k. The CEO is a corrupt scam-artist, and me and all other devs/ex employees have filed wage claims, but he went to jail for check fraud, and I'm assuming he's poor too, possibly a drug abuser according to one dev, so yeah--I'm probably never seeing the 15k I'm owed :( ... It's been a real struggle, the depression has made it so for about 2 weeks I couldn't get out of my chair, I just felt if I move it would be to jump off a roof or something. It gets better though (i think)... My saving grace is reddit.com/forhire -- 90% of my freelance clients have come from there, it's a great resource. I just got 2 clients this week, so hopefully they pay and I can knock out their things fast enough to build up my security net a bit. My advice look at the for hire posts for devs, find the one that sticks out the most, copy their layout, replace the content with your details, and post it. Do this once per week -- Monday at 7am eastern seems to be best / most trafficked time according to a reddit stat's site I checked out. Then just keep posting other places too, and following up. Hopefully you find something. I know how hard it is though, good luck!
  • partycoder 8y ago
    The subreddit link is www.reddit.com/r/forhire
    • gremlinsinc 8y ago
      I've also got a multi-reddit for jobs, careers, and freelance: https://www.reddit.com/user/zvive/m/jobs_and_freelance/ https://www.reddit.com/user/zvive/m/jobs_and_freelance/
• anonymouse_321 8y ago
  OP asking for survival tips. Avoiding the crisis is best, sure. But if that doesn't work right off, keeping body and soul together needs food. Studied this a bit when I thought we might be looking at an economic meltdown on a large scale. YMMV, this is result of reading and practicing from comfort. Most canned foods are very low on the calories per dollar scale. On the other hand they need no refrigeration and most can be safely eaten without preparation, being already fully cooked. Sites like Survivalblog are a wealth of staying alive info. There are many sites about surviving homelessness too. Find a LDS cannery in your area and ask if they sell to the public. Most will. A six pack of #10 can filled with oats or pasta or dry milk goes a long way for very little coin. They have a pragmatic mission to help folks before a crisis. Get a wide-mouthed thermos bottle or two. In goes a half cup of oats, a pinch of salt, dab of butter if you have it. Flavor to taste and ability. Add a cup of boiling water, seal and let sit 5-10 minutes. Ta-da, a hearty breakfast for a few cents. Thank Kurt Saxon, regardless of his politics. If you still have a roof and electrical power, consider a thrift-store bread machine. A few practice runs with some recipes off the 'net or from the library. '5 minute a day artisan bread' works well. A rice cooker is another great tool for keeping well fed on the cheap. Add a wok and you can work up a near infinite variety of stir-fry tasties. Look at 'Eternal Soup' for how some of our ancestors made safe use of all nutritional calories that came their way in trying times. If you are looking at longer term low-cost food intake, remember complete proteins and micronutrients. Vitamins. We can get by for quite a while on body reserves but the symptoms of deficiency won't help an already tough situation. Healing slower, getting sick more easily, worsened depression, insomnia, and the ever-popular teeth falling out. Sprouting beans, wheat berries, getting a few ounces of ascorbic acid for doctoring up the bread dough... do a bit of homework. Keep a healthy mindset. Blessings to you and yours.
• justboxing 8y ago
  I see several offers for laptop and other assistance, so you need to create an email address for this (if worried about getting found out, embarassed etc with using real email address) and put it in your about page right now, so that these kind folks can get in touch with you, and you can get a head start and try to avoid going homeless.... Who knows, you may even be able to get some short contract from someone here and stay afloat for a few weeks / months. Wishing you the best!
• deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
• guy_c 8y ago
  How much is your rent? How much short are you from paying the due rent? If your rent is at low-end for your area, then I'd try to avoid getting evicted. Getting evicted could trigger more expenses (moving costs, new deposits, etc.). Putting you deeper in the red. I'd first sell everything non-critical. If you get evicted a big pile of possessions is going to be a burden anyway.
• sova 8y ago
  Cashflow: you want many of them, things that have royalties or residuals that add up over time. Better having a bunch of gradual passive incomes instead of one big income. Making software that is sold in an App Store is a way, but also offering your web dev services on a month-by-month basis (subscriptions) may be a potential way to leverage this idea. Longterm you want a way for money to continually keep finding you, and the quantities don't need to be huge but the trickles should be many. Start with something that scales and get it working. Other things that can help you make a passive income are: writing books (after you have a life worth of experience to write about or very strong philosophy or understanding, or simply colorful use of language), create music and sell albums or songs online (i am breaking into busking, myself), create or invent something that kicks back a small percentage but frequently. It all adds up, so small things ... don't shy away from them. What's your ideal vision for job and house and squad situation? Visualizing where you want to be without stressing so much the "how" can be really beneficial because we are naturally pathfinders in a rapidly changing world, sometimes we need to focus on the honeypot and the rest falls into place.
• iamleppert 8y ago
  I just went through the worst job search in my life but it ended up well for me in the end, it just took awhile. Don't give up hope! Keep doing the interviews, something will work out for you eventually!
• patrickg_zill 8y ago
  Email in profile. I am in Denver / Boulder area and would like to help you.
• alixaxel 8y ago
  Sorry to hear about your situation. Please share your email / Upwork profile, also feel free to email me (contact in the profile) - I might be able to help you.
• csomar 8y ago
  I also agree this story doesn't make sense or it is missing some stuff. Otherwise I'll be harsh: What the hell happened during 15 years? I'm based in a third-world and have been working for 7 years only and have approximately a lifetime of savings. Despite traveling to a dozen countries and buying lots of gadgets. Something doesn't add up. Or, you have a bigger problem than finding a job (gambling addiction? an expensive health condition?). Also you can get evicted for missing rent for 3 days? Anyone care to spill the law here? I have seen people go months rent-free before getting an eviction.
  • icebraining 8y ago
    I guess some of us suck at finding jobs; I'm asking for less than 3x our minimum wage (which is quite low, compared to our cost of living) as a Python dev with 6 years of experience, and companies are treating it as an extraordinary amount. I only managed to make some real savings working abroad.
    • csomar 8y ago
      Are you talking about yourself? I can hardly see someone with 40k karma in hn charging less than $100/hour. Stop selling yourself short.
      • icebraining 8y ago
        Yes, I'm talking about myself :) I know I'm worth more, but that doesn't help if the buyers with money to afford it aren't here. I'm exploring remote, we'll see what happens.
        • dgellow 8y ago
          Where are you based?
          • icebraining 8y ago
            Portugal.
• partycoder 8y ago
  The strategy here is: solve the short-term crisis first, so you can buy time to find a good job. Some ways to buy time in the short-term are: - Get a lower paying job even if you are overqualified. Not necessarily development. Work on ridesharing or delivery if you have to. - Raise money, ask for donations (e.g.: gofund.me page). - See if you qualify for welfare benefits. - Sell things. Remember, all of the above is just a temporary, short-term compromise. Then, once you are stable enough, take the time to look for a better job, but do it in a less committed way, e.g.: your wife first then yourself, or something like that.
• koliber 8y ago
  > I was 3 days late on my rent this month and now have to appear in court to explain why i haven't paid. I fully expect that to lead to an eviction. This is strange. If you paid, why are you going to court? Normally, if someone does not pay on time, they may be served a late rent notice. This is an official warning and has a deadline by which a payment must be made. If you miss that payment, the landlord can file an eviction case. You paid. Why would the landlord take you to court? I am not a lawyer, but even if the above is true, it seems that a judge would not allow an eviction based just on a single 3-day late rent payment. You have a bit more time to get yourself together.
  • tudelo 8y ago
    The laws vary greatly by state regarding eviction in my experience.
• mirajshah 8y ago
  Breathe, it may seem like the world is falling apart, but you will be OK. You should be able to start a low-skill job to make ends meet. If you're in a city, start driving Uber and Lyft! The hours are flexible so as to give you time to apply. Also, do you have any friends or family you can stay with instead of staying in a shelter or your car? Now is the time to call in any favors. Good luck!
• lrvick 8y ago
  I actually spent the better part of 2 years homeless and/or living in a car etc. I made heavy use a local college campus lab computers by copying student ids off sign in sheets which were used for login. Also used a lot of discarded free meal coupons given to new students. Took random contract gigs from IRC, elance style sites, and Craigslist. Also did telemarketing, and random day labor jobs off and on. Eventually a startup gave me free room and board in exchange for programming help. Saved and relocated to an area with more jobs after that startup imploded. Found an abandoned trailer some property owners agreed to let me squat in. Got to tap their electric line in exchange for helping out with deliveries and tech work for their tractor store. Kept up with random craigslist tech gigs etc and started my own consulting company bootstrapped with retail work income and help from friends from IRC for bigger jobs. One of the random contracts I took let me code with free reign and ended up keeping me on as a full time software engineer and gave me several years of experience making custom prototypes and doing pentesting for fortune 500 companies as well as angel funding for a startup of my own. Never had a problem getting work since. Be relentless and don't limit yourself to tech work until you have some buffer in the bank. Be willing to relocate if the market is dry in your area. Never ever stop learning marketable skills and taking interviews you are not qualified for until you are. Most of the "mandatory" minimums on job postings are optional if you have some quality open source code to prove your capability.
• homelessdev 8y ago
  Apparently my post has been flagged for some reason. I attempted to post the following last night but kept getting a message that I was posting too fast: Questions / answers thus far: there's been a lot of good advice in this thread thus far and a few understandable questions. I'm going to answer them all here as I can no longer edit the main thread. first off, great suggestions - some of these were already on my mind (gym, library, camping specifically) and seeing them reinforced via comments is encouraging. to answer some questions that have been raised: 1. > homeless in the USA? Just cannot understand how this would happen I'm still trying to piece this together myself. I failed multiple job interviews that were very difficult, ran out of unemployment and am now facing eviction. it takes 6 to 12 months to get into government housing in colorado. unless i get a job before that, its the car, the woods or the street. > 15 years full stack I don't get it either. 2. > How resonable is the person/company you rent from to secure an agreement to stay on despite the late rent? zero reasonable. they filed after 3 days and after i explained that i'm having health issues. 3. > Have you applied for unemployment? yes, i was approved as my reason for quitting was appropriate, however it ran out quickly as rent is extremely expensive. 4. > Built In Colorado job I am aware and use it, however yes the process is slow 5. > if he were a brilliant engineer he probably wouldn't be on here with this post Define brilliant. i certainly haven't claimed to be brilliant, but i do claim to be an excellent employee, extremely fast learner and someone who has never been fired and who has always excelled at their job. I suspect some people think i'm brilliant and others do not. 6. > Why would 3 days late on your rent involve a court date and eviction? Denver / Colorado is harsh as fuck, apparently. 7. > It'd be really shocking to me if this happened in the US without some prior history/grounds for eviction then be shocked, my friend. its happening and i've never been evicted in the past nor has my wife. nothin but smooth sailing in my past. this is denver In all of this i also forgot to mention that I was diagnosed as being bipolar which has helped wreck my life. 8. > How have you been an engineer for 15 years and still: Rent an apartment, Don’t have a few laptops lying around, Don’t have any savings while having no kids This series of questions assumes that i have made sound financial decisions over the years. i have not. it also assumes i do not have a child whereas I do from a previous marriage. also, it assumes i've never owned a house, i have... doesn't mean i still do.
  • hluska 8y ago
• lesss365 8y ago
  Find a cheap laptop on craigslist, thinkpad or chromebook would be good. Write a selenium script to automate applying for jobs. Find a spot with wifi and run the script.
• mikelevins 8y ago
  I've been in the kind of spot you're in. I survived it. There's nothing so special about me. You can do it, too. Every day make a careful, accurate inventory of the things that are under your control and the things that are not. Don't worry about the things that are not under your control; they're none of your business. They're like the weather: they come and go as they will. Focus on the things that are under your control, on finding out what is the best thing you can do about them. Do it as well as possible. You can survive the loss of a job. You can survive losing a place to live. You can survive diagnosis of a debilitating, incurable illness. You can survive the loss of the future you thought was ahead of you. I survived all of these, and went on to do things that I judge to be good and worthwhile. Like I said, there's nothing so special about me. What I can do, you can do. Some of the other comments have good ideas and good advice. Take those and use them. Some comments are unhelpful. Forget those. Remember: I lost my job, my family, my home, my career, and my health. I'm still here. I still do things that I think are good and worthwhile. Some of the best things that have ever happened to me happened after my great catastrophe. I did it, so you can do it. I wish you the best of luck.
  • sandov 8y ago
    so... stoicism, basically.
• maxxxxx 8y ago
  Put your resume on dice.com and other contracting sites. There are a ton of recruiters there who need people. You probably won't get paid well and the work won't be glamorous but it should be fairly quick to find a contract somewhere in the country. Wherever you find a contract you can rent a room cheaply and send money home.
• synthmeat 8y ago
  1. Borrow money from trusted source. 2. Buy time with it. 3. ... 4. Return that money. Don't let finance bring you down in your life, ask for help from people around you. Good chance someone will be able to help you. This Ask HN is a good start, so I think you're on a good path back up already. Good luck.
• sds357 8y ago
  Check out this group community/forum. Many people getting along in life with similar circumstances. https://www.cheaprvliving.com/ https://www.cheaprvliving.com/
• schoen 8y ago
  I know it's not the main focus of your question, but since the eviction hasn't happened yet, it may be worth continuing to work on making it not happen, by consulting a tenant lawyer familiar with Colorado law. There may be legal resources available to you at low or no cost that could improve your chances of a favorable outcome in court. https://www.hud.gov/states/colorado/renting/tenantrights https://www.hud.gov/states/colorado/renting/tenantrights http://theactioncenterco.org/program-services/tenantlandlord-helpline/ http://theactioncenterco.org/program-services/tenantlandlord... (although "helpline navigators do not give legal advice" it sounds like they might help with some of your questions and might also be able to help you find legal help)
• wombatpm 8y ago
  Shit does happen. I've been there. #1 get some sort of income coming in. Keep looking for an engineering position, but find another job that gets you some $ but leaves your days free for interviews and phone calls. It would suck to give up a 4 hr shift for a BS screening interview. And at this point it does not matter what you choose. You are not looking for your one true forever job. You are looking to exchange your time for money. Target, Home Depot are hiring. Consider 2nd shift and third shift type work. It sucks but it leaves your days open for interviews during normal business hours. Gas Station/Convenience stores are always looking for people to work the graveyard shift. Warehouse/logistics distribution centers are ALWAYS looking for 2nd shift workers. If you can read and pass a drug test you can be hired. Double points if you are actually legal to work in the United States. Usually there will be a staffing agency who does the actual hiring. I once worked for a business interiors company. We installed cubicles and such for businesses. The work all had to happen after hours. Paid pretty good too. Since you are in Denver that may be an option. Consider too grocery store/bakery. Access to food that is still fine but can't be sold is a great way to stretch your dollars. As to your engineering job search. Please tell me you are not doing everything yourself. Get IT staffing recruiters working for you! You are a easy candidate. An IT worker with skills and experience who can start TODAY! Don't be picky! If you can land ANY sort of professional work, you can stabilize your life and keep looking for that Forever job.
• senorjazz 8y ago
  > I was 3 days late on my rent this month and now have to appear in court to explain why i haven't paid. I fully expect that to lead to an eviction. wow that's harsh. I own a house in the UK when the tenants lost their job but promised one was lined up. They didn't pay for 2 months, then the tenancy agreement was up and I told the estate agents to not renew it as I cannot afford to pay for these people to live in my house for free whilst covering the mortgage. They refused to move out. Had to wait another month before could start the eviction process. Took 4.5 months to get them out, then they stole much of the furniture that was in the house and perhaps not "smashed" the house up, packed their things up and very hurriedly damaging the house (pulling curtains off + rail etc). I refused to give them the deposit back, they went to court to get the deposit back and won lol (have to laugh about this otherwise would cry) I think what happened to us in the UK was too much the other way, but kicking you out after 3 days is harsh. Don't you have friends and family to borrow the money from?
  • tootto 8y ago
    Just..wow. How did they manage to get the deposit back? I'm sorry for your experinces with assholes. Makes the world a worse place.
  • skinnymuch 8y ago
    How did they win their deposit back with that situation?
  • zztzzt 8y ago
    The role of a landlord is parasitical by nature. I expect your tenants were just redressing the balance.
• futureweb0 8y ago
  I am surprised about this. A cloudy future. Is this the future of web programming? Expecting downvotes.
• precariatology 8y ago
  You should both make a list of everyone you know or have worked for, and anyone you don't, from soup kitchens through to bluechip HR, who for any reason at all you think might be able to help you with, in order of importance; food, advice/conversation, phone/net, accommodation, logistics/travel, workspace/equipment, paid work, and finally if and only if everything else fails, lend you money. Split this list into people you can be honest with and people who you should be guarded with in order to retain a professional front. Start calling the honest list, starting with the most social, explain your situation and ask them if they can help, that you are happy to trade skill for this, and if they can't help, do they know anyone who can? Use this last question to expand the list. Also start calling the guarded list, with a strategy for each. These are basically people who you are trying to setup new work with, people you owe money to and therefore need to carefully manage their expectations, and prospective landlords. One thing that is really important, do not agree to a start date for work until you have organised where it will be done, where you will be sleeping and where you get food from. You are better bartering skill for basic resources from the honest group first, then trying for some well paid work when you have a platform to ensure that you don't fuck it up. Is basically Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs Also, until you are stable, you will need to be constantly creating backup plans for your backup plans. Three deep or more is ideal, in spare time try to generate more, and make this a habit. Always know where you are going to sleep, if where you were going to go to sleep, when where you were going to sleep fucked up, fucks up. To get back into stable rent may take being a house guest/garage dweller while starting a new job, which is not always stable and you may not be able/want to be completely honest about at a new job, so keep all bases covered. Is also worth looking at completely gonzo solutions, such as immediately registering a company, as this may make it easier to acquire property to live in and high paid contracts/investment money. Don't do that at the expense of time spent sorting basic needs, but it is really worth spending time on the high gamble, even if it seems utterly ridiculous from your current position, both for the chance it might pay off, and more importantly, for your day to day morale and self-identity otherwise the new conditions can eat away at your mental horizon. Fight the thought of "This is my life now" otherwise it could be. And if it really comes to it, get some locks and quietly borrow derelict buildings, very very carefully, and do not advertise their existence otherwise you will generate yourself a crew of the crazy and dispossessed extremely rapidly. Tell them about it when you leave, if you want to be nice. Hope some of this may have helped. Keep your confidence up and go hustle like you have never done before. Good luck to the both of you from someone who has been there. With the right attitude, bits of it can even be 'fun', in the same sort of way that hiking across remote glaciers can be 'fun'.
• chrshawkes 8y ago
  I would suggest you consider leaving Colorado if your job prospects are that poor there. I'm located in DC and constantly get hounded by recruiters looking to fill positions.
• malmsteen 8y ago
  stop saying the reason why u quit in job interviews
• dilatedmind 8y ago
  Doesn't the eviction process take at least a month? How long will it take you to land a new job? It seems pointless to have to be homeless if you're able to land a job within a month or 2. Are you in a position to borrow money? Maybe even an online lender like bestegg. You could setup a bitcoin wallet and livestream yourself coding, I feel like a person in your situation is a kind of person I would be willing to donate to.
  • amorphid 8y ago
    Having been in this situation, I'd recommend against borrowing money. Only family and friends will lend it to you, and you know you can't pay them back anytime soon. Unpaid debt puts a strain on any relationship, and OP is gonna need all the support they can get.
• systemicdent 8y ago
  I'm surprised (or maybe I didn't read through all the posts in detail) that we aren't trying to solve the root cause - finding you a job by clearly and correctly understanding your skills as an engineer. I honestly want to help and I have a few ideas but I'm not very good at this mode of communication (I have always used hackernews in readonly mode and this is the first time I am commenting here - I actually had to create a new account). If you'd be willing to reach out to me (systemicdent at gmail dot com) I'll do whatever I can to help you get out of this situation.
• jason_slack 8y ago
  PM me your info (my email in my profile) and I'll mail you some gift cards to your local grocery store. I have a T240 with 8gb of RAM you can have. There is a lot more said here so I won't repeat. I'm struggling to to find a job in my area as a c++ dev, but I can help out another human being. If you ever get to Upstate NY you and your wife are welcome to stay with us. We live on a lake with lots of trees. Might eliminate some stress while you rebound :-)
• mead5432 8y ago
  My wife and I own a catering business in Denver. In the short run, you could do some deliveries. It’s easy work in the short run and pays decent on an hourly wage for a couple hours a day so it wouldn’t keep you from interviews since I t’s only during lunch hours. That being said, I manage several software engineering teams in Denver around Union Station. Currently, I’m hiring for several positions, mostly server side in Ruby and Node. If you’d like to chat a bit about your experience, I could take you to grab some coffee. If your experience doesn’t really fit with that, I can help provide feedback on how to improve your chances in interviews. Feel free to reach out via the email in my profile (it works... just trying to protect against spam).
• DoreenMichele 8y ago
  I haven't read very much of the answers, just enough to know that a lot of people are not exactly being supportive. I'm a little surprised, though perhaps I should not be, that with 164 comments, apparently no one has hooked you up with any of my websites: https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com https://www.pocketputer.com/p/links.html https://www.pocketputer.com/p/links.html http://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com http://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com But let me suggest that it sounds like you still have a little time. It is best to not end up on the street if you can avoid it. Call 211. Find out what kinds of support are available locally. Collect recyclables. Start selling stuff. You probably can't take it all with you anyway. If it helps you make rent, awesome. The Pocket Puter link includes a link to a Google Doc listing freelancing platforms. I'm having trouble accessing it from my phone, but one of the listings, probably towards the bottom, is for something with Moonlight in the name. It is a YC company. That might work better than Upwork. Ignore whatever negativity you are getting here. The world is full of classist jerks who think it can't happen to them. It absolutely can happen to anyone. In spite of all the good news about low unemployment currently, there are still a lot of systemic issues. Best of luck.
• earenndil 8y ago
  I don't have direct advice, but I might suggest trying to sell the desktop and buy a laptop. You can probably use a library computer or, as a last resort, a phone, as a backup in between selling and buying.
• amirathi 8y ago
  I feel bad for you man. Why don't you apply for a temporary job at local coffee shop or a grocery store until you get a proper tech job again? ~50 hour per week even at minimum wage in CO ($10.2) should cover your rent, right? You will have Sundays and night time to apply for developer jobs.
• KempFood 8y ago
  I’ve been there. Transition to your car, but find someone or some place to stay before worrying too much. You’re off the grid, so look and plan where to start again. In the future, always plan for this. But for now your life will be reset. Just go with the best you can. Once you can think, stop and do so. Acknowledge you are a SJW and as a result, lost a standoff with your previous employer when you brought it up. That company isn’t going to risk the livelihood of its employees, even if you might and did. What did I do? Living in my car there’s few options, so I took a job canvassing for causes I believed in. It paid nothing, but I got out there doing my SJW stuff and felt better. When I got off the streets, stayed with relatives, found a tech job and moved out, I learned somethings. I never have enough info. Social justice causes are fine, but if you don’t have all the info, you’ll lose. Support agendas only with all info. Second, make commitments and stick to them. I agreed to work for an employer, so to accuse them of bad data practices is not the right move. If the company bothers you, leave, stop trying to ‘change the world’. Finally, be prepared. Jobs can be lost at any time. Apartments are not yours, be prepared to move at any time. And stop spending. Buy what you need. Adults do not need workstation computers, they need laptops. Not toys, Legos, Funkopop dolls, etc. Those are for kids. Yes, after 15 years most have saved or diversified. Improve your handling of money. Some turn spiritual at this point and pray your body stays healthy. It’s a strange journey called life!
  • zztzzt 8y ago
    > I agreed to work for an employer, so to accuse them of bad data practices is not the right move. It's the ethical move. Just because you agreed to work for an employer doesn't mean you have to accept everything they demand from then on.
    • KempFood 8y ago
      No, it’s not his company. He needs to leave. He’s naive if he thinks they need his ‘extra advice’. Sure, make judgment calls without all the info. Get fired. Your choice.
• wingerlang 8y ago
  Can you get your old job back or is that bridge burned?
• zapperdapper 8y ago
  I was in a similar position post divorce. Drove away from the family home with next to nothing and was sleeping in the car. That was actually not as bad as it sounds - I worked out and showered at the gym, and spent a lot of time in the office - sometimes sleeping on the sofa in the break room if I thought I could get away with it. I remember one guy came in one morning and joked with that old chestnut "you been here all night?" - I would laugh, but little did he know! Then the company went bust almost overnight - VC pulled the plug... It was then a lot tougher. I moved to Thailand and lived on my credit card. I got some remote work with a borrowed Windows laptop, and did some marketing work for local companies. I then moved to Malaysia and became a dive bum. Best time of my life. I was lucky. All I can say is hang in there, things have a way of working themselves out...
• onetokeoverthe 8y ago
  If you can help with web design, pdfs, htaccess...how do I reach you? Never mind, I sent you email.