17 ms·

I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

415 points by surprisetalk 3y ago

k1ck4ss 3y ago
that's outsourcing the commodity of "needing somewhere to live" in a creative way. wait.. I often see that one same homeless man sitting in my bus in the last row's right seat when I am commuting back home from work
Gasp0de 3y ago
So he's been sleeping in an uncomfortable plastic chair with the lights on for the past year. The things you can do while you're still 17.
- hashtag-til 3y ago
  But hey... all that for "just" 8500 GBP! /s
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- NeoTar 3y ago
  There are some sleeper trains still in Germany - although you need to pay a supplement on top of the annual train-ticket to use them. It would limit you quite heavily to certain transport coridors though.
  - sva_ 3y ago
    Here's a handy map for night trains https://nachtzugkarte.de/ https://nachtzugkarte.de/
  - Freak_NL 3y ago
    As mentioned elsewhere: none of these are free with the BahnCard 100, and most are fully booked quite a while in advance. He sleeps in regular night trains on the floor or on some seats, not in bunk or bed on sleeper trains.
- seszett 3y ago
  I don't know if you're British since this seems to echo the weird comments at the beginning of the article, dissing trains for apparently no particular reason. But no, he's likely been sleeping in beds since he's first class in night trains, in 3-bed compartments that generally have showers as far as I know. The lights can obviously be turned off.
  - NeoTar 3y ago
    From what I can see it just says he sleeps on the 'night trains' which are any trains that operate overnight. If you restricted yourself to sleepers, there is quite a broad network across Germany, but still not comprehensive (https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:5e469db8-ee74-46b0-a27a-a5f39051711d/20231124_SK_Nacht_Auslandsbahnen_E.pdf https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:5e469db8-ee74-46b0-a27...)
    - bradyat 3y ago
      From his blog: "I spent many nights trying to figure out the best way to sleep in first class. In the end, sleeping on an air mattress under the seats proved to be a good idea." https://leben-im-zug.de/meiner-erster-monat-mit-der-bahncard-100-first/ https://leben-im-zug.de/meiner-erster-monat-mit-der-bahncard... So I guess he really is just sleeping in the regular compartment rather than a sleeper berth.
      - moooo99 3y ago
        Yes. DB doesn’t operate any sleeper cars. All sleepers operating in Germany are by international corporations (ÖBB, etc). But they aren’t covered by a DB BahnCard 100. The trains he mentions are just regular ICEs that operate for some overnight trips. I can imagine how this can be reasonably comfortable in an older ICE1 in first class, but i wouldn’t want to sleep on ICE4 seats for extended periods of time
- gbin 3y ago
  He mentioned night trains and how it is important to catch one at the end of the day so I imagine he is sleeping in bunk beds at least.
  - eginhard 3y ago
    Sleeper trains need a supplement and are often booked out in advance, so he sleeps on the night ICE trains (https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/ https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/). These are regular trains with standard seating only, all lights on and announcements for the (frequent) stops at normal volume. He mentions that he sleeps on an air mattress on the floor.
  - dave333 3y ago
    He has a blog post about sleeping on night trains. He doesn't pay extra for a couchette or compartment, he sleeps in a normal compartment laying down over 3 seats or on a wide luggage rack with an air mattress. https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/ https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/
- defrost 3y ago
  At least you got his age correct. Lasse travels 600 miles a day throughout Germany aboard Deutsche Bahn trains. He travels first class, sleeps on night trains, has breakfast in DB lounges and takes showers in public swimming pools and leisure centres, all using his unlimited annual railcard. ‘I’ve been living on the train as a digital nomad for a year and a half now,’ Lasse told Business Insider recently.
Daviey 3y ago
Compared to the UK where a standard-class rail season ticket for me to get to London (including underground), at £8,272 p/y.. but for that, I also have the luxury of either standing in an overcrowded carriage, or if I am super lucky I get to sit in a seat that smells of urine.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- ben_w 3y ago
  If you're just commuting like a normal person, there's also the Deutschlandticket, all* public transport for €49/month. * including ferries, busses, underground, but also has exceptions that don't matter for normal commuting such as "no intercity express" and "a seat isn't guaranteed".
  - k1ck4ss 3y ago
    // all* public transport for €49/month. not true. ICE trains for example (see pic in article) are not part of the deal.
    - elaus 3y ago
      That is _literally_ the exception listed in the asterisk text ("all*") one line below the text you quoted ("intercity express" is abbreviated ICE).
  - sva_ 3y ago
    You need some thick skin spending so much time in regional trains. It has become so bad in crowded areas that I'm always super happy once it is over. Nevermind delays, trains being canceled, or standing in freezing temperatures at some random trainstop because the train broke down.
    - flohofwoe 3y ago
      ICEs have become super crowded too though (in the 2nd class at least), and IME the regional train connections are actually much more reliable than the intercity connections (where long delays are quite common).
Mashimo 3y ago
He seems happy :D
Ekaros 3y ago
Not lifestyle for me, but it is likely not actually that different from possible rents in any bigger cities. So it might work for year or two. And after that, just get a real place.
- rob74 3y ago
  You probably have to add to that the cost of eating only at restaurants (either on board or at or around train stations) > 90% of the time. And I wonder how he gets his clothes washed (and dried). Laundromat? Stop by his parents' place? Maybe I should read the blog...
  - dagw 3y ago
    the cost of eating only at restaurants The article says he often eats (for free) at the 1st class lounges at the train stations
    - rob74 3y ago
      That sounds a bit better than it really is: according to https://www.bahn.de/service/zug/db-lounge#zutritt https://www.bahn.de/service/zug/db-lounge#zutritt (apparently only available in German), only 5 DB lounges (Berlin, München, Köln, Hamburg and Frankfurt) have a "premium area" where you can get a "small snack" - all others only offer non-alcoholic hot and cold beverages.
      - coldtea 3y ago
        So? It's not like the reason he uses the train is for going remote places. So he could stick to travel from/to Berlin, München, Köln, Hamburg and Frankfurt most of the time.
        stephenr 3y ago
        "Eating at the first class lounge" doesn't quite mean what it sounds like though, if the reality is "get a small snack".
01acheru 3y ago
All fine and good, I hope he likes it but €10k is a lot of money to live more or less like a beggar. With €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe and in many places it is way cheaper than that. So... yeah, I find it incredibly stupid.
- alt227 3y ago
  10k Euro per year is what, 800 Euro per month? Im in the UK so I work in pounds. 800 Euro = £684.29 I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month. I actually think its a pretty smart and cheap way to live if you are young and can handle the requirements.
  - Ekaros 3y ago
    I would argue that you probably can, but not anywhere one would actually want to live in or where there is any sort of opportunities. For Finland that level means living in even poorer than average conditions in essentially dead areas.
    - soco 3y ago
      Also not saying it's a great idea, but a remote worker could live there just fine. Technically, I mean. But why staying in a dead area if you can travel for the same money? So the dead area will probably stay dead... (and let's not get into that)
  - dagw 3y ago
    I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month. That is basically the minimum state pension, which some people do live on, but it is a pretty miserable existence.
    - riffraff 3y ago
      also people who are retired _usually_ already own a place to live in so they don't spend money for rent/mortgage. OTOH, a 17yo will probably have less health-related expenses.
wouldbecouldbe 3y ago
Seems to be cheaper 7,714 euros : https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse
- NeoTar 3y ago
  If he's paying for sleeper trains, that's a supplement on top of the Bahncard 100.
- patall 3y ago
  He got that. 10k is everything he spent in a year. I.e money spent for showering somewhere, extra food beyond lounges, and the interrail ticket when he travelled europe for some time.
raphman 3y ago
more information: - Lasse's blog (in German): https://leben-im-zug.de/ https://leben-im-zug.de/ - r/de thread (in German): https://www.reddit.com/r/de/comments/1b4syao/dieser_17j%C3%A4hrige_lebt_mit_der_bahncard_100_seit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/de/comments/1b4syao/dieser_17j%C3%A...
andrewstuart 3y ago
I’m not telling my son about this or he’ll do it.
op00to 3y ago
This is awesome. I love trains, the German trains more so. Wish I could go back in time and do this!
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago
  Why not now?
  - igetspam 3y ago
    This is something you could do at 17 that you can't at 30+, with a partner and a kid. If full remote had been an option for me at 17, I'd have likely ended up a lifetime nomad. This is that.
    - coldtea 3y ago
      Depends on the willingness of the partner and the age of the kid. Tons of people travel "nomad style", and even have wild adventures around the globe for months on end with small kids.
      - op00to 3y ago
        I think your view of "tons of people" that travel "nomad style" might be skewed by social media and the rose tinted lenses that people often view others on social media through. I know one person that travels "nomad style" 100% of the time, and the only way they can do that is by not having a partner or kids. They've tried with the partner, and it didn't work out for them. I would much prefer my kids be well educated by my fantastic public schools, have a strong social group that they grow up with and bond with over time, and when the time comes for them to explore the world, they take that opportunity. We do travel with our kids, but I would much rather work when I need to work, and rest and relax and travel when I am not working. I have no interest in combining work and travel. Why bother telling people what they should be doing?
        coldtea 3y ago
walteweiss 3y ago
Sounds really cool! But I have just one question, why not stay for a couple of days in a new place to explore? Maybe he is, but from the article I’ve got an impression he’s on the move every single day. Doesn’t make too much sense, as when you arrive somewhere you have just one day. For me, it’s always not enough. I’m the opposite of that and prefer to live months in a new place, before moving to the next one.
- patall 3y ago
  Because than you do not pay 10k per year anymore (as hostels cost extra, compared to trains in his case). Also, in a year, you can stop multiple times in many places. Also, apparently, he also travelled around Europe with interrail, during which he stayed in hostels.
- dagw 3y ago
  Staying a couple of days at each place would mean hotels/hostels which would greatly increase the total cost of the endeavour. Anyway you can just return to any city at any time, so it probably isn't as important to explore the whole place the first time you visit.
corobo 3y ago
I love trains as much as the next nerd but that's a heck of a commitment haha I think if I wanted to do the digital nomad thing I'd have to cheat on the nomad bit a little and have an anchor flat somewhere.. where else would I keep the NAS?! As it stands my lil studio flat is 300/yr cheaper with all bills inc and has a coffee machine built into the (admittedly communal, but massive) kitchen. Plenty of caffeine, plenty of legroom! If nothing else I'm sure we'd agree on remote working being amazing for finding the exact environment that suits you :)
- fastball 3y ago
  > digital nomad > NAS I think that is cheating on the nomad thing a lot a bit.
  - xboxnolifes 3y ago
    No more than using cloud services.
    - fastball 3y ago
      Cloud services are precisely the kind of thing that enable being a digital nomad. Having a permanent home so that you can keep your own NAS is almost the exact opposite of that.
      - xboxnolifes 3y ago
        You don't need a permanent home to own a NAS. Rent co-location space, rent a closet from a friend, rent space in your parent's house. You don't exactly need a livable amount of space to store a NAS. It's no different than paying to use the servers your shit is stored on in some cloud service.
        fastball 3y ago
        That's true, but that is not what the person I was responding to said, so...
helsinkiandrew 3y ago
If I was his age a $2.5K on a years interrail ticket for unlimited travel across Europe (admittedly 2nd class and there may seat reservation charges) would be very tempting https://www.eurail.com/en https://www.eurail.com/en
- jack_riminton 3y ago
  When I was interrailing I'd try and do some across Europe night trains as it meant I saved on hostel costs and I'd wake up somewhere new. The choices are somewhat limited though
  - justincormack 3y ago
    Getting better again slowly after a bad period.
    - mike_hock 3y ago
      That's what she says every month.
    - seabass-labrax 3y ago
      To what are you referring? The Interrail/Eurail scheme getting better again after a bad period?
      - justincormack 3y ago
        Sleeper trains getting better, after most were discountinued. SOme more have started up recently.
  - bergie 3y ago
    We did that a lot as well. Night trains are the closest mankind has to teleportation. Hop on a train in Berlin, have a beer, sleep, wake up in the centre Paris or Rome with a coffee and a croissant.
kkfx 3y ago
So he have nothing, no home, no more belongings that a suitcase and a laptop, the ideal SLAVE of the modern time, someone who exists until he can produce for someone else, who effectively own him, then can only die since he have no more option to live. And the article seems to be a spot for this kind of existence "hey, it's cheap"... I'm actually curious how many really have stopped a minute to imaging what does it means be homeless and not owning anything. OF COURSE IT'S CHEAP.
- andy99 3y ago
  > what does it means be homeless and not owning anything. Freedom?
  - k1ck4ss 3y ago
    so, living in a home I own makes me lack some sort of freedom? If yes, what would be it?
    - bosie 3y ago
      If money is of no constraint I guess nothing. Otherwise moving is not easy anymore
    - ZaoLahma 3y ago
      The freedom to decide one day to just leave. In my mid 20s I maintained a not-too-extreme minimalistic life style where I could pack literally everything I owned into my car. I could decide to just leave and lose at most some months' worth of rather cheap rent. I never actually did use the opportunity, but it gave me a lot of comfort knowing that I wasn't stuck somewhere, that I could at any moment just leave.
  - protomolecule 3y ago
    Hunger, exposure to the elements, illness, death.
    - andy99 3y ago
dappermanneke 3y ago
new novelty lifestyle just dropped
alpenbazi 3y ago
awesome, i'd like to see him dating that way, and showing his desired partner THIS
kristov 3y ago
Brave move, but I wonder how he keeps or makes new friendships and deeper relationships. Maybe this is fine for a while, but people need people (not just text in a chatroom), and I hope he has an exit strategy from this lifestyle, for this reason.
- troupo 3y ago
  I wonder more how he keeps his clothes and underwear clean :)
  - Slartie 3y ago
    Washes them by hand in the wash basins of the DB lounges, to which he gets free access with his ticket.
    - stephenr 3y ago
      Does that ticket also give him free access to a dryer? Or is he just going to hang his clothes up in the train for everyone to enjoy?
  - cykros 3y ago
    Probably the same way most people living in city apartments do it. Laundromats.
    - coldtea 3y ago
      I'd be surprised if that was the way "most people living in city apartments" do it. Why wouldn't city apartments have washing machines? (In Germany and most of the rest of Europe we also don't particular need, or care for, driers either, that's what clotheslines are for). Laundromats I'd say are more for like, students, tourists, travellers, fresh immigrants, people with some temporary arrangements and no stable residence, etc.
    - dukeyukey 3y ago
      Damn, what kind of apartment doesn't come with laundry? Only time I didn't have an in-unit washer was student accomodation. If I viewed a place without one now I'd laugh the estate agent out country.
Heinrich_zHM 3y ago
I'd have to assume he spends more time with his family currently. The DB is constantly striking at the moment.
JonChesterfield 3y ago
Sounds alright really. Less dystopian than living in Google's car park. Doesn't work with dog or family and I'm not sure about being stuck near train stations at destinations, folding bicycle would improve things. Not remotely surprised that he's a programmer. This is essentially living subsidised by the train company who didn't expect someone to take an unlimited train ticket quite that literally. One guy doing this could be interpreted as marketing. A hundred would focus the operator's mind on words like "fair use". Drawing attention to himself like this may mark the end of this experience.
- safety1st 3y ago
  This kid is 17. What a chad! As long as he doesn't let less interesting people beat the creative spirit out of him, he's going to go places in life. I mean he's already doing so, about 800 miles worth of places per day
  - Zetobal 3y ago
    Or he just dwells on this one thing for the rest of his life like many others did before him...
    - WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
      In my exp if they're dwelling on one thing, they fell into it. Engineering a situation implies they worked out how to control things in their environment. Not all environments are conducive to musterable control but when it lines up stuff can happen.
  - martindbp 3y ago
    Great thing to do when you're young, why not. I slept on a mattress in a closet for a year. Standards increase as you age, not just because you can but because you get increasingly tired. I held out as long as I could, sleeping in cheap hostels when traveling, but after one night of drunk people coming into the dorm causing days of fatigue I realized it's time to up the standards. Or just not travel.
  - 3y ago
philshem 3y ago
It’s basically VanLife in a country with public transport.
- ncr100 3y ago
  Sort of, with much less labor to go places.
627467 3y ago
There are so many possible perspectives for such story but in this day and age the focus is on how much this cost. So let's talk about cost: I don't know how often he sleeps in this way[0] but clearly at £8500/year no one is discussing the externalized cost of taking up (arguably empty) seats he didn't pay for and setting the stage for future "nomads" to do the same and turning first class night trains into a substandard hostel [0] https://leben-im-zug.de/mein-erster-tag-mit-der-bahncard-100-first/ https://leben-im-zug.de/mein-erster-tag-mit-der-bahncard-100... > That night, I decide to lie down under the seats on my air mattress, the air mattress at 2 meters doesn't quite fit under a 4 seat, so there's still a little bit of the footwell of the square in front of me, but with the low occupancy of the train, this is not a problem whatsoever, with my head half under a seat of the 4 seat. It's tight, but it's enough to lie on your side and change position sometimes at night, I take up about 3 seats in total.
- unglaublich 3y ago
  People overusing their subscriptions are compensated by people underusing them.
  - lupire 3y ago
    People who exercise are overusing their share of air. People with more children are overusing their share of sunlight.
    - broeng 3y ago
      According to you, when does a child earn their own share of sunlight, so their parents are not "overusing" their share? Is it at a certain age, or is that only for children born latest at $YOUR_BIRTHYEAR?
      - Brian_K_White 3y ago
        It's illogical to assume that was literal. They are pointing out that what the previous commenter said was ridiculous, by saying the same thing with merely other variables swapped in which more obviously illustrates how ridiculous the original statement was.
interludead 3y ago
Programming make it happen for him. It's really cool
mipsi 3y ago
After reading this, Snowpiercer doesn't feel that awkward anymore.
ciconia 3y ago
> Uch. TRAINS. They’re a necessary evil in many of our lives. Horrible big tin cans full of smelly people that never turn up on time and make you late for everything. The less time spent on them the better. At least for most of us in the UK, anyway. Not my first though when I think of trains, but I'm not in the UK.
- Milner08 3y ago
  British trains are mostly a profit making enterprise for other European nations, rather than an actual public transport network for the people who need it. (Their are exceptions to this and not all train companies are linked to other countries state owned railways, but many are. They get cheap travel and we get scammed)
  - martinald 3y ago
    This is just totally incorrect. Total rail subsidy in the UK is £11bn/yr. Ticket sales are another ~£8bn/yr Total TOC profits are £100m/yr. Rolling stock operating companies take maybe £200m/yr in profit but it varies. So TOC/ROSOC profits 'take out' 1.5% of the money in the system. Saying they are 'mostly' a profit making enterprise is completely ridiculous. Also, while the UK has privatised TOCs, Germany and other countries are also opening regional/long distance rail routes to franchising of sorts. National Express (a British company) operates a surprising amount of routes (and growing) in North Rhine-Westphalia (and probably other regions) for example. It's not just a one way thing.
- badcppdev 3y ago
  It's the British way to hate on things that are quite useful parts of their society. Trains, highways, airports, health system, garbage collection, emergency services, etc all work remarkably well and people just choose to look at the negative aspects and tell negative anecdotes. It does feel like it's counterproductive on a society level.
  - notahacker 3y ago
    When I saw "I spend £8500 a year to live on a train" I assumed it was someone moaning about a 2hr commute to London...
tdullien 3y ago
There's a German rapper from the 1990's (MC Rene) that tried to turn himself into a standup comedian, and he wrote a book about doing the same a couple years ago: https://www.amazon.de/MC-Rene-Alles-Karte-sehen/dp/3499629690 https://www.amazon.de/MC-Rene-Alles-Karte-sehen/dp/349962969...
koevet 3y ago
I wonder how does he actually work as a digital nomad. Internet on DB trains is massively unreliable, there are entire patches of country that are not covered by mobile signal.
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  Perhaps he uses tethering on his mobile. Or gets on with working for long periods without being distracted by continual distractions so that reliability of the network is less important.
- 15457345234 3y ago
  > I wonder how does he actually work as a digital nomad. I suspect the secret here is that a lot of people adopting this type of lifestyle produce really mediocre output and some way or another fit into the gaps at a large company that doesn't conduct aggressive performance reviews. Everyone is different but I find it hard to believe that high quality code is generated from working consistently in that type of environment. Perhaps lots and lots of boilerplate.
  - flohofwoe 3y ago
    What type of work requires to be connected to the internet all the time? If anything it's one source of distractions less.
  - myaccountonhn 3y ago
    Having met many people who work remotely and travel, you have everything from mediocre english teachers, grifters, programmers (good and bad) to over-achievers with successful lifestyle-businesses. Lately I've been programming less and less with wifi while sitting at libraries and cafes without wifi. It's fine, just have proper dev environments, use isync for offline emails, download docs and learn to read manuals instead of stackoverflow.
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  Coding works okay. Git works offline, and for the occasional pull/push even a slow connection is good enough
propter_hoc 3y ago
I don't understand. What does he eat? Does the first class ticket include meals?
- ncr100 3y ago
  And what about washing his clothing? What about doctors?
  - flohofwoe 3y ago
    It's all in the article: "He travels first class, sleeps on night trains, has breakfast in DB lounges and takes showers in public swimming pools and leisure centres, all using his unlimited annual railcard." For washing your clothes there are plenty of laundromats in cities, for visiting the doctor or dentist, you make an appointment, and then plan your travels so that you are in the right city at the right time. It's really not that complicated. With the Bahncard 100 he can also use the public transport in cities, so it's not like he's limited to walking distance of the train stations. ...also, his overall cost of living is apparently around 10k Euros a year. The unlimited train ticket is just 3/4 of that (7714 Euros).
    - ncr100 3y ago
      Thank you for the reference @flohofwoe - I overlooked this! Sounds fantastic.
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  You can eat on the train's restaurant coach but it's expensive. But he can simply hop out at one stop, go shopping for food or to a restaurant and then hop on the next train. Usually you don't even need to leave the train station for that stuff (unless it's a village or small town).
jamil7 3y ago
Good on him, I guess? I'm happy we have a somewhat functioning high speed rail system here but I can't say I'm in a hurry to be in the ICE 24/7 for the same price as renting a flat.
- jplrssn 3y ago
  Especially seeing as the steady state of DB operations these days seems to be utter chaos. But it does seem like a good way to explore the country.
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  He's not in an ICE 24/7 though, if you read the article he goes hiking in the alps or to the beach. The train is for sleeping.
  - gitaarik 3y ago
    He also works in the train
    - munksbeer 3y ago
      He takes the train to work.
      - gitaarik 3y ago
        He's actually a railroad worker
        gitaarik 3y ago
        Or he might be training for rail work
walthamstow 3y ago
[dead]
jorisboris 3y ago
If I would live in Switzerland or Japan I would buy a yearly unlimited first class pass and find circular connections so I can work from the train throughout the day
- _visgean 3y ago
  why Switzerland? I would think its a bit too small for this kind of travel.
  - jorisboris 3y ago
    great punctuality, cleanliness, and most of all amazing landscapes
- junar 3y ago
  I don't think you'd be able to find a real equivalent in Japan. * Rail passes do exist, but they are mostly for tourists. They are short-duration, can be relatively expensive, and often specifically exclude Japan residents. * Night trains have mostly disappeared. Buses and airplanes have proven to be more competitive options. [1] https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html [2] https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2356.html https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2356.html
  - jorisboris 3y ago
    Thanks for clarifying, admittedly I didn't look in the feasibility of my plan, it's more of a daydream :)
TimCTRL 3y ago
metro - no pun intended :)
charlieKilo 3y ago
What about his carbon footprint? Is it responsible to travel hundred thousands of miles without an actual reason to travel?
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  The trains go anyway, so it makes zero difference. Only if enough people stop commuting altogether will the carbon footprint of travel be reduced. There's a fallacy where people believe the actions of an individual have any significant impact on emissions; be it travel, energy efficient homes, dietary lifestyle choices like vegetarianism and veganism. But the effect of those are all rounding errors at best. The only change can come from companies and large businesses.
  - _visgean 3y ago
    > The only change can come from companies and large businesses. the large polluting companies don't exist in vacuum. They sell what they sell because consumers are buying it. E.g. saying that Shell / BP is the largest polluter is nice but there is no way to run oil company without selling oil to the individual to be burned.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
dghughes 3y ago
>I decided to live on a train when I was 16 years old. My school days were behind me and the whole world was open to me. That alone is amazing. Is 16 normal in Germany or did this guy graduate years earlier than normal? Answering my own question, seems maybe they went to a "Realschule"? If I understand it correctly kind of a trade or technical school for those whose path leads into a job right away. Otherwise it's Gymnasium (funny sounding to English speakers) a regular school path that leads to University.
- yungporko 3y ago
  back when i left school (2010) i was 16, there was no requirement to stay in further education in UK, so wouldn't be surprised if it was similar elsewhere. i believe it has changed in UK since then though.
  - seabass-labrax 3y ago
    This is correct; one must be in full time education up to the age of 18 now. However, this does not need to be at school; apprenticeships, correspondence courses and other kind of educational programmes count too. School leaving age (for those who are not educated at home) is still 16.
- Sebb767 3y ago
  In Germany, you usually start school at 6 years old, with 4 years of primary. After that, you have three options: - Hauptschule, which takes 5 years and only gives a basic degree (sufficient for working in the trades) - Realschule, which takes 6 years and gives you a more advanced degree for apprenticeships - Gymnasium, which takes 8 years and gives the highest degree necessary for University With each, you also have the option to continue afterwards and work towards a higher degree. He most likely finished Realschule, although it would be possible to skip classes and finish Gymnasium by 16 (but this is exceptionally rare).
Neil44 3y ago
>Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. I hate this fetishization of anything European as if it's the land of milk and honey. If you live in Haiti OK, but I'm guessing the authour doesn't.
- NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
  I mean, it’s not even accurate at this point: DB has become something of a basket case in the last few years. The stereotype being relied on is quite outdated. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/14/its-the-same-daily-misery-germanys-terrible-trains-are-no-joke-for-a-nation-built-on-efficiency https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/14/its-the-sam...
- eythian 3y ago
  In this case it's specifically a - very out of date and no longer accurate - fetishisation of the German rail system (you can tell because those are the words used, the article author being in Europe, and the fact that internationally there is this perception that DB does a good job from people who haven't had to use it recently.) This said, DB is probably still better than what I've heard about the UK train system, but it's long ago lost its lustre and in my experience when taking IC(E)s through it, delays and cancellations are common occurrences. While I've never got stuck there overnight, I've had several hours added to 6-ish hour journeys regularly.
alismayilov 3y ago
By the way, student dormitory cost around ~200-300 euros per month. And semester fee costs 300 euros per semester (6months). In total, it makes 3900 euros. So, the train is not the most cost efficient solution, if you are young.
- treme 3y ago
  Adventure is priceless
  - gongdzhauh 3y ago
    So is the university experience when you are the same age as most fellow students. I don't think one or the other is a superior way to spend ones formative years, though doing the train thing might make more sense before going to school, as he may form relationships in school that he won't want to give up for riding a train.
- willsmith72 3y ago
  He would have to spend his time studying instead of working though, or else get kicked out
- tiborsaas 3y ago
  Yeah, but for a little extra, the scenery of your window keeps changing every minute, every hour, every day compared to a fixed room :)
landgenoot 3y ago
Reminds me of the ads on the city buses in Berlin > 60m^2, keine Küche, kein Bad - Für 60,66 EUR warm im Monat. EN: 60 square meters, no kitchen, no bathroom - for just 60.66 EUR per month, utilities included. https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/2018218600429610280/5D5764C98120E62E8FC1B8DF75B9AEF601B9FC66/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/20182186004296102...
- madcaptenor 3y ago
  too many roommates, though.
- themoonisachees 3y ago
  ...do you use the steam screenshot sharing function as an image host?
  - landgenoot 3y ago
    No. It was the first result on Google image search. However, after taking a closer look, I think it is some in-game screenshot of a bus simulator.
  - Arrath 3y ago
    I'm glad I wasn't the only one perplexed by that.
- mateo1 3y ago
  Well, he's not the only one living on a moving vehicle. Tons of homeless people get bus passes and ride around all day and night. A train ride is less bumpy, sure, but it's effectively the same. Although what probably happens is that this kid goes on weekend train trips and comes back home the next day, unless he's seriously mentally ill. Even the most dedicated backpacker would give up on this after a week. It's basically torture.
  - danielfoster 3y ago
sotix 3y ago
And here I am spending $700 to take the Amtrak with a sleeper room one-way as a mini vacation! I admire his adventurous spirit. I’m a bit nervous to travel by myself. Particularly once I arrive in SF where I don’t know anyone, but I’ll figure it out as I go. My plan is to put the phone and laptop away for a few days and enjoy reading the Lord of the Rings while viewing some beautiful places and capturing them on film.
DrNosferatu 3y ago
The potential for psychological fatigue is huge!
OwlsParlay 3y ago
The sad fact is that this is more expensive than my 1-bed flat was 15 years ago. Rent really is insane if this is preferable now.
voisin 3y ago
In Canada, this would be approximately the cost of a one-way ticket from Toronto to Vancouver. Our rail lines are absurdly expensive relative to flying and even driving on your own.
- herewulf 3y ago
  Be that as it may, in comparison to Germany, the distance between those two places is absurdly far, and the population density in between is absurdly low. ;)
  - voisin 3y ago
    I fully recognize that, but 1 trip versus unlimited travel for a year seems to more than make up for those points.
Scarblac 3y ago
In the Netherlands, when I had a monthly first class ticket for my commute, I'd sometimes take the train home and back to work during the day to get work done. I was able to focus in the train much better than in the office, sometimes. I've also considered going freelance and doing all work from the train with an unlimited ticket like this, it'd work great I think. But sleeping there is a bit too much.
unixhero 3y ago
Super shitty intro on this article. I had to say it
penjelly 3y ago
> i sleep while I race along the tracks towards my destination. I don’t have a place to retreat to. many people pay specifically for place to retreat to
immibis 3y ago
Isn't this a completely illegal way to live due to the registration requirement that requires every person living in Germany to have a fixed address?
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  He's probably registered at his parent's address. But really, nobody will give a fig about where he's registered vs where he actually lives.
micromacrofoot 3y ago
> Uch. TRAINS. They’re a necessary evil in many of our lives. Horrible big tin cans full of smelly people that never turn up on time and make you late for everything. The less time spent on them the better. At least for most of us in the UK, anyway. Wow, is this the common attitude about trains in the UK? how dour
ncr100 3y ago
It's like, living with Star Trek transporter technology: > ‘If I feel like travelling to the sea, I take the train north in the morning. If I long for the hustle and bustle of the big city, then I look for a connection to Berlin or Munich. Or I take the express train to the Alps for a hiking trip.’ I'm curious to learn more about how his feelings being so quickly satisfied makes an impact on him...
karaterobot 3y ago
I think that knowing I had to make the night train or else sleep in the train station every single night would make me too nervous to enjoy the freedom of being able to visit all these places. You get to travel everywhere, but you'd better stay within a bus ride of the train station at all times. Not for me. That's me though, glad he's enjoying it so far.
jmclnx 3y ago
Very cool, I thing in North America this would be impossible or at least very uncomfortable.
WesolyKubeczek 3y ago
I'm wondering about his typical daily routine as spending almost a whole day seated even in a comfier variety of train seats would make my everything hurt like hell. I know, I've done it. I mean, is it possible to keep some sort of a healthy movement regimen like this? Cool otherwise, if I were 20 years younger, single, and had the kind of money to do it, I'd try at least a vacation like this. Another practical question is how would you keep your gear from getting stolen?
sandworm101 3y ago
I do not believe. Does this guy have a passport? Then he has a mailing address. He claims to work. Then he pays taxes. In which country? he has a mailing address. At 17, I'd bet good money that his mailing address is also his parent's mailing address. This is a gap student having fun bouncing around Europe, about as nomadic as any other backpacker.
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  He's most likely registered at his parent's address, but it's not like there's an age restriction where you're no longer allowed to live in your parent's basement or to physically be there ;) At that age he's also mostly included in his parent's insurances, so one less thing to worry about. Taxes are deducted automatically from his wage. And to receive the wage he just needs a bank account.
- mudita 3y ago
  As far as I know, it is possible to have the entry "ohne festen Wohnsitz"(without a permanent residence) instead of a mailing address in a German passport and he's legally not allowed to use his parents address, if he's not there for at least 183 days a year. But I don't really understand how this small legal detail would change the whole character of his life experience, in any case. No matter what is written in his passport, he spends the whole year in a train.
  - sandworm101 3y ago
    Because there are real nomads, people without any address that run into all sorts of legal difficulties, difficulties that are belittled when people write about how easy it is to live on a train 24/7. Some are "homeless" others are from cultural groups that roam. And a large number are children in government care who then must transition to adult life sometimes without the convenience of a fixed mailing address. Our systems of government and assistance are still based on legal residency at a particular point on the map. Despite all the stories about mobile professionals working wherever the please, this is a privilege enjoyed by those who retain fixed support infrastructures to which can return as needed. Look at the "Van life" trend. The people are forced to live in their cars/vans really do not appreciate those who glamorize it. It is not an easy thing.
nicolas_t 3y ago
> You know how it is with trains. Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. Efficient and German Rail systems are not words that go together. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-november-train-punctuality-worst-in-years-bild/a-67618089 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-november-train-punctuality-wor...
- moooo99 3y ago
  I mean, you could argue that given how bad the state of our rail infrastructure is overall, being punctual on slightly over 50% of trips could be counted as efficient?
- tetris11 3y ago
  I'm surprised this is coming from the Metro. Trains in England are bad, but trains in Germany are the worst. The only thing that works in Germany are the busses, and even then, some of them you have to call an hour before first...
  - stevenjgarner 3y ago
    Why is that in your opinion? In the US, passenger trains (Amtrak) are generally hopeless as well (expensive, not punctual, etc) especially across most of the country where Amtrak operates on other company's (freight) tracks. In the northeast corridor (where Amtrak has its own tracks), its service is markedly better.
  - mcluck 3y ago
    I have heard this opinion over and over again but it just hasn't been my experience. I've spent a lot of time in both Berlin and Munich over the last couple of years and I never waited more than 10 minutes for a train
    - calmoo 3y ago
      It’s not an opinion anymore, it’s fact. A huge percentage of trains are late in Germany because of crumbling infrastructure here.
xutopia 3y ago
This is horrible and I hope it doesn't encourage anyone to do this. No friendships beyond the very shallow relationships you can develop with the workers onboard the train or the people passing through. This feels inhumane to me. I can't imagine someone being happy doing this for any length of time.
- Mistletoe 3y ago
  This is kind of what I want to do for several years with my girlfriend. Hide out from the real world on the trains of Europe and explore. Can someone tell me if this pass is Germany only or is something like this available for a lot of Europe?
  - locallost 3y ago
    It's Germany only, but Germany is pretty big. As a foreigner not sure if you'd be able to stay that long without applying for a visa, and you won't get that without a permanent address. If you know someone there you can maybe register at their address. edit: but for the whole of Europe you do have Interrail but not sure how much it costs. I doubt you can do that every day but could be wrong.
- simonw 3y ago
  I don't see why this would prevent friendships. You don't have to be on the train 24 hours a day - just overnight while sleeping. If you have friends in Berlin you can arrive in Berlin in the morning, spend the day hanging out with them, then head back to the station at 10pm for a night train to somewhere else. At its best this could enable you to maintain friendship groups in multiple cities.
zakki 3y ago
You can use that money for: - rent a 2 storeys shop for a year 1/3 - start a small business - 1/3 - personal monthly expenses for a year - 1/3 in a medium town in Indonesia. Enjoy the journey in bootstrapping your business.
elif 3y ago
I've dreamed (and planned) on taking a 3 month trip in Japan, sleeping on first class overnight shinkansen trains. They are needle drop quiet every single day and foreigners can get unlimited rail passes for a good deal (though not as amazing as it used to be)
- mundays 3y ago
  Overnight trains in Japan are all but extinct now. Only two remain (but really, one). It seems that the economics just don't add up.
account-5 3y ago
Not possible in the UK. In the UK every year the charge more for reduced services.
mrandish 3y ago
IMHO, more young people should do this kind of thing (within reason of course). Now that I'm older I realize I didn't appreciate how opportunities to do stuff like this often diminish in later phases of life. Personally, I did have some adventures kind of like this, but in retrospect, I should have done a bit more as I look back very fondly on those times.
- boppo1 3y ago
  Would have done tons of things like this if I didn't have student loans hanging over my head.
  - syndicatedjelly 3y ago
    Don’t create mental blocks like that in your head just because everyone else in your age group says the same thing. You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life.
    - devilbunny 3y ago
      > You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life. No, you don't, but you can't discharge student loans in a bankruptcy, and you have to pay them every month once you're no longer a student. When I got to the end of medical residency, I took a job starting the day after it ended. A German-born and raised doctor of my acquaintance said that I was being foolish, I should take a month off after four years and take a nice vacation. I said, "With what money? I don't have enough money to take a vacation, so I'll just be sitting at home, and I need a check at the end of this month to pay my bills. Do you want to pay for it?" He did not. So I went to work.
      - syndicatedjelly 3y ago
        Thanks for sharing. What was the lesson you learned from that experience?
        3y ago
forinti 3y ago
I don´t really know what his parents were afraid of, they are in Germany. Maybe they might have to drive somewhere to pick him up.
lenkite 3y ago
I always enjoyed Deutsche Bahn whenever I traveled to Germany. Such a user-friendly experience for an international tourist. Even before the smartphone era it was easy to book tickets at the machine. Just hop and go to another city and return with the night train! Saw so many places without the stress of driving.
- Smar 3y ago
  Here in Finland, I've only ever purchased tickets from the machines on stations. I suppose they are not used in most countries?
  - bpye 3y ago
    The UK has both, you can buy digital tickets, you can buy tickets online and pick them up at the station, you can buy them on the digital machines at the station or at larger stations you can buy them at the service desk at the station.
josefresco 3y ago
"takes showers in public swimming pools" I hope this doesn't mean he was actually bathing in the pool but rather using the shower facilities at public pools.
Razengan 3y ago
I've always thought this should be a thing: Hotel Trains, that stop at different places for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, promoting the tourism in each area.
- ascorbic 3y ago
  Sounds like the Venice-Simplon Orient Express
porkbeer 3y ago
This is heartbreaking that his best option is to live like a vagrant.
lawrenceyan 3y ago
I might have to try this at some point.
Razengan 3y ago
I had this awesome idea: How about hosting developer conferences or game jams on "hotel trains"? The train could go around the country (or even, say in Europe, multiple countries) picking up the attendees, stopping at various places to eat or whatever, then drop everyone off after a couple days.
moi2388 3y ago
Yea, Germans are efficient. They are also, however, even more bureaucratic
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415 points by surprisetalk 3y ago

that's outsourcing the commodity of "needing somewhere to live" in a creative way. wait.. I often see that one same homeless man sitting in my bus in the last row's right seat when I am commuting back home from work

Gasp0de 3y ago

So he's been sleeping in an uncomfortable plastic chair with the lights on for the past year. The things you can do while you're still 17.

hashtag-til 3y ago
But hey... all that for "just" 8500 GBP! /s
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NeoTar 3y ago
There are some sleeper trains still in Germany - although you need to pay a supplement on top of the annual train-ticket to use them. It would limit you quite heavily to certain transport coridors though.
- sva_ 3y ago
  Here's a handy map for night trains https://nachtzugkarte.de/ https://nachtzugkarte.de/
- Freak_NL 3y ago
  As mentioned elsewhere: none of these are free with the BahnCard 100, and most are fully booked quite a while in advance. He sleeps in regular night trains on the floor or on some seats, not in bunk or bed on sleeper trains.
seszett 3y ago
I don't know if you're British since this seems to echo the weird comments at the beginning of the article, dissing trains for apparently no particular reason. But no, he's likely been sleeping in beds since he's first class in night trains, in 3-bed compartments that generally have showers as far as I know. The lights can obviously be turned off.
- NeoTar 3y ago
  From what I can see it just says he sleeps on the 'night trains' which are any trains that operate overnight. If you restricted yourself to sleepers, there is quite a broad network across Germany, but still not comprehensive (https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:5e469db8-ee74-46b0-a27a-a5f39051711d/20231124_SK_Nacht_Auslandsbahnen_E.pdf https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:5e469db8-ee74-46b0-a27...)
  - bradyat 3y ago
    From his blog: "I spent many nights trying to figure out the best way to sleep in first class. In the end, sleeping on an air mattress under the seats proved to be a good idea." https://leben-im-zug.de/meiner-erster-monat-mit-der-bahncard-100-first/ https://leben-im-zug.de/meiner-erster-monat-mit-der-bahncard... So I guess he really is just sleeping in the regular compartment rather than a sleeper berth.
    - moooo99 3y ago
      Yes. DB doesn’t operate any sleeper cars. All sleepers operating in Germany are by international corporations (ÖBB, etc). But they aren’t covered by a DB BahnCard 100. The trains he mentions are just regular ICEs that operate for some overnight trips. I can imagine how this can be reasonably comfortable in an older ICE1 in first class, but i wouldn’t want to sleep on ICE4 seats for extended periods of time
gbin 3y ago
He mentioned night trains and how it is important to catch one at the end of the day so I imagine he is sleeping in bunk beds at least.
- eginhard 3y ago
  Sleeper trains need a supplement and are often booked out in advance, so he sleeps on the night ICE trains (https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/ https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/). These are regular trains with standard seating only, all lights on and announcements for the (frequent) stops at normal volume. He mentions that he sleeps on an air mattress on the floor.
- dave333 3y ago
  He has a blog post about sleeping on night trains. He doesn't pay extra for a couchette or compartment, he sleeps in a normal compartment laying down over 3 seats or on a wide luggage rack with an air mattress. https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/ https://leben-im-zug.de/howto-nachtreise-im-ice/
defrost 3y ago
At least you got his age correct. Lasse travels 600 miles a day throughout Germany aboard Deutsche Bahn trains. He travels first class, sleeps on night trains, has breakfast in DB lounges and takes showers in public swimming pools and leisure centres, all using his unlimited annual railcard. ‘I’ve been living on the train as a digital nomad for a year and a half now,’ Lasse told Business Insider recently.

Daviey 3y ago

Compared to the UK where a standard-class rail season ticket for me to get to London (including underground), at £8,272 p/y.. but for that, I also have the luxury of either standing in an overcrowded carriage, or if I am super lucky I get to sit in a seat that smells of urine.

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ben_w 3y ago
If you're just commuting like a normal person, there's also the Deutschlandticket, all* public transport for €49/month. * including ferries, busses, underground, but also has exceptions that don't matter for normal commuting such as "no intercity express" and "a seat isn't guaranteed".
- k1ck4ss 3y ago
  // all* public transport for €49/month. not true. ICE trains for example (see pic in article) are not part of the deal.
  - elaus 3y ago
    That is _literally_ the exception listed in the asterisk text ("all*") one line below the text you quoted ("intercity express" is abbreviated ICE).
- sva_ 3y ago
  You need some thick skin spending so much time in regional trains. It has become so bad in crowded areas that I'm always super happy once it is over. Nevermind delays, trains being canceled, or standing in freezing temperatures at some random trainstop because the train broke down.
  - flohofwoe 3y ago
    ICEs have become super crowded too though (in the 2nd class at least), and IME the regional train connections are actually much more reliable than the intercity connections (where long delays are quite common).

Mashimo 3y ago

He seems happy :D

Ekaros 3y ago

Not lifestyle for me, but it is likely not actually that different from possible rents in any bigger cities. So it might work for year or two. And after that, just get a real place.

rob74 3y ago
You probably have to add to that the cost of eating only at restaurants (either on board or at or around train stations) > 90% of the time. And I wonder how he gets his clothes washed (and dried). Laundromat? Stop by his parents' place? Maybe I should read the blog...
- dagw 3y ago
  the cost of eating only at restaurants The article says he often eats (for free) at the 1st class lounges at the train stations
  - rob74 3y ago
    That sounds a bit better than it really is: according to https://www.bahn.de/service/zug/db-lounge#zutritt https://www.bahn.de/service/zug/db-lounge#zutritt (apparently only available in German), only 5 DB lounges (Berlin, München, Köln, Hamburg and Frankfurt) have a "premium area" where you can get a "small snack" - all others only offer non-alcoholic hot and cold beverages.
    - coldtea 3y ago
      So? It's not like the reason he uses the train is for going remote places. So he could stick to travel from/to Berlin, München, Köln, Hamburg and Frankfurt most of the time.
      - stephenr 3y ago
        "Eating at the first class lounge" doesn't quite mean what it sounds like though, if the reality is "get a small snack".

01acheru 3y ago

All fine and good, I hope he likes it but €10k is a lot of money to live more or less like a beggar. With €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe and in many places it is way cheaper than that. So... yeah, I find it incredibly stupid.

alt227 3y ago
10k Euro per year is what, 800 Euro per month? Im in the UK so I work in pounds. 800 Euro = £684.29 I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month. I actually think its a pretty smart and cheap way to live if you are young and can handle the requirements.
- Ekaros 3y ago
  I would argue that you probably can, but not anywhere one would actually want to live in or where there is any sort of opportunities. For Finland that level means living in even poorer than average conditions in essentially dead areas.
  - soco 3y ago
    Also not saying it's a great idea, but a remote worker could live there just fine. Technically, I mean. But why staying in a dead area if you can travel for the same money? So the dead area will probably stay dead... (and let's not get into that)
- dagw 3y ago
  I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month. That is basically the minimum state pension, which some people do live on, but it is a pretty miserable existence.
  - riffraff 3y ago
    also people who are retired _usually_ already own a place to live in so they don't spend money for rent/mortgage. OTOH, a 17yo will probably have less health-related expenses.

wouldbecouldbe 3y ago

Seems to be cheaper 7,714 euros : https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse

NeoTar 3y ago
If he's paying for sleeper trains, that's a supplement on top of the Bahncard 100.
patall 3y ago
He got that. 10k is everything he spent in a year. I.e money spent for showering somewhere, extra food beyond lounges, and the interrail ticket when he travelled europe for some time.

raphman 3y ago

more information: - Lasse's blog (in German): https://leben-im-zug.de/ https://leben-im-zug.de/ - r/de thread (in German): https://www.reddit.com/r/de/comments/1b4syao/dieser_17j%C3%A4hrige_lebt_mit_der_bahncard_100_seit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/de/comments/1b4syao/dieser_17j%C3%A...

andrewstuart 3y ago

I’m not telling my son about this or he’ll do it.

op00to 3y ago

This is awesome. I love trains, the German trains more so. Wish I could go back in time and do this!

rrr_oh_man 3y ago
Why not now?
- igetspam 3y ago
  This is something you could do at 17 that you can't at 30+, with a partner and a kid. If full remote had been an option for me at 17, I'd have likely ended up a lifetime nomad. This is that.
  - coldtea 3y ago
    Depends on the willingness of the partner and the age of the kid. Tons of people travel "nomad style", and even have wild adventures around the globe for months on end with small kids.
    - op00to 3y ago
      I think your view of "tons of people" that travel "nomad style" might be skewed by social media and the rose tinted lenses that people often view others on social media through. I know one person that travels "nomad style" 100% of the time, and the only way they can do that is by not having a partner or kids. They've tried with the partner, and it didn't work out for them. I would much prefer my kids be well educated by my fantastic public schools, have a strong social group that they grow up with and bond with over time, and when the time comes for them to explore the world, they take that opportunity. We do travel with our kids, but I would much rather work when I need to work, and rest and relax and travel when I am not working. I have no interest in combining work and travel. Why bother telling people what they should be doing?
      - coldtea 3y ago

walteweiss 3y ago

Sounds really cool! But I have just one question, why not stay for a couple of days in a new place to explore? Maybe he is, but from the article I’ve got an impression he’s on the move every single day. Doesn’t make too much sense, as when you arrive somewhere you have just one day. For me, it’s always not enough. I’m the opposite of that and prefer to live months in a new place, before moving to the next one.

patall 3y ago
Because than you do not pay 10k per year anymore (as hostels cost extra, compared to trains in his case). Also, in a year, you can stop multiple times in many places. Also, apparently, he also travelled around Europe with interrail, during which he stayed in hostels.
dagw 3y ago
Staying a couple of days at each place would mean hotels/hostels which would greatly increase the total cost of the endeavour. Anyway you can just return to any city at any time, so it probably isn't as important to explore the whole place the first time you visit.

corobo 3y ago

I love trains as much as the next nerd but that's a heck of a commitment haha I think if I wanted to do the digital nomad thing I'd have to cheat on the nomad bit a little and have an anchor flat somewhere.. where else would I keep the NAS?! As it stands my lil studio flat is 300/yr cheaper with all bills inc and has a coffee machine built into the (admittedly communal, but massive) kitchen. Plenty of caffeine, plenty of legroom! If nothing else I'm sure we'd agree on remote working being amazing for finding the exact environment that suits you :)

fastball 3y ago
> digital nomad > NAS I think that is cheating on the nomad thing a lot a bit.
- xboxnolifes 3y ago
  No more than using cloud services.
  - fastball 3y ago
    Cloud services are precisely the kind of thing that enable being a digital nomad. Having a permanent home so that you can keep your own NAS is almost the exact opposite of that.
    - xboxnolifes 3y ago
      You don't need a permanent home to own a NAS. Rent co-location space, rent a closet from a friend, rent space in your parent's house. You don't exactly need a livable amount of space to store a NAS. It's no different than paying to use the servers your shit is stored on in some cloud service.
      - fastball 3y ago
        That's true, but that is not what the person I was responding to said, so...

helsinkiandrew 3y ago

If I was his age a $2.5K on a years interrail ticket for unlimited travel across Europe (admittedly 2nd class and there may seat reservation charges) would be very tempting https://www.eurail.com/en https://www.eurail.com/en

jack_riminton 3y ago
When I was interrailing I'd try and do some across Europe night trains as it meant I saved on hostel costs and I'd wake up somewhere new. The choices are somewhat limited though
- justincormack 3y ago
  Getting better again slowly after a bad period.
  - mike_hock 3y ago
    That's what she says every month.
  - seabass-labrax 3y ago
    To what are you referring? The Interrail/Eurail scheme getting better again after a bad period?
    - justincormack 3y ago
      Sleeper trains getting better, after most were discountinued. SOme more have started up recently.
- bergie 3y ago
  We did that a lot as well. Night trains are the closest mankind has to teleportation. Hop on a train in Berlin, have a beer, sleep, wake up in the centre Paris or Rome with a coffee and a croissant.

kkfx 3y ago

So he have nothing, no home, no more belongings that a suitcase and a laptop, the ideal SLAVE of the modern time, someone who exists until he can produce for someone else, who effectively own him, then can only die since he have no more option to live. And the article seems to be a spot for this kind of existence "hey, it's cheap"... I'm actually curious how many really have stopped a minute to imaging what does it means be homeless and not owning anything. OF COURSE IT'S CHEAP.

andy99 3y ago
> what does it means be homeless and not owning anything. Freedom?
- k1ck4ss 3y ago
  so, living in a home I own makes me lack some sort of freedom? If yes, what would be it?
  - bosie 3y ago
    If money is of no constraint I guess nothing. Otherwise moving is not easy anymore
  - ZaoLahma 3y ago
    The freedom to decide one day to just leave. In my mid 20s I maintained a not-too-extreme minimalistic life style where I could pack literally everything I owned into my car. I could decide to just leave and lose at most some months' worth of rather cheap rent. I never actually did use the opportunity, but it gave me a lot of comfort knowing that I wasn't stuck somewhere, that I could at any moment just leave.
- protomolecule 3y ago
  Hunger, exposure to the elements, illness, death.
  - andy99 3y ago

dappermanneke 3y ago

new novelty lifestyle just dropped

alpenbazi 3y ago

awesome, i'd like to see him dating that way, and showing his desired partner THIS

kristov 3y ago

Brave move, but I wonder how he keeps or makes new friendships and deeper relationships. Maybe this is fine for a while, but people need people (not just text in a chatroom), and I hope he has an exit strategy from this lifestyle, for this reason.

troupo 3y ago
I wonder more how he keeps his clothes and underwear clean :)
- Slartie 3y ago
  Washes them by hand in the wash basins of the DB lounges, to which he gets free access with his ticket.
  - stephenr 3y ago
    Does that ticket also give him free access to a dryer? Or is he just going to hang his clothes up in the train for everyone to enjoy?
- cykros 3y ago
  Probably the same way most people living in city apartments do it. Laundromats.
  - coldtea 3y ago
    I'd be surprised if that was the way "most people living in city apartments" do it. Why wouldn't city apartments have washing machines? (In Germany and most of the rest of Europe we also don't particular need, or care for, driers either, that's what clotheslines are for). Laundromats I'd say are more for like, students, tourists, travellers, fresh immigrants, people with some temporary arrangements and no stable residence, etc.
  - dukeyukey 3y ago
    Damn, what kind of apartment doesn't come with laundry? Only time I didn't have an in-unit washer was student accomodation. If I viewed a place without one now I'd laugh the estate agent out country.

Heinrich_zHM 3y ago

I'd have to assume he spends more time with his family currently. The DB is constantly striking at the moment.

JonChesterfield 3y ago

Sounds alright really. Less dystopian than living in Google's car park. Doesn't work with dog or family and I'm not sure about being stuck near train stations at destinations, folding bicycle would improve things. Not remotely surprised that he's a programmer. This is essentially living subsidised by the train company who didn't expect someone to take an unlimited train ticket quite that literally. One guy doing this could be interpreted as marketing. A hundred would focus the operator's mind on words like "fair use". Drawing attention to himself like this may mark the end of this experience.

safety1st 3y ago
This kid is 17. What a chad! As long as he doesn't let less interesting people beat the creative spirit out of him, he's going to go places in life. I mean he's already doing so, about 800 miles worth of places per day
- Zetobal 3y ago
  Or he just dwells on this one thing for the rest of his life like many others did before him...
  - WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
    In my exp if they're dwelling on one thing, they fell into it. Engineering a situation implies they worked out how to control things in their environment. Not all environments are conducive to musterable control but when it lines up stuff can happen.
- martindbp 3y ago
  Great thing to do when you're young, why not. I slept on a mattress in a closet for a year. Standards increase as you age, not just because you can but because you get increasingly tired. I held out as long as I could, sleeping in cheap hostels when traveling, but after one night of drunk people coming into the dorm causing days of fatigue I realized it's time to up the standards. Or just not travel.
- 3y ago

philshem 3y ago

It’s basically VanLife in a country with public transport.

ncr100 3y ago
Sort of, with much less labor to go places.

627467 3y ago

There are so many possible perspectives for such story but in this day and age the focus is on how much this cost. So let's talk about cost: I don't know how often he sleeps in this way[0] but clearly at £8500/year no one is discussing the externalized cost of taking up (arguably empty) seats he didn't pay for and setting the stage for future "nomads" to do the same and turning first class night trains into a substandard hostel [0] https://leben-im-zug.de/mein-erster-tag-mit-der-bahncard-100-first/ https://leben-im-zug.de/mein-erster-tag-mit-der-bahncard-100... > That night, I decide to lie down under the seats on my air mattress, the air mattress at 2 meters doesn't quite fit under a 4 seat, so there's still a little bit of the footwell of the square in front of me, but with the low occupancy of the train, this is not a problem whatsoever, with my head half under a seat of the 4 seat. It's tight, but it's enough to lie on your side and change position sometimes at night, I take up about 3 seats in total.

unglaublich 3y ago
People overusing their subscriptions are compensated by people underusing them.
- lupire 3y ago
  People who exercise are overusing their share of air. People with more children are overusing their share of sunlight.
  - broeng 3y ago
    According to you, when does a child earn their own share of sunlight, so their parents are not "overusing" their share? Is it at a certain age, or is that only for children born latest at $YOUR_BIRTHYEAR?
    - Brian_K_White 3y ago
      It's illogical to assume that was literal. They are pointing out that what the previous commenter said was ridiculous, by saying the same thing with merely other variables swapped in which more obviously illustrates how ridiculous the original statement was.

interludead 3y ago

Programming make it happen for him. It's really cool

mipsi 3y ago

After reading this, Snowpiercer doesn't feel that awkward anymore.

ciconia 3y ago

> Uch. TRAINS. They’re a necessary evil in many of our lives. Horrible big tin cans full of smelly people that never turn up on time and make you late for everything. The less time spent on them the better. At least for most of us in the UK, anyway. Not my first though when I think of trains, but I'm not in the UK.

Milner08 3y ago
British trains are mostly a profit making enterprise for other European nations, rather than an actual public transport network for the people who need it. (Their are exceptions to this and not all train companies are linked to other countries state owned railways, but many are. They get cheap travel and we get scammed)
- martinald 3y ago
  This is just totally incorrect. Total rail subsidy in the UK is £11bn/yr. Ticket sales are another ~£8bn/yr Total TOC profits are £100m/yr. Rolling stock operating companies take maybe £200m/yr in profit but it varies. So TOC/ROSOC profits 'take out' 1.5% of the money in the system. Saying they are 'mostly' a profit making enterprise is completely ridiculous. Also, while the UK has privatised TOCs, Germany and other countries are also opening regional/long distance rail routes to franchising of sorts. National Express (a British company) operates a surprising amount of routes (and growing) in North Rhine-Westphalia (and probably other regions) for example. It's not just a one way thing.
badcppdev 3y ago
It's the British way to hate on things that are quite useful parts of their society. Trains, highways, airports, health system, garbage collection, emergency services, etc all work remarkably well and people just choose to look at the negative aspects and tell negative anecdotes. It does feel like it's counterproductive on a society level.
- notahacker 3y ago
  When I saw "I spend £8500 a year to live on a train" I assumed it was someone moaning about a 2hr commute to London...

tdullien 3y ago

There's a German rapper from the 1990's (MC Rene) that tried to turn himself into a standup comedian, and he wrote a book about doing the same a couple years ago: https://www.amazon.de/MC-Rene-Alles-Karte-sehen/dp/3499629690 https://www.amazon.de/MC-Rene-Alles-Karte-sehen/dp/349962969...

koevet 3y ago

I wonder how does he actually work as a digital nomad. Internet on DB trains is massively unreliable, there are entire patches of country that are not covered by mobile signal.

kwhitefoot 3y ago
Perhaps he uses tethering on his mobile. Or gets on with working for long periods without being distracted by continual distractions so that reliability of the network is less important.
15457345234 3y ago
> I wonder how does he actually work as a digital nomad. I suspect the secret here is that a lot of people adopting this type of lifestyle produce really mediocre output and some way or another fit into the gaps at a large company that doesn't conduct aggressive performance reviews. Everyone is different but I find it hard to believe that high quality code is generated from working consistently in that type of environment. Perhaps lots and lots of boilerplate.
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  What type of work requires to be connected to the internet all the time? If anything it's one source of distractions less.
- myaccountonhn 3y ago
  Having met many people who work remotely and travel, you have everything from mediocre english teachers, grifters, programmers (good and bad) to over-achievers with successful lifestyle-businesses. Lately I've been programming less and less with wifi while sitting at libraries and cafes without wifi. It's fine, just have proper dev environments, use isync for offline emails, download docs and learn to read manuals instead of stackoverflow.
flohofwoe 3y ago
Coding works okay. Git works offline, and for the occasional pull/push even a slow connection is good enough

propter_hoc 3y ago

I don't understand. What does he eat? Does the first class ticket include meals?

ncr100 3y ago
And what about washing his clothing? What about doctors?
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  It's all in the article: "He travels first class, sleeps on night trains, has breakfast in DB lounges and takes showers in public swimming pools and leisure centres, all using his unlimited annual railcard." For washing your clothes there are plenty of laundromats in cities, for visiting the doctor or dentist, you make an appointment, and then plan your travels so that you are in the right city at the right time. It's really not that complicated. With the Bahncard 100 he can also use the public transport in cities, so it's not like he's limited to walking distance of the train stations. ...also, his overall cost of living is apparently around 10k Euros a year. The unlimited train ticket is just 3/4 of that (7714 Euros).
  - ncr100 3y ago
    Thank you for the reference @flohofwoe - I overlooked this! Sounds fantastic.
flohofwoe 3y ago
You can eat on the train's restaurant coach but it's expensive. But he can simply hop out at one stop, go shopping for food or to a restaurant and then hop on the next train. Usually you don't even need to leave the train station for that stuff (unless it's a village or small town).

jamil7 3y ago

Good on him, I guess? I'm happy we have a somewhat functioning high speed rail system here but I can't say I'm in a hurry to be in the ICE 24/7 for the same price as renting a flat.

jplrssn 3y ago
Especially seeing as the steady state of DB operations these days seems to be utter chaos. But it does seem like a good way to explore the country.
Cthulhu_ 3y ago
He's not in an ICE 24/7 though, if you read the article he goes hiking in the alps or to the beach. The train is for sleeping.
- gitaarik 3y ago
  He also works in the train
  - munksbeer 3y ago
    He takes the train to work.
    - gitaarik 3y ago
      He's actually a railroad worker
      - gitaarik 3y ago
        Or he might be training for rail work

walthamstow 3y ago

[dead]

jorisboris 3y ago

If I would live in Switzerland or Japan I would buy a yearly unlimited first class pass and find circular connections so I can work from the train throughout the day

_visgean 3y ago
why Switzerland? I would think its a bit too small for this kind of travel.
- jorisboris 3y ago
  great punctuality, cleanliness, and most of all amazing landscapes
junar 3y ago
I don't think you'd be able to find a real equivalent in Japan. * Rail passes do exist, but they are mostly for tourists. They are short-duration, can be relatively expensive, and often specifically exclude Japan residents. * Night trains have mostly disappeared. Buses and airplanes have proven to be more competitive options. [1] https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html [2] https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2356.html https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2356.html
- jorisboris 3y ago
  Thanks for clarifying, admittedly I didn't look in the feasibility of my plan, it's more of a daydream :)

TimCTRL 3y ago

metro - no pun intended :)

charlieKilo 3y ago

What about his carbon footprint? Is it responsible to travel hundred thousands of miles without an actual reason to travel?

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
The trains go anyway, so it makes zero difference. Only if enough people stop commuting altogether will the carbon footprint of travel be reduced. There's a fallacy where people believe the actions of an individual have any significant impact on emissions; be it travel, energy efficient homes, dietary lifestyle choices like vegetarianism and veganism. But the effect of those are all rounding errors at best. The only change can come from companies and large businesses.
- _visgean 3y ago
  > The only change can come from companies and large businesses. the large polluting companies don't exist in vacuum. They sell what they sell because consumers are buying it. E.g. saying that Shell / BP is the largest polluter is nice but there is no way to run oil company without selling oil to the individual to be burned.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

dghughes 3y ago

>I decided to live on a train when I was 16 years old. My school days were behind me and the whole world was open to me. That alone is amazing. Is 16 normal in Germany or did this guy graduate years earlier than normal? Answering my own question, seems maybe they went to a "Realschule"? If I understand it correctly kind of a trade or technical school for those whose path leads into a job right away. Otherwise it's Gymnasium (funny sounding to English speakers) a regular school path that leads to University.

yungporko 3y ago
back when i left school (2010) i was 16, there was no requirement to stay in further education in UK, so wouldn't be surprised if it was similar elsewhere. i believe it has changed in UK since then though.
- seabass-labrax 3y ago
  This is correct; one must be in full time education up to the age of 18 now. However, this does not need to be at school; apprenticeships, correspondence courses and other kind of educational programmes count too. School leaving age (for those who are not educated at home) is still 16.
Sebb767 3y ago
In Germany, you usually start school at 6 years old, with 4 years of primary. After that, you have three options: - Hauptschule, which takes 5 years and only gives a basic degree (sufficient for working in the trades) - Realschule, which takes 6 years and gives you a more advanced degree for apprenticeships - Gymnasium, which takes 8 years and gives the highest degree necessary for University With each, you also have the option to continue afterwards and work towards a higher degree. He most likely finished Realschule, although it would be possible to skip classes and finish Gymnasium by 16 (but this is exceptionally rare).

Neil44 3y ago

>Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. I hate this fetishization of anything European as if it's the land of milk and honey. If you live in Haiti OK, but I'm guessing the authour doesn't.

NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
I mean, it’s not even accurate at this point: DB has become something of a basket case in the last few years. The stereotype being relied on is quite outdated. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/14/its-the-same-daily-misery-germanys-terrible-trains-are-no-joke-for-a-nation-built-on-efficiency https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/14/its-the-sam...
eythian 3y ago
In this case it's specifically a - very out of date and no longer accurate - fetishisation of the German rail system (you can tell because those are the words used, the article author being in Europe, and the fact that internationally there is this perception that DB does a good job from people who haven't had to use it recently.) This said, DB is probably still better than what I've heard about the UK train system, but it's long ago lost its lustre and in my experience when taking IC(E)s through it, delays and cancellations are common occurrences. While I've never got stuck there overnight, I've had several hours added to 6-ish hour journeys regularly.

alismayilov 3y ago

By the way, student dormitory cost around ~200-300 euros per month. And semester fee costs 300 euros per semester (6months). In total, it makes 3900 euros. So, the train is not the most cost efficient solution, if you are young.

treme 3y ago
Adventure is priceless
- gongdzhauh 3y ago
  So is the university experience when you are the same age as most fellow students. I don't think one or the other is a superior way to spend ones formative years, though doing the train thing might make more sense before going to school, as he may form relationships in school that he won't want to give up for riding a train.
willsmith72 3y ago
He would have to spend his time studying instead of working though, or else get kicked out
tiborsaas 3y ago
Yeah, but for a little extra, the scenery of your window keeps changing every minute, every hour, every day compared to a fixed room :)

landgenoot 3y ago

Reminds me of the ads on the city buses in Berlin > 60m^2, keine Küche, kein Bad - Für 60,66 EUR warm im Monat. EN: 60 square meters, no kitchen, no bathroom - for just 60.66 EUR per month, utilities included. https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/2018218600429610280/5D5764C98120E62E8FC1B8DF75B9AEF601B9FC66/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/20182186004296102...

madcaptenor 3y ago
too many roommates, though.
themoonisachees 3y ago
...do you use the steam screenshot sharing function as an image host?
- landgenoot 3y ago
  No. It was the first result on Google image search. However, after taking a closer look, I think it is some in-game screenshot of a bus simulator.
- Arrath 3y ago
  I'm glad I wasn't the only one perplexed by that.
mateo1 3y ago
Well, he's not the only one living on a moving vehicle. Tons of homeless people get bus passes and ride around all day and night. A train ride is less bumpy, sure, but it's effectively the same. Although what probably happens is that this kid goes on weekend train trips and comes back home the next day, unless he's seriously mentally ill. Even the most dedicated backpacker would give up on this after a week. It's basically torture.
- danielfoster 3y ago

sotix 3y ago

And here I am spending $700 to take the Amtrak with a sleeper room one-way as a mini vacation! I admire his adventurous spirit. I’m a bit nervous to travel by myself. Particularly once I arrive in SF where I don’t know anyone, but I’ll figure it out as I go. My plan is to put the phone and laptop away for a few days and enjoy reading the Lord of the Rings while viewing some beautiful places and capturing them on film.

DrNosferatu 3y ago

The potential for psychological fatigue is huge!

OwlsParlay 3y ago

The sad fact is that this is more expensive than my 1-bed flat was 15 years ago. Rent really is insane if this is preferable now.

voisin 3y ago

In Canada, this would be approximately the cost of a one-way ticket from Toronto to Vancouver. Our rail lines are absurdly expensive relative to flying and even driving on your own.

herewulf 3y ago
Be that as it may, in comparison to Germany, the distance between those two places is absurdly far, and the population density in between is absurdly low. ;)
- voisin 3y ago
  I fully recognize that, but 1 trip versus unlimited travel for a year seems to more than make up for those points.

Scarblac 3y ago

In the Netherlands, when I had a monthly first class ticket for my commute, I'd sometimes take the train home and back to work during the day to get work done. I was able to focus in the train much better than in the office, sometimes. I've also considered going freelance and doing all work from the train with an unlimited ticket like this, it'd work great I think. But sleeping there is a bit too much.

unixhero 3y ago

Super shitty intro on this article. I had to say it

penjelly 3y ago

> i sleep while I race along the tracks towards my destination. I don’t have a place to retreat to. many people pay specifically for place to retreat to

immibis 3y ago

Isn't this a completely illegal way to live due to the registration requirement that requires every person living in Germany to have a fixed address?

flohofwoe 3y ago
He's probably registered at his parent's address. But really, nobody will give a fig about where he's registered vs where he actually lives.

micromacrofoot 3y ago

> Uch. TRAINS. They’re a necessary evil in many of our lives. Horrible big tin cans full of smelly people that never turn up on time and make you late for everything. The less time spent on them the better. At least for most of us in the UK, anyway. Wow, is this the common attitude about trains in the UK? how dour

ncr100 3y ago

It's like, living with Star Trek transporter technology: > ‘If I feel like travelling to the sea, I take the train north in the morning. If I long for the hustle and bustle of the big city, then I look for a connection to Berlin or Munich. Or I take the express train to the Alps for a hiking trip.’ I'm curious to learn more about how his feelings being so quickly satisfied makes an impact on him...

karaterobot 3y ago

I think that knowing I had to make the night train or else sleep in the train station every single night would make me too nervous to enjoy the freedom of being able to visit all these places. You get to travel everywhere, but you'd better stay within a bus ride of the train station at all times. Not for me. That's me though, glad he's enjoying it so far.

jmclnx 3y ago

Very cool, I thing in North America this would be impossible or at least very uncomfortable.

WesolyKubeczek 3y ago

I'm wondering about his typical daily routine as spending almost a whole day seated even in a comfier variety of train seats would make my everything hurt like hell. I know, I've done it. I mean, is it possible to keep some sort of a healthy movement regimen like this? Cool otherwise, if I were 20 years younger, single, and had the kind of money to do it, I'd try at least a vacation like this. Another practical question is how would you keep your gear from getting stolen?

sandworm101 3y ago

I do not believe. Does this guy have a passport? Then he has a mailing address. He claims to work. Then he pays taxes. In which country? he has a mailing address. At 17, I'd bet good money that his mailing address is also his parent's mailing address. This is a gap student having fun bouncing around Europe, about as nomadic as any other backpacker.

flohofwoe 3y ago
He's most likely registered at his parent's address, but it's not like there's an age restriction where you're no longer allowed to live in your parent's basement or to physically be there ;) At that age he's also mostly included in his parent's insurances, so one less thing to worry about. Taxes are deducted automatically from his wage. And to receive the wage he just needs a bank account.
mudita 3y ago
As far as I know, it is possible to have the entry "ohne festen Wohnsitz"(without a permanent residence) instead of a mailing address in a German passport and he's legally not allowed to use his parents address, if he's not there for at least 183 days a year. But I don't really understand how this small legal detail would change the whole character of his life experience, in any case. No matter what is written in his passport, he spends the whole year in a train.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  Because there are real nomads, people without any address that run into all sorts of legal difficulties, difficulties that are belittled when people write about how easy it is to live on a train 24/7. Some are "homeless" others are from cultural groups that roam. And a large number are children in government care who then must transition to adult life sometimes without the convenience of a fixed mailing address. Our systems of government and assistance are still based on legal residency at a particular point on the map. Despite all the stories about mobile professionals working wherever the please, this is a privilege enjoyed by those who retain fixed support infrastructures to which can return as needed. Look at the "Van life" trend. The people are forced to live in their cars/vans really do not appreciate those who glamorize it. It is not an easy thing.

nicolas_t 3y ago

> You know how it is with trains. Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. Efficient and German Rail systems are not words that go together. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-november-train-punctuality-worst-in-years-bild/a-67618089 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-november-train-punctuality-wor...

moooo99 3y ago
I mean, you could argue that given how bad the state of our rail infrastructure is overall, being punctual on slightly over 50% of trips could be counted as efficient?
tetris11 3y ago
I'm surprised this is coming from the Metro. Trains in England are bad, but trains in Germany are the worst. The only thing that works in Germany are the busses, and even then, some of them you have to call an hour before first...
- stevenjgarner 3y ago
  Why is that in your opinion? In the US, passenger trains (Amtrak) are generally hopeless as well (expensive, not punctual, etc) especially across most of the country where Amtrak operates on other company's (freight) tracks. In the northeast corridor (where Amtrak has its own tracks), its service is markedly better.
- mcluck 3y ago
  I have heard this opinion over and over again but it just hasn't been my experience. I've spent a lot of time in both Berlin and Munich over the last couple of years and I never waited more than 10 minutes for a train
  - calmoo 3y ago
    It’s not an opinion anymore, it’s fact. A huge percentage of trains are late in Germany because of crumbling infrastructure here.

xutopia 3y ago

This is horrible and I hope it doesn't encourage anyone to do this. No friendships beyond the very shallow relationships you can develop with the workers onboard the train or the people passing through. This feels inhumane to me. I can't imagine someone being happy doing this for any length of time.

Mistletoe 3y ago
This is kind of what I want to do for several years with my girlfriend. Hide out from the real world on the trains of Europe and explore. Can someone tell me if this pass is Germany only or is something like this available for a lot of Europe?
- locallost 3y ago
  It's Germany only, but Germany is pretty big. As a foreigner not sure if you'd be able to stay that long without applying for a visa, and you won't get that without a permanent address. If you know someone there you can maybe register at their address. edit: but for the whole of Europe you do have Interrail but not sure how much it costs. I doubt you can do that every day but could be wrong.
simonw 3y ago
I don't see why this would prevent friendships. You don't have to be on the train 24 hours a day - just overnight while sleeping. If you have friends in Berlin you can arrive in Berlin in the morning, spend the day hanging out with them, then head back to the station at 10pm for a night train to somewhere else. At its best this could enable you to maintain friendship groups in multiple cities.

zakki 3y ago

You can use that money for: - rent a 2 storeys shop for a year 1/3 - start a small business - 1/3 - personal monthly expenses for a year - 1/3 in a medium town in Indonesia. Enjoy the journey in bootstrapping your business.

elif 3y ago

I've dreamed (and planned) on taking a 3 month trip in Japan, sleeping on first class overnight shinkansen trains. They are needle drop quiet every single day and foreigners can get unlimited rail passes for a good deal (though not as amazing as it used to be)

mundays 3y ago
Overnight trains in Japan are all but extinct now. Only two remain (but really, one). It seems that the economics just don't add up.

account-5 3y ago

Not possible in the UK. In the UK every year the charge more for reduced services.

mrandish 3y ago

IMHO, more young people should do this kind of thing (within reason of course). Now that I'm older I realize I didn't appreciate how opportunities to do stuff like this often diminish in later phases of life. Personally, I did have some adventures kind of like this, but in retrospect, I should have done a bit more as I look back very fondly on those times.

boppo1 3y ago
Would have done tons of things like this if I didn't have student loans hanging over my head.
- syndicatedjelly 3y ago
  Don’t create mental blocks like that in your head just because everyone else in your age group says the same thing. You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life.
  - devilbunny 3y ago
    > You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life. No, you don't, but you can't discharge student loans in a bankruptcy, and you have to pay them every month once you're no longer a student. When I got to the end of medical residency, I took a job starting the day after it ended. A German-born and raised doctor of my acquaintance said that I was being foolish, I should take a month off after four years and take a nice vacation. I said, "With what money? I don't have enough money to take a vacation, so I'll just be sitting at home, and I need a check at the end of this month to pay my bills. Do you want to pay for it?" He did not. So I went to work.
    - syndicatedjelly 3y ago
      Thanks for sharing. What was the lesson you learned from that experience?
      - 3y ago

forinti 3y ago

I don´t really know what his parents were afraid of, they are in Germany. Maybe they might have to drive somewhere to pick him up.

lenkite 3y ago

I always enjoyed Deutsche Bahn whenever I traveled to Germany. Such a user-friendly experience for an international tourist. Even before the smartphone era it was easy to book tickets at the machine. Just hop and go to another city and return with the night train! Saw so many places without the stress of driving.

Smar 3y ago
Here in Finland, I've only ever purchased tickets from the machines on stations. I suppose they are not used in most countries?
- bpye 3y ago
  The UK has both, you can buy digital tickets, you can buy tickets online and pick them up at the station, you can buy them on the digital machines at the station or at larger stations you can buy them at the service desk at the station.

josefresco 3y ago

"takes showers in public swimming pools" I hope this doesn't mean he was actually bathing in the pool but rather using the shower facilities at public pools.

Razengan 3y ago

I've always thought this should be a thing: Hotel Trains, that stop at different places for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, promoting the tourism in each area.

ascorbic 3y ago
Sounds like the Venice-Simplon Orient Express

porkbeer 3y ago

This is heartbreaking that his best option is to live like a vagrant.

lawrenceyan 3y ago

I might have to try this at some point.

Razengan 3y ago

I had this awesome idea: How about hosting developer conferences or game jams on "hotel trains"? The train could go around the country (or even, say in Europe, multiple countries) picking up the attendees, stopping at various places to eat or whatever, then drop everyone off after a couple days.

moi2388 3y ago

Yea, Germans are efficient. They are also, however, even more bureaucratic

deleted 3y ago

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