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I live in a van, never really understood why people get so pissy about it. Like, in Canada, the government brings in over one million immigrants per year, while our housing stock barely increases by a quarter of that amount; rent on a one-bedroom in my province (BC), even in a smaller town, clears ~$2K/mo. It's an ongoing, exponential problem with no end in sight.
I make more than minimum wage but it's still not enough to cover rent, transport, bills -- so I cut out my rent expense and can actually afford to exist now. It's not ideal but it's better than being *totally* homeless.
Camping on residential streets is technically illegal (no boondocking, no camping / parking only, etc.) so I mostly stick to business parking lots who've given me the ok, if I don't just park at work. I usually camp along old FSRs on my weekends.
When I've slept at a friend's place though - just parked on the street, not camping - bylaw still gets called out by his weird, antisocial neighbours. But I've talked with them and being parked there is totally legal - my insurance is up to date, the vehicle is in good working order - so there's really nothing they can do since...it's literally just a van on a street, like the other million vans and cars parked on the same street.
It is what it is though. If you've got an issue with someone in your area just talk to them like a human being and they'll probably move on without much fuss, most of us living like this don't like attracting too much attention. Just quit acting like everyone's some scary boogeyman crackhead out to get you and you'll have better results.
If you've got a highway rest stop near your place, maybe suggest they move there instead, assuming they're willing to have a conversation with you? I know that a lot of them are sort of just permanent homeless encampments at this point, since our country is a joke...
