how to live, travel and explore the world from your van


Parking in San Francisco

travel camping questions and answers help forum
 

QUESTION: I'm about to relocate to the Oakland CA / Alameda Island area for a job and I cannot afford to rent a place there as I am supporting a family in VA. I was hoping to try the Vanabode method for about 1 year to test out the area to see if I would like it there. During my internet research and even in parts of your book I am detecting that the San Francisco Bay area may be one of the WORST or at least most challenging areas in America to Vanabode. Supposedly the Cops are ruthless and smash and grab is a problem too. I was wondering if you had any recommended parking safe havens for that area. I have showers and storage covered, I just need some ideas for where I can park without attracting attention. I have read your guidance on types of places and I got that, but are there any specific places you would definitely recommend that I use or more importantly, AVOID. I will be specifically working at this place on "Coast Guard Island" which is a spot of land between Alameda and Oakland surrounded by water. I was looking hard at an area about 3/4 mile east of there in an industrial area. I have been considering renting an office there for 250.00 month which comes with a parking spot inside a gated and barb-wired parking area for employees. I figured I might be able to stealth it there as long as they don't see me getting in and out. The plus side is that I really could set up a desk and computer there for biz purposes. The office is a little more expensive than a storage unit, but it could have a dual role. Also, many places have kitchenettes where you could nuke some food, make some coffee or whatever and folks wouldn't say anything because you "work" there. Another plus: sometimes if you have a virtual office, you get reciprocity at other locations nationwide.

That way you could go anywhere and still have a phone answering service, receive mail, etc. That is another idea I wanted to throw your way. If a person is going to be in an area for a month or more, it could be useful to rent one of those "virtual offices" at a commercial building and use it as a home base because they usually include parking. Some run for as low as 100-200 per month. I don't know if its a good idea or not, but I figured that at least if the police confronted you for being there at night, a person could say: "Hey, I have an office here and I was working late and I didn't want to drive all the way home" or whatever.

MY ANSWER: You are correct on most of these accounts. Vanabode is primarily set up to help people TRAVEL and live super cheap but many of my current customers have been hit with the economic downturn and are using my book and strategies to hunker down in one place and save a bunch of money in case things get worse. Many of my customers are actually buying the book to help cut costs but keeping their high paying jobs and staying in one place rather than traveling. That is the beauty of Vanaboding, it can be adapted to virtually any lifestyle. I have written a page if you are interested though that covers specifically parking in San Francisco since it is a place we love to visit and stay a long time without spending a fortune.

This is a question from a list of camping questions those on my email list have asked my help with.
Please email me anytime if you need help with anything related to Vanabode, camping, travel, road trips, equipment, or living off the grid in the United States.




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