Last minute sleeping arrangements

Let's say that you decided to live off the grid and walked outside of your home. You decide to walk away from everything you know and love. You have supplies in a backpack and it's starting to get dark. Finding a place to sleep can be difficult once the darkness starts to settle. When you're living in an Urban environment, but decide to be without a permanent home, it can be hard to find a decent place to sleep. Sometimes, there are people sleeping in the "spots" you've discovered.

Where do you think the best last minute sleeping arrangement is?
Would you simply sleep on the sidewalk or look for a private form of shelter?

 

A good question. Sleeping under a bridge (if your town has one) seems to be a popular practice for those without a permanent shelter. And as you've said, with lots of exploring some interesting "spots" can be found, which are very well fit for sleeping and for being a temporary shelter. Also, using those spots after somebody else finished using them also seems to be a good idea, but you have to hurry and be the first one to occupy it. Sleeping on a sidewalk, where you're directly exposed to people, doesn't sound like a pleasant solution to me because it's both dangerous and people can be nosy.

 

In built up areas look for small blocks of units/apartments most have service/storage/metering rooms in the basements/carparks etc!
Most are locked but usually only with a token lock you can pop quick and easy!
Weatherproof, warm but sometimes a bit stuffy! some even have mattresses stored there!

 

I'd probably go for the door way of an empty building, there are quite a few shope and buildings near me that have over hanging rooves I could shelter under for a night.

 

I would take a tent. That way I could set up in any number of places. There are lightweight tents that are not so heavy to carry. Might be worth the investment. The main thing I would look for before setting up my tent would be good coverage and access to water. If I had the luxury of being picky, I would also look for smooth, even ground.

 

I think that I would only sleep at daylight and try to keep to safe spaces like cafes or gyms or public spaces at night.

Or try to find old buildings and abandoned places with no signs of homeless people (now that you are also one).

 

Don't even think of sleeping under the bridge for surely it is already crowded by hobos and scavengers. My best bet would be under a tree in the sidewalk . Especially when the tree has a thick crown of branches and leaves, I would be protected from the morning dew. However, I would definitely get we when it rains. So for the sake of this thread, I would probably bring along a big umbrella that would give me protection from the elements and at the same time give me a little privacy even if I was sleeping on the sidewalk.

@viva93, I wouldn't dare go to an old building. For sure it is occupied by the homeless, worse, they may be drug addicts there. There are minors here who are hobos at their young age. It is common to see them in the streets at daytime with a small plastic bag (like the size of a sandwich bag) pressed to their mouth. They are sniffing solvent or glue. Those young addicts can do anything to you so you have to keep your distance from them.

 

I think that when it hits the night time, it's obviously quite a bit harder to scope out a place to sleep. I feel like the best course of action, is to spend the last hour or so of your remaining daylight, finding a place to sleep. A comfortable place where you'd be decently safe. I think they key here is always waking up before dawn, and heading out. So you can get as much ground covered as possible, and you won't feel bad about wasting your last hour of daylight looking for a place to sleep. No one wants to sleep exposed and cold out on the sidewalk.

 

For last minute sleeping arrangements for me if i was to walk out in the dark away from everything would most definitely not be on a sidewalk where everybody would step on me or urine on me while I am sleeping! I would try to find a bridge to climb on top of the hill to get my blanket and take my jacket off and use for a pillow to lay down and get a good night sleep without no one harming me, because it may be a ton of other people with the same idea!

 

Once I was stranded in a city without enough money to sent accommodation. It struck me that in times part, I used to spend the night in a certain guest complex where I would cool a room. I went to the reception and introduced myself as having spent there and I was allowed to sleep on comfortable seats in a lobby for free. Good PR matters in such situations.