I Traveled to San Diego as a Hobo, But You Probably Should Not

Update September 2017: In addition to the 2016 murders of homeless people, 2017 has seen a deadly hepatitis A outbreak amongst the homeless in San Diego.

So I run this here blog called the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide. In a nutshell, my story is that, about 4.5 years ago, I got evicted from my apartment in Georgia, quit my job three days later and walked and caught rides until I got to San Diego. This was partly planned, partly happenstance.

But that is probably not the sort of thing you should do. Please, do not read this blog and think that you will just hitchhike to Southern California and live off the fat of the land down there and it will be all hunky dory.

First of all, there has been a recent string of murders of homeless individuals in San Diego. It has always been dangerous to be homeless, but homelessness is on the rise nationwide and friction is increasing and San Diego has deteriorated substantially since I first went there.

Please note: I left downtown San Diego after just six months and I left the county more than a year ago. I am currently in the Central Valley.

Second, I have alimony and I left my job and left my home town to get myself well. I have a really serious medical condition. I knew from firsthand experience that my respiratory problems are better in the dry California climate. I also knew from reading research that they would improve in a coastal climate.

So, I returned to California because California is good for my health and I wanted to live in a coastal community so I could regularly visit the beach or coastline. San Diego and Los Angeles have a similar cost of living, but Los Angeles is dramatically more polluted. I was unwilling to live in LA. San Francisco is insanely more expensive than San Diego.

I wanted to be in an area with enough population to offer services to the homeless and to blend in and not be noticed. I did not wish to be homeless in a small town. The San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco Metro Areas are the only three areas that met all of those criteria.

It made no sense to consider going to a small town on the California coast. They aren't any cheaper. In fact, many of them are dramatically more expensive than these already crazy expensive metro areas.

My medical condition is incredibly expensive. It was interfering with my ability to work, while not being bad enough to qualify for disability, and it was torturing me. If I could get it under control by living in a better climate, I had hope of getting my finances straightened out.

In short, I had compelling reason for traveling to San Diego (county) and staying there for a bit over three years. I had reason to believe that there was no place else that would serve my goal of getting healthier.

If you do not have a similarly compelling reason to be in San Diego in specific, do not read this blog and decide that traveling a long way to San Diego County makes sense. The area is very expensive. I left it last year in order to move someplace more affordable within California. I was finally well enough to leave the coast, so I left just as soon as that was feasible.

When I first left downtown San Diego, I stayed in La Jolla for about six months. It is more expensive than downtown, but the express bus allowed me to go downtown once a month to check mail and get services. There are no homeless services in La Jolla. Their idea of a discount store is a used-clothing store that sells second-hand designer clothing. There is nothing like a Walmart in La Jolla.

Because I was going back once a month, I knew that Rachel's stopped offering showers and laundry service right after I left the downtown area. I left downtown in part because the situation was already deteriorating and I saw ongoing evidence that it continued to deteriorate after I left. Now (2016), homeless people are being murdered.

Being on the edge of a big city can give you access to big city amenities, such as a good library and stores that are open long hours, and it can give you access to homeless services. But the entire world is currently in crisis. You need to plan to solve it yourself somehow and not expect anyone to rescue you.

My hope is that this blog will make it easier for you to solve your own problems. My hope is that the information here will be empowering.

But, please do not read this blog and think that it means that traveling to Southern California to be homeless there is a great idea. It was a good idea for me at the time that I did it. But it is probably a terrible idea for you, especially right now.

Instead, use this blog to figure out how to make your life work someplace that you are already familiar with that is near where you are currently. If you move, follow my pattern of moving someplace with characteristics that will serve you well, such as a climate that is good for your health or a lower cost of living.