Staying in your RV overnight at Walmart

homefor2 wrote:
Many of us would wander by the guy sleeping on the ground beside his bike and judge him as a sad case or maybe a "loser". He was on an 11,000 mile solo journey that I'm sure would be the trip of a lifetime. I'll bet he will have stories for the rest of his life and a lot of memories about such a fantastic journey. It's pretty easy to make the wrong assumption about people and I'm afraid I'm sometimes the guilty one too. I would like to meet this guy, buy him a few beers and listen to his stories.

I'm with you.
BTW, gonna invade your Island next June.

GM

2012Coleman wrote:

While I prefer to be upbeat I am sure everyone reading the forum knows we can not keep borrowing to make the current level of federal/state spending levels. 5% cut in food stamps or whatever the real number is just a taste of what is to come I expect. It is the coming cuts to public retirement sources that concerns me and many others. Declining income, increasing expenses leads to gaps at some point for some of us.

Google political forums if you want to gripe about politics. The people in the article were not living at Walmart - the reporter was assuming so to make a story where none existed. If you read the forum, you know that political commentary is not allowed and you also know that although WM allows overnight parking, city ordinances sometimes say different, and in the absence of such ordinances, WM's policy is to not allow camping or extended stays.

I have no gripe about politics because they are what they are as is the weather.:) I was referring to issues that impact and concern many of us wishing to prevent the need to use a parking lot for a home. :(

I took away from the slide show that we all cross paths and don't know the others story. Most of those pictured were either down and out and trying to survive or just using the parking lot for a free night on their trip through the area. I did a similar thing as the guy on his bike in 1969, then I slept in barns, under bushes in city parks, police stations (yes back then they would give you a bed if one was empty) or under underpasses. I suppose if WM had been around I would have slept there. Would I do it again today if I had the chance? Maybe. My brother was down and out, living on $400 a month, lived in his car in Wal Mart for three years. I imagine he would have fit right in the photo line up. Me - personally, I wouldn't stay in WM for any reason. If I got to that point I'd go live in the woods, off the land, my Army training I guess.

Matt_Colie wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Pretty sad if that is the "American Dream".

Sorry, but with this depression, it is about all some of us have left. And, if they put more restrictions on oil drilling and fuel refining, the price will go up more and we won't even have the little we have left now.
Matt

its same all over the world,

http://youtu.be/pSP1BNLCczE

IMO if there was a practical solution for our major problems (like national debt), we would've executed a long time ago.
IMO there will always be many people who are more unlucky than us. Yet, I don't see any of us offering to take in any of the homeless. Thank you Walmart for what you do.
Today, I filled up two cars at Walmart, because gasoline was priced at $2.95 per gal.

scroller95969 wrote:
The one pic looks like the Walmart on E. Huntington that we stayed in this spring for a night with about 5-6 other rigs and didn't get hasseled. Didn't see anybody that looked long term.

Walmart won't hassle most over nighters. It's the city police that sometimes do. Flagstaff ordinances prohibit over night parking in any parking lots not specifically zoned for such. I have seen signs warning RV'ers at the Woodlands Walmart in Flagstaff even though Walmart itself doesn't care. I have not been to the newer Walmart on Huntington.

Delete

path1 wrote:
I often wonder what goes though a photographers or artists mind to pick a certain topic. Sorry, I don't see what is so interesting in those pic's. For me I like old farms houses. The kind that are just about falling down. In my mind, I think about someone that raised a family and worked everyday to provide food on the table. Some shoot people sunsets or whatever. I just find it interesting in what other people find worthwhile to shoot. Not judging anybody for what they shoot, just find it interesting what others do actually shoot.

These photographs are journalistic in nature. The photos in themselves are not interesting without the narrative. The photographer was attempting to tell a story not create art.

While I prefer to be upbeat I am sure everyone reading the forum knows we can not keep borrowing to make the current level of federal/state spending levels. 5% cut in food stamps or whatever the real number is just a taste of what is to come I expect. It is the coming cuts to public retirement sources that concerns me and many others. Declining income, increasing expenses leads to gaps at some point for some of us.

Google political forums if you want to gripe about politics. The people in the article were not living at Walmart - the reporter was assuming so to make a story where none existed. If you read the forum, you know that political commentary is not allowed and you also know that although WM allows overnight parking, city ordinances sometimes say different, and in the absence of such ordinances, WM's policy is to not allow camping or extended stays.

Sadly it seems we are devolving financially from top down or bottom up.

WM would be the last place I would prefer to call home but it sure has been handy when out in the MH. As long as WM is seeing business from people parking there and the locals do not complain the parking lots may become home to more.

Those of us who still have jobs may want to double down on savings/debt reduction so perhaps WM living will not be a requirement some day.

I feel for the kids big time.

While I prefer to be upbeat I am sure everyone reading the forum knows we can not keep borrowing to make the current level of federal/state spending levels. 5% cut in food stamps or whatever the real number is just a taste of what is to come I expect. It is the coming cuts to public retirement sources that concerns me and many others. Declining income, increasing expenses leads to gaps at some point for some of us.

Again seeing the kids that get trapped hurts.