Is it worth living in an RV to be anonymous?
22h 56m ago by lemmy.world/u/Zeon in privacy@lemmy.ml
I'm wondering if there is any true benefits to being a nomad anymore. Given the fact that Flock exists and you're now tracked basically all the time, it's getting harder and harder. You could use deflock map to navigate around which could work. I would also like to know if this lifestyle is cheaper. I could buy a plot of land to live on in my RV and have a setup, winters might be brutal but I could possibly do it if done right. I make 100k/year right now in NY with no bills, so I'm saving up as much as I can.
you can't escape the system, you have to organize to change it
That's taking privacy to the extreme, possibly to your own detriment. I don't think it's worth it.
I promise you, if you live in an RV, you are not anonymous. You're the dude who lives in an RV, every body knows who you are in your community.
If you want to be anonymous, blend in with the crowd, do the average thing everybody is doing, you'll not stand out and people will just forget they've ever seen you.
It's fairly difficult to have a fixed abode anonymously. It depends on what your threat model is, but if concealing your location, particularly to the state, is part of your threat model, living nomadically is better. You're talking about something different, which is blending in socially.
Maybe living on a sailboat would be more private
lucky MF to have no bills meanwhile I'm struggling to fill my GFM to survive lmao.
from my perspective as I lived in one, no, I don't think so. people have had issues with buying them and them having hidden problems like rain leakage, nonfunctional parts, etc. From my perspective ours was a death trap, maybe buying land isn't such a bad idea but that that point why not just pay to get a mini house built?
I'm not sure it's more anonymous? If you are driving it you need plates, and there are way more cameras than Flock.
If you buy land then it's in your name or a company name but that's not anon. I guess it depends on where the plot of land is but depending on the zoning it may arouse suspicion if nothing is built or it's left idle. I do live rural and Google maps has really made it hard to hide zoning infractions lol. Tree cover might help.
Would you need utilities? That would need a name too, and they could tell when you are there based on usage.
It doesn't sound like this would work for you but I'd say the best way to be anon would be to be an informal roommate, or even having a rental lease especially in a place where that's not public info and is just an agreement between two people.
For anonymity alone, no. You ought to at least aspire to live the nomad lifestyle first and put up with its challenges, then enjoy whatever anonymity comes from it as a bonus.
If you don't mind apartment living, you could consider the arrangement I had at one point. Private landlord who didn't run background checks, accepted payment in any reasonable form, many tenants, communal mailbox without apartment numbers or names required. Internet, utilities, etc. all rolled into rent and not individually metered. Might be harder to find but they exist.
How can you live anonymous? Off the grid maybe in a log hut in the woods. If you're in a vehicle, you'll need license plates. If you buy land there needs to be a name on the deed. You can obscure those maybe behind company names if you make the effort. But there will be a paper trail.
If you buy land, you might as well invest into a more comfy tiny house with solars on the roof and dig a nice pit for the toilet. Keep chicken and grow veggies or something.
IIRC, there are few places in the US where it's legal to just plop an RV on an undeveloped lot and live in it all year. I.e. you need a proper well and septic at the least (these are expensive). Many counties also have laws specifically to prevent people from doing this (I.e. only allowing camping on your land 14 days in a 30 day period). Many people break these laws, but they do exist.
It can be cheaper, but only if you give up a lot of conveniences. I.e. you can boondock on BLM if you move every 2 weeks. Would want solar, a large battery bank, and probably a backup generator. Will want to always be conserving power, fuel, and water. If you want to camp with hookups all the time, it would be more expensive than an affordable apartment.
Might be worth looking into a Trust or LLC to put everything under, so the trust/company would own the land and utilities, and you pay the trust "rent, etc" . you could do the same for autos like plates or registration.
However, its more so privacy through obscurity because technically a lot of that would be available via public record. All you're doing is creating more work for someone, but it would still eventually lead back to you. Could be worth it if not too expensive or you know a lawyer.
If you can remote work, Quartzite Arizona has a massive nomad population. Its not too hot in the winter.
Reminds me of Christopher Knight. He straight up lived in the woods. No job nothing for decades. Only got caught because he needed to steal rations from local cabins.
No. Just move up north to Canada or get a golden visa on the other side of the Atlantic.
No one was ever doing that to be anonymous.
RVs (and trailer houses like single wides, double wides etc) are incredibly non standard when it comes to construction materials so you can’t just go down to the store when something breaks. Parking for an extended period of time will cause land to move around the wheels (or blocks if you take the more permanent step of blocking it up) so you gotta have the site you intend on using prepped first.
Another reply hit on this, but it’s worth reiterating: you will not be anonymous. Even out in the cut everyone knows everyone and the moment someone’s living in an rv theyll be “known to law enforcement” and eventually some reason will be found to run you through the system or force you to show id.
People live in trailers and rvs because they’re poor or because they can’t afford to build a house on their land or are in the process of building or renovating a house on their land. Often a person who’s so close to the bone that they gotta live in an rv to accomplish that will never actually pull it off.
It’s a really bad idea and unless you understand and accept that you’ll be destroying the quality of your life and your health you shouldn’t do it.
Here’s a better idea:
Recognize that you exist. People interact with you, there are government records of your significant life events. If you have ever voted, your information is out there for anyone with a pac-alike to see.
You’re hopefully getting paid in a way that flows through a financial institution.
That information can’t go away.
Your money is better put towards a house, and there is a first time homebuyer program intended for people like you who would otherwise slouch into the modern hobo life. Do some looking and call them up. Act like a credulous buffoon, everyone loves a clown.