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Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:26 am
by ganja
So a buddy of mine is a 1L at U of Buffalo school of law and during his first semester, he is living out of a van to minimize costs. Lol. At first I found this quite bizarre but he actually makes it work by getting all his work done at the library all day then retiring to his van at night only to sleep. He says "look, I'm here to study and I spend 90% of my time doing that. When I get hungry I just go to my van and heat up some noodles or mac and cheese with a proprane plate and eat out of the pot. For showers, I use the school gym and I travel lightly in terms of clothes. I study an hour and a half away from home so I just go back home for supplies over the weekend when needed." I thought this would be interesting to share with TLSers looking to save a ton of money. It may be unorthodox but I'm sure one can make do!
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:27 am
by Void
ganja wrote:So a buddy of mine is a 1L at U of Buffalo school of law and during his first semester, he is living out of a van to minimize costs. Lol. At first I found this quite bizarre but he actually makes it work by getting all his work done at the library all day then retiring to his van at night only to sleep. He says "look, I'm here to study and I spend 90% of my time doing that. When I get hungry I just go to my van and heat up some noodles or mac and cheese with a proprane plate and eat out of the pot. For showers, I use the school gym and I travel lightly in terms of clothes. I study an hour and a half away from home so I just go back home for supplies over the weekend when needed." I thought this would be interesting to share with TLSers looking to save a ton of money. It may be unorthodox but I'm sure one can make do!
Where does he park?
Wtf is he planning to do when winter comes to Buffalo?
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:28 am
by Tom Joad
I thought about this, but internet and hygiene would be a bitch.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:31 am
by hephaestus
This sounds suspect, or at least really odd.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:39 am
by ganja
He says he heats up the propane plate for about 3 min to get it pretty warm in the van. After that he bundles up in 4 or 5 heavy comforters. As for internet, he has a portable device and uses the school gym for showers, brushing teeth, etc. He also says the best place to park is a Wal-Mart parking lot. Preferably one that is open 24-7 in case he needs something. Again, if he is not in class, he is in the library. He only uses the van for sleep, eating and transportation
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:42 am
by redsox
Disappointed in this thread. Was hoping it'd be about a law school grad living in a van, off the grid, to avoid payments on his $250,000 of non-dischargeable loans.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:42 am
by Danger Zone
Somebody hit up ATL with this fucking thread.
Law school: yep, it's that bad of a choice.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:45 am
by ganja
Danger Zone wrote:Somebody hit up ATL with this fucking thread.
Law school: yep, it's that bad of a choice.
Hahaha. When you're forced to live out of a fucking van you know you've made a terrible decision.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:47 am
by Void
ganja wrote:He says he heats up the propane plate for about 3 min to get it pretty warm in the van. After that he bundles up in 4 or 5 heavy comforters. As for internet, he has a portable device and uses the school gym for showers, brushing teeth, etc. He also says the best place to park is a Wal-Mart parking lot. Preferably one that is open 24-7 in case he needs something. Again, if he is not in class, he is in the library. He only uses the van for sleep, eating and transportation
I asked about parking because as an idealistic teenager I tried to spend a summer living out of a van and driving across the country. I discovered that it's actually pretty fucking hard to find places to sleep where police/property owners don't hassle you. Even wal-mart asked me to move along a few times.
I don't think your friend exists. Cool thread though, bro.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:47 am
by Balthy
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:50 am
by Tom Joad
I knew a guy that lived in an RV through college, but he was in New Mexico. This was way before Breaking Bad.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:54 am
by bk1
lol at spending 90% of your waking hours studying and/or doing law school related things.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:57 am
by Flips88
Gonna be fun when this dude has to fill out his bar app and list his addresses.
2013: Van down by the river
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:29 am
by rinkrat19
ganja wrote:He says he heats up the propane plate for about 3 min to get it pretty warm in the van. After that he bundles up in 4 or 5 heavy comforters. As for internet, he has a portable device and uses the school gym for showers, brushing teeth, etc. He also says the best place to park is a Wal-Mart parking lot. Preferably one that is open 24-7 in case he needs something. Again, if he is not in class, he is in the library. He only uses the van for sleep, eating and transportation
If he's a 1L he hasn't made it through a Buffalo winter yet. Good luck with that.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:48 am
by Dogg
Flips88 wrote:Gonna be fun when this dude has to fill out his bar app and list his addresses.
2013: Van down by the river
RIP Chris Farley
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:20 am
by Tom Joad
Dogg wrote:Flips88 wrote:Gonna be fun when this dude has to fill out his bar app and list his addresses.
2013: Van down by the river
RIP Chris Farley
Did he die in a van or something?
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:39 am
by cinephile
redsox wrote:Disappointed in this thread. Was hoping it'd be about a law school grad living in a van, off the grid, to avoid payments on his $250,000 of non-dischargeable loans.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 6:21 am
by alphagamma
Tom Joad wrote:Dogg wrote:Flips88 wrote:Gonna be fun when this dude has to fill out his bar app and list his addresses.
2013: Van down by the river
RIP Chris Farley
Did he die in a van or something?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4183
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:11 am
by Tom Joad
alphagamma wrote:Tom Joad wrote:Dogg wrote:Flips88 wrote:Gonna be fun when this dude has to fill out his bar app and list his addresses.
2013: Van down by the river
RIP Chris Farley
Did he die in a van or something?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4183
lol omg! That is classic. I am a huge Chris Farley fan, but I had never seen that.
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:07 am
by heythatslife
Tom Joad wrote:I knew a guy that lived in an RV through college, but he was in New Mexico. This was way before Breaking Bad.
He didn't cook meth?
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:40 am
by guano
ganja wrote:Danger Zone wrote:Somebody hit up ATL with this fucking thread.
Law school: yep, it's that bad of a choice.
Hahaha. When you're
forced to live out of a fucking vanattending buffalo law you know you've made a terrible decision.
Fixed
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:09 am
by KeepitKind
Tom Joad wrote:
lol omg! That is classic. I am a huge Chris Farley fan, but I had never seen that.
am i being trolled? is this what being trolled feels like?
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:24 am
by ganja
guano wrote:ganja wrote:Danger Zone wrote:Somebody hit up ATL with this fucking thread.
Law school: yep, it's that bad of a choice.
Hahaha. When you're
forced to live out of a fucking vanattending buffalo law you know you've made a terrible decision.
Fixed
Lololol. So is this something any of you would consider doing? He got a half tuition scholly and his parents help him with the rest of tuition so he hasn't taken out any loans. His parents help him out with $40 to live off of each week. The guy was always a tad odd in college but i can kind of see how he might think this is a good idea
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:54 am
by KD35
Where does he poop if he feels the urge in the middle of the night?
Re: Living out of a van to avoid student loans
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:55 am
by helfer snooterbagon
I went to UB for undergrad - this was a number of years back but I remember renting a perfectly fine 2 - bedroom with heat included and the roomate and I were only paying $250 a month each - he could also rent a room from someone for about that much, maybe less. I am all about minimizing expenses, but Buffalo is super cheap.