Has anyone here ever been a squatter, and if so, do you have any tips? I'm really interested and would love to read any info about the lifestyle. If you have the time, I would greatly appreciate it!!!
Tales of Young Urban Squatters by Claire Burch. I got it through interlibrary loan. Also in the back of the book there is a section called "How to Squat" Some of the main headings in that section are: Finding a House Getting in a Securing your Squat locks Door notices your home essential services squatting and the law what to do when the police come resisting eviction government policy on squatters media myths Also, in the book there are some organizations listed that help squatters: Homes Not Jails based in San Francisco. They are underground, but according to the author of this book you can get their number from some people connected with Food not Bombs or the Info Shop at Long Haul in Berkeley. I don't live in CA so I do not have any personal knowledge of these groups. This book should help you. Check it out. Good luck.
I was a squatter on NYC's lower east side back in the late '80s,what a wonderful and positive feeling there was being involved in that movement. Unfortunately the law became increasingly repressive and alot of buildings were menaced and even bulldozed. Isn't it a drag to live in such a corporate-greed-driven world? To live in freedom is a human right,man.
Wondering if there are any squatters here in Canada...how does one find a squat? Do they work, and how does one set one up?
I've done worktrade/couchsurfing. Then there's posh caretaking: http://www.property-caretaking-jobs.com/ I've crashed jobs overnight, local businesses used to be more hip to that long term, kinda like free nightwatchperson. I've heard of apartment storage locker crashes, rooftop and garage crashes, urban woods (a tree-sit would be trippy if you could hide it), but mainly parked vehicles which are probably safest, except for the rare cop tappin on the window. I've also heard of people crashing nice buildings with a late-night janitor connection on a bagtrade basis. I've thought about mooring a boat on a lake or river, or setting up a real nice ice shack, but have never done it.
http://www.squat.net/archiv/index.html#english That website is pretty helpful. I've been considering starting up a squat in Brooklyn, NY with a few friends. If you're able to relocate or are nearby, give me a shout.
No personal experience but it seems obvious that the most successfull squatter is the hidden squatter.
