Urban Camping In LA After Law Was Struck Down?

[FreeBird]

Anyone have any experience or advice on urban camping in L.A now that the ban has been lifted?

I'm planning on re-locating back to somewhere near the beach, at first I was planning for San Diego or back to St. Pete, FL but I've been looking more into L.A and would be "urban camping" until I have worked up enough money for an apartment.

How are the police now that the ban has been lifted? I know there's still a 72 Hour law on parking on public street's.

As long I move around every couple day's and don't cause any distraction or noise etc, will I have an issue?

I'd love to go back down to FL but I think their law's are quite stiff.

Just trying to get back to the ocean!

Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

[highdesertranger]

you know if the man wants to hassle you they will. there are plenty of other laws they could use. there are so many stupid laws nowadays everyone breaks a couple every day. highdesertranger

 

[flailer]

Well, every area is different....
And while I am in Calif, I'm usually not that far south.
I HIGHLY prefer stealth camping, staying in campgrounds ONLY if I am with someone else, and that is their preference.

But if i can offer some anecdotal info:
- Coastal areas, particularly beach towns are the strictest. Up here they all have local ordinance, but I haven't been caught. But I have been approached by cops, due to the busy-body nature of citizens.
- Sometimes pulling in later in the evening, after everyone is glued to the boob-tube, is the way to go.
- my head-lamp has a red LED setting, which helps a lot, i think. Reflective window coverings too. Black-side out on the windshield screen & from a distance it looks like the vehicle is dark, and that a windshield screen is not in use.
- Truck stops! (but of course that is not the lifestyle we are shooting for)
- Non-coastal, and northern towns are much easier, i think.
- In fact, I feel that once 100 miles north of San Fran it gets significantly better.
- If I do get hassled, and it is apparent what I am doing, I'll just tell them that I was so tired that I fell asleep, and often it goes no further. & I'll sometimes even get a tip or two about how to do it properly in that area.
- While I have done it, several times in the L.A. & San Diego areas, I have never been hassled; so I am really NOT the right person to ask specifics in those areas on the hows whys or whens.

Personally, I have a STRONG preference for CA over FL. But I do NOT recommend going as far south as you are considering. There is no point in going so far south, in my opinion, if lifestyle & weather are your concerns.

I'd highly recommend checking the weather stats for anywhere between Eureka & Oxnard.

And (in my opinion) stay out of LA basin (population density), San Diego (crime), Sacramento (crime), San Fran bay area (population density). There are literally thousands of other towns, urban, and remote areas between Eureka & Oxnard.

And if one like the deserts, there are countless (countless) opportunities.

:idea: Lastly, I'll say, I have a STRONG preference for the Sierra Nevada Mtns. And it is a simple matter to drive 50 to 100 miles west, dramatically dropping in elevation, when the winter chill hits. Calif beaches in the Fall, Winter, & Spring. Calif mtns in the summer!

but who am i?

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

In case you're still kicking around the idea of San Diego... I lived there a few years back when I was paying silly amounts of rent money. I can't really speak to the stealth camping environment first hand (except for a few pleasent nights on my way north this summer), but Ocean Beach has a very relaxed vibe and might be worth looking at if LA falls through. My old Vietnam vet neighbor said the place was like "walking into the 1960's" I have to take his word for it. Anyways, I'll probably end up there with my van one day. It's my favorite place.

 

[Phreedom]

From the moment I began considering van dwelling (and doing a LOT of reading), I began to look at the area I live in from a van dwelling perspective. Initially I thought it would be difficult but as time when on, I realized it really isn't if you just learn how to blend into your environment in plain sight. I've found about a dozen parking spots literally within blocks of my condo - parking spots I would have never realized were ideal had I not been thinking in those terms.

I can only speak from the limited knowledge I've learned so far AND the area I live in but I'm 100% confident I could easily stealth around my area of San Diego without any problems at all. I would imagine the concept of "blending in" would apply anywhere. If you look like you or you vehicle belong there and you aren't attracting attention to yourself, you should be fine.

As for the safety and crime factors, I'll take SD over LA or SF anytime.

 

[LosAngelesVandweller]

This post is pretty old, but I figured I'd chime in anyways. Better late than never, right

I've been fulltiming in a Cargo van (in Los Angeles, obviously)for three months now. I've been parking almost exclusively on the west side, very close to the Venice beach area.

Yes, there was a ban on living in your car that was struck down by the courts. Of course, that was before my time as a Vandweller. In the research that I've done on this, it seems like they were really trying to crack down on the Venice beach/Santa Monica area. The area has changed so much over the past 20 years or so, gentrification and all, so you had these wealthier, upper class people buying property, then getting pissed of at the transient population throwing their trash all over the place and defecating on driveways and sidewalks. Basically, they were doing it completely wrong. Law got passed, cops started arresting people, homeless people sued, law got struck down(last year I believe).

Honestly, when I started out I was pretty worried about getting hassled by Leo's, or having people getting freaked out by a random white cargo van parked on their street. I couldn't have been more wrong. No problems whatsoever so far(knock on wood). I feel like I'm doing a fair job of being stealthy...but seriously, as long as you park smart, it's not that hard. I have about 6 or 7 spots, and growing, in the same neighborhood. I most always park near apartment complexes or condos, seriously I can enter/exit my van whenever I want and nobody gives me a second look. There are a lot of work/cargo vans parked in my neighborhood too...there is a blue collar element that is perfect for my truck blending in. Most people are so busy with their own stuff, they don't even see me. It's beautiful!

However...it really depends on what part of town you want to park in. For example, I parked for a night down in Venice and I get there sense that it's still hostile to Vandwelling. It was difficult for me to find a good spot. There's a lot of signage...whole neighborhoods where it's illegal to park a vehicle overnight if it's over 6 feet high and 25 feet log(or something like that). I'm not sure if these signs are new, but maybe that's the new method the residents of the area are fighting off Vandwellers since their bullshit law got tossed. I'm not sure.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

Good info, thanks.