Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Is Living in a Van Legal?

Jump to new
S

Spanning Tree

Joined
19 April 2008
Posts
103
Reactions
1
I live in Melbourne, Australia and live in my parents' house. I'm 24 years old.

I believe house prices in Australia are overvalued and I don't want to buy a house because of fears of a house price correction. I also believe that debt is slavery and that a 30-year loan will add stress and ruin my life.

However, if my parents kick me out, where would I live? I have thought about buying a second-hand van (or a camper van) and sleeping in it. I could park it at shopping center car parks at night. To have showers and get exercise I can get gym membership and use the bathroom and exercise machines there. I can get a post office box for any letters. I can use my mobile phone.

My dad laughed when I told him this, telling me that this was illegal because I would be dodging land tax and council rates.

Is living in a van parked in a shopping center car park illegal? What law says I cannot do this? If it's illegal to be homeless, why aren't all the homeless in Melbourne in prison?

While sleeping in the van, throughout the week I can move the van around from one shopping center to another to avoid suspicion. I can black out the back windows with a heavy tint.

Given that a house costs $400,000 and a second-hand Toyota Hiace costs $5,000, I foresee huge savings, which I will use to buy more shares. Right now I am thinking of buying shares in Woodside Petroleum.

If your camper van is comfortable enough I don't see why a house is necessary. Living in a van gives you the added benefit of flexibility in case you change jobs. I happen to believe that 90% of the value of houses exists because of marketing and cultural momentum that deludes everyone into thinking they need a home otherwise they are bums or trailer trash.

Is it illegal?
 
It's certainly not illegal to live in a van as such.

But the shopping centre car park is private property and the owner has the right to decide who does and does not park there. Many wouldn't be too keen on a van staying there overnight and it's their land and their choice. Same with any other bit of land, including crown land.
 
I think as long as you are not short selling shares from the van you should be fine.

(Sorry, no idea).
 
Be preety cool for pulling chicks as well mate .......A bit like having a mobile work bench :) LOL ;)

You would also save a quid on Taxis coming home from the clubs .......You could be onto something here ST i wonder if you can get a first Van owners grant :D
 
lots of people live out of vehicles

shopping centres security would probly move u on if they notice

a blind eye is often turned by councils

backpackers use beachs etc

my opinion is it would be awfully ****ty tho

ever tried to sleep in a hot van?

or smelt a van with wet stuff from lots of rain

numerous other problems spring to mind

u would need to be desperate
 
Spanning Tree said:
I live in Melbourne, Australia and live in my parents' house. I'm 24 years old.

I believe house prices in Australia are overvalued and I don't want to buy a house because of fears of a house price correction. I also believe that debt is slavery and that a 30-year loan will add stress and ruin my life.

However, if my parents kick me out, where would I live? I have thought about buying a second-hand van (or a camper van) and sleeping in it. I could park it at shopping center car parks at night. To have showers and get exercise I can get gym membership and use the bathroom and exercise machines there. I can get a post office box for any letters. I can use my mobile phone.

My dad laughed when I told him this, telling me that this was illegal because I would be dodging land tax and council rates.

Is living in a van parked in a shopping center car park illegal? What law says I cannot do this? If it's illegal to be homeless, why aren't all the homeless in Melbourne in prison?

While sleeping in the van, throughout the week I can move the van around from one shopping center to another to avoid suspicion. I can black out the back windows with a heavy tint.

Given that a house costs $400,000 and a second-hand Toyota Hiace costs $5,000, I foresee huge savings, which I will use to buy more shares. Right now I am thinking of buying shares in Woodside Petroleum.

If your camper van is comfortable enough I don't see why a house is necessary. Living in a van gives you the added benefit of flexibility in case you change jobs. I happen to believe that 90% of the value of houses exists because of marketing and cultural momentum that deludes everyone into thinking they need a home otherwise they are bums or trailer trash.

Is it illegal?
Click to expand...

Its not illegal, but a tough life to live. At least try and get a caravan, costs a bit more than your Toyota Hiace.
 
Most councils around Australia have pretty strict bylaws regarding this. Ask any grey nomad how much of a problem you can create for yourself living in a van and trying to park overnight. Shopping centers are definitely out as are national parks and highway stops. Even out back bush camping is getting controlled. Caravan parks are getting very expensive.

Living in the van is legal, parking it is legal but parking it and living in it is not in most places. Just count on having to shift two or three times a night.
 
Spanning Tree, I think I know why your parents want to kick you out. So you can grow up. But if you feel the need to live in a van, go to America, you will have lot"s of comany.
 
Spanning Tree, I'm a bit younger than you and I also hate the fact that I do not want to have a loan that will tie me down.

But you have to find other ways to further yourself than buy a van. Then again if you go through with it I might join you :D
 
This made me think there is no land free to set-up accomodation.Every piece of land in Australia is owned.Sheesh 250 years ago there was much free land.
 
Spanning Tree said:
I live in Melbourne, Australia and live in my parents' house. I'm 24 years old.

I believe house prices in Australia are overvalued and I don't want to buy a house because of fears of a house price correction. I also believe that debt is slavery and that a 30-year loan will add stress and ruin my life.

However, if my parents kick me out, where would I live? I have thought about buying a second-hand van (or a camper van) and sleeping in it. I could park it at shopping center car parks at night. To have showers and get exercise I can get gym membership and use the bathroom and exercise machines there. I can get a post office box for any letters. I can use my mobile phone.

My dad laughed when I told him this, telling me that this was illegal because I would be dodging land tax and council rates.

Is living in a van parked in a shopping center car park illegal? What law says I cannot do this? If it's illegal to be homeless, why aren't all the homeless in Melbourne in prison?

While sleeping in the van, throughout the week I can move the van around from one shopping center to another to avoid suspicion. I can black out the back windows with a heavy tint.

Given that a house costs $400,000 and a second-hand Toyota Hiace costs $5,000, I foresee huge savings, which I will use to buy more shares. Right now I am thinking of buying shares in Woodside Petroleum.

If your camper van is comfortable enough I don't see why a house is necessary. Living in a van gives you the added benefit of flexibility in case you change jobs. I happen to believe that 90% of the value of houses exists because of marketing and cultural momentum that deludes everyone into thinking they need a home otherwise they are bums or trailer trash.

Is it illegal?
Click to expand...

you could rent.

you could probably get a decent room in share house close to the city for $150 / week
 
awg said:
lots of people live out of vehicles

shopping centres security would probly move u on if they notice

a blind eye is often turned by councils

backpackers use beachs etc

my opinion is it would be awfully ****ty tho

ever tried to sleep in a hot van?

or smelt a van with wet stuff from lots of rain

numerous other problems spring to mind

u would need to be desperate
Click to expand...

All that needs is a "hello" in the first line and its a robots post.
 
my solution to the parking your van problem easy solved . just throw around a carton of empty stubbies around the back door , then explain to anyone trying to move u on that u are absolutely too toxic to drive and your just doing your responsible duty in staying there till u sober up . the worse that can happen is that they call the cops then hey presto at least u still got a bed for the night ..personally think u would be much better writing into the "abc" and asking for an opinion on " life support " as from reading a few of your threads i reckon you got an evil sense of humour ............ happy camping
 
I think it's a great idea. The best way is to just do it, then you'll know from experience and you won't go through life wondering.

Just park in a different street every night. No-one will care.

P.S. Let me know how it goes, maybe we could start a new craze. Your van is paid for in the first year, if your rent would have been $100 a week, except for rego.

I think if you had a job, your boss would let you park there overnight. You could use the shower at work. Get appliances from the auto store that run off your cigarette lighter.

If you were to just park in the street, all you would need are curtains, which most vans have anyway. It looks normal. Who would even know you were in there?

"I missed every shot I never took" - Wayne Gretzky. :)
 
nunthewiser said:
my solution to the parking your van problem easy solved . just throw around a carton of empty stubbies around the back door , then explain to anyone trying to move u on that u are absolutely too toxic to drive and your just doing your responsible duty in staying there till u sober up . the worse that can happen is that they call the cops then hey presto at least u still got a bed for the night ..personally think u would be much better writing into the "abc" and asking for an opinion on " life support " as from reading a few of your threads i reckon you got an evil sense of humour ............ happy camping
Click to expand...

If you really have been drinking and are over the limit and decide to sleep it off in your motor vehicle you can in fact be booked for drink driving if the keys are in your possession.

Cheers
Happytrader
 
happytrader said:
If you really have been drinking and are over the limit and decide to sleep it off in your motor vehicle you can in fact be booked for drink driving if the keys are in your possession.

Cheers
Happytrader
Click to expand...
A completely ridiculous law in my opinion. Effectively punishing those who chose NOT to drive whilst still drunk. No doubt they'd be fined for sleeping on the street etc as an alternative too. :2twocents
 
happytrader said:
If you really have been drinking and are over the limit and decide to sleep it off in your motor vehicle you can in fact be booked for drink driving if the keys are in your possession.

Cheers
Happytrader
Click to expand...
Doesn't this silly law only apply if you're sitting in the drivers seat?
 
As you would all be aware, living in a van, has challenged philsophers through the ages, From Socrates, through Confucius and on to Kant.

I enclose a short description of Schopenhauer's grappling with this mighty task.

It is useful to have the "living in a van" in its proper context before proceeding to discuss whether it is legal or not.

gg


Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher, most famous for his work The World as Will and Representation. He is commonly known for having espoused a sort of philosophical pessimism that saw life in a van not as being essentially evil and futile, but rather, upon closer inspection, influenced by Eastern thought, he saw hope in aesthetics, sympathy for others and ascetic living in a van . His ideas profoundly influenced the fields of philosophy, psychology, and literature.
Schopenhauer's starting point was Kant's division of the universe into phenomenon and noumenon, claiming that the noumenon was Will and the most important since it is the inner content and the driving force of living in a van. (The noumenon was what Kant called the Ding an Sich, the "Thing in Itself", the reality that exists outside of, and the foundation of, living in a van.) For Schopenhauer, human will had ontological primacy over the intellect; in other words, desire is understood to be prior to thought, and, in a parallel sense, "will" is said to be prior to "being" and to be prior to "living in a van". ... In The World as Will and Idea, Schopenhauer posited that humans living in a van in the realm of objects are living in a van in the realm of desire, and thus are eternally tormented by that desire (his idea of the role of desire in life in a van is similar to that of Vedanta-Hinduism and Buddhism, Schopenhauer draws attention to these similarities himself.


I am happy to discuss this in its own thread and trust I am not off topic.

gg
 
Mofra said:
Doesn't this silly law only apply if you're sitting in the drivers seat?
Click to expand...

yeah m8 thats my understanding too, ive been woken up from the backseat without being arrested in the past :)....... be a bit rude otherwise being busted for doing the right thing
 

Similar threads

basilio
Ozempic: Magic Pill or Devils Bargain?
Replies
10
Views
1K
sptrawler
sptrawler
basilio
The love of my life has died: How can I ever be free to live again?
2
Replies
26
Views
3K
farmerge
farmerge
Dona Ferentes
The role of Private Equity
Replies
4
Views
1K
qldfrog
qldfrog
basilio
How valuable are two parent families?
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
Value Collector
Value Collector
Viper3343
Need advice of Laundromat P&L statements if a viable business for the sale price
Replies
12
Views
1K
Dona Ferentes
Dona Ferentes
Top