From the moment I first heard of them, tent cities fascinated me. Basically a bunch of homeless people set up some tents in a field, and form a little city made of tents! Tent cities are so common in Seattle they actual number them: Tent City 1, Tent City 2, and so on. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that they have their own zip codes.
The idea of tent cities seems ideal to me. When you don’t have a family to take care of you may as well live as cheaply as possible, and so why not just live in a tent? You could use a gym for bathing and libraries or bars for relaxing. Heck, seems like a great way to save on rent.
The problem with tent cities is that they are populated by homeless, so, realistically, safety is a concern. What we need is tent cities for working professionals. You’d have to charge for it, of course, to weed out the leeches, but I’d like to see something where you just pay for a parking spot, with a small amount of land to set up a tent next to it, and everything else is left to your own devices. Maybe there is community showers and bathrooms, maybe not. The fee is what keeps dangerous people out. There should be some screening process, too, where you actually have to have a job to qualify, with an income ”over” a certain amount.
Housing costs too much, and the problem with being homeless is that it’s illegal. This solution allows homelessness for those that choose that lifestyle. Leave the houses and the apartments to families. Single people should be free to live cheap. I’m always telling my coworkers I want to go homeless for a few months to save some money, and because I think it would be hilarious to be a homeless working professional, but tent cities seem a little more convenient. I’d totally do it!