Increase in Homelessness

I don't know why any homeless person would want to live here. If I were homeless, I would save up every bit of change I had for a one way ticket to Hawaii. I can't imagine not having shelter with the weather we have here.

I completely agree with JenMac. Then again I'm guessing the homeless don't exactly get to pick and choose their surroundings - that's the kind of poverty that most people can't even imagine, including me.

I think someone mentioned in a post a while back that there was a city-wide "clean up" project where they literally put the homeless on buses out of the city. Hopefully they got sent somewhere sunny like LA or Miami...

@JenMac: I totally agree with you. No argument here.

I took a bus to Los Angeles from NYC once and there were homeless people on it. I will never, ever take such a long bus trip again. Every time I got on a new bus after a layover I was terrified of ending sitting next to a homeless person. Sorry if that's horrible, but that is not who I want to be in close proximity with on a terrible bus ride.

Even though the weather is not the greatest here, aren't homeless people bound to collect more change from places where there is a lot of foot traffic? I doubt they have the same sort of income in cities where it's necessary to have a car.

@BroadwayBK: The idea of being in the company of homeless people makes me want to rent a car instead. Is there a way to check to see if the bus I need to take will include homeless people?

That's a good point, @Neversleeps. But, man, I dunno.. . . I think I'd take my chances in Hawaii.

@hhusted HA. I seriously doubt it. It's not like they brand tickets with descriptions of a person's social status.

@JenMac Well if you're really good at saving quarters I guess Hawaii is the place to do it.

I'm also guessing that a city like New York does a lot more to accommodate homeless people as far as shelter and food and whatever else than a place like Hawaii that doesn't see too many homeless stragglers. Then again you might have the one homeless shelter all to yourself over there.

I think in other cities they earn money doing odd errands, like that annoying window washing scam mentioned elsewhere, rather than 100% panhandling. And you can't beat the warm weather in Hawaii, California, Florida...

More people on the streets than off them? Crazy! It is true though that having a good homeless-care system leads to more homeless people, inevitably. In Oxford, which is known for its care, I pass 20+ Big Issue salesmen (homeless men in the UK sell a magazine to make some money) in the mile walk from home to the lecture hall. I wish there was a better way to deal with the problem than to encourage flocks of homeless people to move to one place!