We Can't All Live in Tricked-Out VW Vans

I received a book in the mail a while back after one of my columns about high housing prices in big coastal cities. It's titled "How to Never Become Homeless," and it was self-published on the cheap1498582450448 by William L. Seavey, a writer and bed-and-breakfast co-proprietor who lives along the Central California coast. Seavey's "20 recession-proof ideas for finding cheap/free shelter" include "live on your houseboat," "reside in a trailer on acreage," "build a strawbale house" and "sink your abode underground."

What struck me when I first read through them (other than that Seavey seems like he'd be fun to hang out with) was how few of the ideas were of any help to someone who wants to live in or near a city. Yes, there's "become an apartment manager," "live above a storefront" and "convert an 'old' building to living space," but in the most in-demand cities, those spots were pretty much all taken years ago. Living on the cheap in the U.S. these days is increasingly just a rural and small-town thing.