I want to travel around the US for 3 months as cheap as possible

Public transport in America sucks. The best way to get around and see the best sites is by car, which means splashing cash on a halfway decent one.

>>1179371
hitchiking, sleeping outside, winter in the south

>>1179371
trains are shit, it might work in the north east. considering you have to do it on the cheap hitchhiking may be your only option, good thing you have 3 months. bus stations like greyhound offer some decent tickets like seattle to portland for like $25 which is another option, I don't know how many go across the country though.

You are not going to be able to move around on trains like you do in Europe. There are busses, and that might be an option, but I think if you can drive and rent a car that would be far the best.

I would suggest renting a car big enough to sleep in. Then I would plan my route. I would look for camp grounds, rest areas, and other places that you can stay very cheap and use the facilities....as in bathrooms, showers, and even laundry.

The car will give you the option to go off the beaten path, travel when you like, and you will be out of the elements. You will have to budget fuel as well.

I don't know for sure, but I think you could maybe do some day work for cash. If your English is good, you might be able to go into a café or bar and ask the locals if there is anyone around who might need a worker for a day or two.

If you come through Houston, you can work for me for a couple of days.

It's pretty hard and uncomfortable.
1. No cheap accomodation. Only several most visited cities have hostels (which are also Norway-level expensive). Elsewhere you have only very expensive hotel
2. Affordable public transport takes you to big cities only, but not to national parks and natural attractions
3. Domestic flights are expensive

>>1179371
Touring around the us via bicycle is pretty common and inexpensive once you've made the initial bike investment; I plan on doing it myself this january. There are plenty of resources you can use to help you. Craigslist, warmshowers, couchsurfing, wwoof, and workaway are all worth looking up.

>>1179530
>I would suggest renting a car big enough to sleep in
Is it possible to buy a beat-up car and sell it at the end of the trip ?
3 months of renting must add up considerably, especially if you don't return it at the place you rent it at first.

File: tfwwhennothikinginthealps.jpg (114KB, 920x656px) Image search: [Google]

114KB, 920x656px

>>1179564
My friend basically did this, I think it could be quite nice. He did it in summer though, whats your route going to be? I'm from Scandinavia and have no clue of the american "winter".

>>1179393
I can't seem to find any cheap ok cars in America. When I look in my home country I can find ones for ~3k USD that would work.

Where should I look? And what should I look for when buying a car in the US?

>>1179488
I was planning on going in the spring/summer. Is that a bad idea? Wouldn't it be really hard to find safe spaces to sleep? I know it would be in most parts of Europe that are not Scandinavia.

Hitchhiking and living in nature seems really really nice though.

>>1179499
Is hitchhiking in the states safe and easy? Nobody in my country would pick up a hitchhiker.

How would I find a place to sleep? I guess there are hostels, but a reply further down said they were very expensive.

>>1179530
That seems like a good plan. The problems I see are the problems/price of renting/buying the car and a place to sleep in the cities. Do you have any ideas?

My English is very good aside from a European accent. I can speak and understand everything with no problems, so I don't think that will be a problem. Do you think there is a chance of finding work? Would it be possible to work at farms?

Definitely coming to Texas and probably Houston. Seems like a really cool city. If you email me at spacian(at)hotmail.com I can hit you up if I'm in the area.

Thanks for the reply!

>>1179533
Are there really no Europe-like hostels? Just really cheap ones that are pretty shitty but livable? Camping sites if going by car must be pretty common, right?

Public transport worries me. Seems like car or hitchhiking are the best alternatives. Why is American public transport so bad? Seems like the only western country with shit public transport.

Yeah, I want to fly only twice, there and back home.

>>1179564
Wouldn't that take far longer than a couple of months to get anywhere significant? If I want to see the South and Northwest mainly, isn't that way too far to go by bike?

What route are you planning to take? Are you going to sleep outside sometimes or just indoors?

Thanks for the tip!

>>1179574
I'm from europe and i've always wondered if can buy and use a car as a non-us-citizen

pic related: living the dream in a van i can sleep at night

File: 8273489324.jpg (79KB, 540x388px) Image search: [Google]

79KB, 540x388px

>>1179639
jesus i'm too drunk. forgot the pic

File: gd-transcanadahighway.jpg (30KB, 620x349px) Image search: [Google]

30KB, 620x349px

Now THIS is a topic right up my alley!
I have wanted to do this for so long, but sadly haven't had the time to do it yet. Fortunately for you, though, I know exactly what you want to do.

I wont go into too much detail, as I have a habit of rambling on and on on these forums, so here's the answer for you:

Drive-away Car Service

The concept is straightforward. "Canada DriveAway" (just an example company) has a list of privately owned cars that need to be taken from point A to point B, and once you pass muster, you’re given the keys, pickup and drop-off points, a little expense money, and are expected to deliver the car in one piece and in a timely manner. All paperwork – including a border-crossing manifest – is handled by DriveAway.
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/how-to-travel-north-america-by-car-and-get-paid-for-it-too/article17677372/)

If you're interested in this form of traveling, you should definitely go and read this link, as it will explain everything to you.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/dec/03/driveaway-drive-across-us-canada-free-drive-out-courier

If someone here have already tried being a DriveAway driver, please leave some input, as I'm also very interested in this idea.

File: 8463306_orig.jpg (295KB, 1024x768px) Image search: [Google]

295KB, 1024x768px

>>1179642
Btw, this service offers a huge variety of cars.
You might get a Honda Civic, or you might get a 2016 Mustang. And hey, who wouldn't be tempted to drive a luxury car across the states, while even getting paid for it...

>>1179642
I had never heard about that. It sounds great! Only thing that worries me is the pressure to deliver it on time. If I want to stay somewhere, I can't.

Getting to drive a nice convertible through the states would be amazing.

Please share more, if you want to. I am interested in anything related.

Europeans, and the more common Australian travelers can certainly drive in the US. I am not sure if you can drive with your current liscence or if you have to go to take a test, but it can be done easily either way.

Buying a car can be pricey. You will want to look on craigslist for cars in the $3-5k range as they are the cheapest while still having good reliability to go thousands of miles easily with *hopefully* no unforseen issues.

If you do want to rent a car, i did see once some aussies rent a u-haul small box truck, tossed out sleeping bags and slept in that. then that gives you the freedom of pulling over anywhere, not just a camp ground and sleeping for the night.

The money you save by not getting hotels or paying camp ground fees may easily make it cheaper to go that route. But the freedom of buying a car you want to drive, then getting money back from it at the end, or blowing it up, its your car so up to you after all...is a big bonus.

Hell if your not interested in all the US, fly to mexico, rent a Uhaul truck there cheap, drive to Texas and just checkout the west and end in Washington. U could zig zag through all the states and get to see cool stuff.

As for work, go to bar or cafe and ask around, either farm labor or constuction, lawn care, something. Illegal mexicans get under the table jobs every day, no reason u cant do the same.

>>1179644
Full on boner.

Last time I went to the States, I really wanted to rent a Mustang for shits and giggles. I don't even like cars, but this manufacturer just clicks for me.

Unfortunately, every single car renter in the city I was at were out of Mustang.

> mfw I had to rent a Prius.

Jimmies were rustled and I'm still mad at you, America.

File: IMG_0640.jpg (835KB, 2448x3264px) Image search: [Google]

835KB, 2448x3264px

>>1179587
American winters vary based on the region. Southern states tend to just be rainy and mild, closer to the Italian weather currently.

Northern states like Michigan and Minnesota can get very cold. Enough where you have to allow your car time to heat up before you can drive it otherwise you'll damage the engine.

Renting a car would be ideal, this way you get freedom to go where you choose without relying on a schedule.

Check out jucyusa.com. I *think* this is the car I randomly saw in Santa Monica that looked interesting. Website says it's $72 a day to rent out which is nice considering a hotel can range from $50 - $100. So wrapping your transportation and living into one sum is nice. I'd suggest reading carefully to make sure I didn't overlook something sneaky like milage limits or some other bullshit. I only took a two minute glance at the site.

>>1179642
>>1179652
You should go and do some research of your own. It's called "DriveAway" service, and you should be able to find lots of results on Google.

Here's something I found quick.
It's a Canadian service, and you'll most likely be driving from LA to Toronto, or Toronto to Vancouver.

Here's some quotes from their website:
"How much time will I have to deliver the car?

Under no circumstances are drivers ever required to drive more than eight hours each day. The maximum required driving time would be eight hours each day. Commonly, drivers are provided more time. Whereever possible we offer extra days for deliveries. This is on a case by case basis. Common route timelines: Toronto to Vancouver: minimum seven days, Toronto to Florida: minimum three and a half days."
http://hittheroad.ca/htr/FAQ.html#delivery

"People eager to use this service come from everywhere, says Smaller, “but we seem to get a lot of Europeans who are over here on work visas and want to see the country. For them, this kind of setup is perfect.”

Most deliveries have a set time frame, but there is occasionally some wiggle room for those who want to do side trips. “We had a guy who managed to stretch a 10-day trip into two weeks, but that was unusual,” says Smaller."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/how-to-travel-north-america-by-car-and-get-paid-for-it-too/article17677372/

Here's a list of available cars and routes.
It's definitely worth to be keeping an eye on, and giving them a call if something interesting comes up. After all it's first man to get the route, and trust me; they are popular!
I mean, it's basically a free travel across the states. You can even get them to pay the flight ticket back to the states from Toronto.
Go read here:
"Will you pay for my plane ticket?
Again, no. However, for some trips - mostly the US to/from Canada trips - we do pay enough to help you with a return ticket. "
http://hittheroad.ca/htr/FAQ.html#money

>>1179684
Trust me, my boner was also initiated when I first found out about this!

I mean, take a look at this guy.
Toronto to Vancouver with all expenses paid.. This could be me!
https://www.instagram.com/p/9Tu0OOtVlI/

>>1179642
>>1179652
Oh yeah, go and check out their normie-gram. It really makes the urge to "just go it" even stronger!
https://www.instagram.com/hittheroad.ca/

>>1179710
>Enough where you have to allow your car time to heat up before you can drive it otherwise you'll damage the engine.

that's an urban legend nowadays anon.

Wait for Trump to fuck the economy, then go when the US dollar is low and everything will be cheapo!

I live in Texas, but I am no expert on a foreign person buying and selling cars...but the problem I see with it is this. When you buy a car you get a title that you take are register with the DMV. You do this in the county you live and it requires an address. I am not sure how you would do that.

If you don't have the title in your name and registered, I doubt anyone would want to buy it from you, being afraid you didn't really own it.

If there is a work around on this issue. I would look to places like CarMax. Big dealerships that sell used cars. I think if you buy from an individual, say on Craigslist, you might get something that has a major issue.

I think this would depend on how much of an expert you are on cars and could check one out for possible issues.