Woman lives in her car because she can no longer pay the rent: "I have to live like this"
The cost of living in many cities around the world can be unaffordable for many people. Wages are dropping, while product prices are rising. Nikita Crump is a young woman who, at one point in her life, could no longer afford the costs of her rent, despite her having two jobs. What can one do in these cases? Taking on debt is not a solution, and continuing to borrow money just means digging your own grave. Nikita, took action, moved into her car and embraced a lifestyle on the road that allows her to live her life without too many problems.
In 2019, Nikita was forced to move into to her Honda Civic, out of necessity. Even though she had two jobs and skipped meals to pay the rent, the young woman couldn't take it anymore and decided to try something different (and which would be economically more sustainable). On her TikTok account, Nikita has over a million followers who follow her adventures and her lifestyle on the road. The young woman sleeps in her car, parking lots and neighborhoods in various cities; her choices depend a lot on the tranquility of the place, and she knows how to find suitable areas to stop for the night, thanks to the satellite view provided by Google Maps.
As for her safety, Nikita shows how she manages to cover all the car windows with covers - to darken the interior, get a little privacy and to protect herself from the cold and heat. In her videos, she also shows how her daily routine goes: she wakes up, folds up the sheets she used, removes the covers from the windows and heads to a nearby place where she can take a shower. For example, in one video, she is seen entering a gym to take a shower. Then she moves on to breakfast, which the girl eats from a tray that she has attached to her steering wheel.
As for washing her clothes, the only way to do it is to go to a laundromat. "I've am homeless by definition, and have been for most of my adult life," says Nikita, "I've lived in my car before, for a short time. So, I'm no stranger to being this type of situation and being homeless." Her comments about her lifestyle include a little bit of everything: there are those who respect her for her practicality and resilience, but there are those who argue that this is a very lonely, sad way of life.
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