Urban Survival | Staying Invisible in High-Crime Cities

[@Pineboxperspective]

No hard eye contact is solid advice. I was a surveyor in crackhead country (Charlotte, NC). Just a confident head nod and keep walking. Doing your thing and minding your own.

[@SoCalPrepperOne]

The best way to be invisible is to be where there is no one to see you.

[@JedEkert]

I'm already invisible to half of the population. I guess that's a start.

[@RodCornholio]

Libraries are the place to go to be invisible from the riffraff. (reply to citadelchase since KZbin or the channel's creator deletes my comments) Pretty much every city (has homeless in libraries). And they are different than the homeless tweakers on the street corners trying to hustle a dollar to feed their habit. And appearing homeless is an act of "invisibility" itself. A lot of preppers have egos too big to do what's necessary to be ignored and forgettable. Clean appearing , gently worn, fitting, clothing, footwear, nice teeth, trimmed beard/hair, MOLLE, chunky watch, (g_d forbid) ballistic sunglasses...yeah, you are memorable, not gray, and nowhere near the level of repulsiveness it takes to be dismissed. If you truly desire to be forgotten, you need to forget your self as well. Take those clothing you have weathered and distressed ("broken down") and fumigate it with exhaust from a lawnmower engine so it smells bad enough to make people keep a little distance but not enough to get you escorted out (like if you poured beer on your clothing). Have a "nervous tick" and/or a random quiet whisper. Again, you want people to think you have a mental illness (like all consistently homeless people have) but not enough to get complaints or any action from authorities or staff. Consider simple acting concepts to create a character; a backstory you internalize, so your outwardly appearing person seems authentic, has the appropriate motivations, etc. Remember this is just a "layer". Your skills, tools, knowledge, experience, etc. stay hidden until they are needed. The most dangerous man isn't the one who looks like it. It's the one with the unseen capability and ruthless motivation to use that capability instantly.

[@citadelchase8858]

Libraries are full of homeless people in Chicago.

[@RodCornholio]

​ @citadelchase8858 Pretty much every city. And they are different than the homeless tweakers on the street corners trying to hustle a dollar to feed their habit. And _appearing_ homeless is an act of "invisibility" itself. A lot of preppers have egos too big to do what's necessary to be ignored and forgettable. Clean _appearing_ , gently worn, fitting, clothing, footwear, nice teeth, trimmed beard/hair, MOLLE, chunky watch, (g_d forbid) ballistic sunglasses...yeah, you are memorable, not gray, and nowhere near the level of repulsiveness it takes to be dismissed. If you truly desire to be forgotten, you need to forget your self as well. Take those clothing you have weathered and distressed ("broken down") and fumigate it with exhaust from a lawnmower engine so it smells bad enough to make people keep a little distance but not enough to get you escorted out (like if you poured beer on your clothing). Have a "nervous tick" and/or a random quiet whisper. Again, you want people to think you have a mental illness (like all consistently homeless people have) but not enough to get complaints or any action from authorities or staff. Consider simple acting concepts to create a character; a backstory you internalize, so your outwardly appearing person seems authentic, has the appropriate motivations, etc. Remember this is just a "layer". Your skills, tools, knowledge, experience, etc. stay hidden until they are needed. The most dangerous man isn't the one who looks like it. It's the one with the unseen capability and ruthless motivation to use that capability instantly.

[@jasonaffeldt7838]

My 1st car was a 77 Chevy estate wagon. Burnt orange with simulated wood trim. Hand me down from my folks. Good memories in that ride. Thanks for all the tips JJ. Enjoy your weekend with your family. 🇺🇲🌲🔥🔪

[@dutchvanderbilt9969]

I would suggest teaching yourself to watch your surroundings from your peripheral vision. You would be surprised by what you'll see when people don't know you're looking.

[@cal6581]

Can you make a video of what you carry in your backpack when you travel? I think that would be awesome! Stay safe!

[@citadelchase8858]

First off, Happy Thanksgiving. Second I am from Chicago. I was able to geolocate your general vicinity. Waukegan is safe, for the most part. Good to have a Wal-Mart nearby, I am not going to give out much more. If you want a proper paper map of the area with side streets and such Ameritech used to send them out with their phone books. Highway rest areas have some decent maps, but in this day and age, even while traveling, I download the offline maps from Google. More important than maps I would say, is the street view feature to pick up land marks to cross and turn at.

[@AntiFederalist58]

The first car that I bought new was a 1981 Monte Carlo.

[@11ccom]

Always really good stuff.

[@oldschooljeremy8124]

Find the local AAA office, they will have your maps.

[@hanginwithbullfrog4657]

Teel 81 monte was my 3rd car.....84 olds Omega was my 1st

[@mikewebster8224]

92 Eclipse GSX. Those Oasis', the over the highway rest areas, in the Chicago area will have little kiosks with the pamphlet style road maps. Some hotels have them with the tourist pamphlets too. The worst part of Chicago, and IL in general, is the laws and government. If you're not in the drug trade, gang wars, or caught in the midst of it on the south or west side you avoid 95% of trouble here. In the burbs where you were; the most common stuff is "bump and run" car jackings, where they bump your rear end to get you out of the car thinking its a legit accident, or armed robbery at drive-up ATM's. Even then, those tend to only happen in the more "urban" suburbs. You'll know when you're in them. If you ever need directions, recommendations, a jump start ,etc you could do a lot worse than Chicago. Friendliest big city I've ever been to.

[@docholt0000]

Go to truck stops for maps.

[@thomasbrandon5111]

Good advice.

[@user-bh3ew6ii4g]

Would you drink that water that was around those trees? Filtered by your Grayl or boiled of course.

[@PenntuckytheCrag]

‘73 Beetle !

[@PenntuckytheCrag]

Thx JJ

[@vada27]

A ‘79 Monte Carlo ❤

[@CaesarBest]

Doesn't matter how I dress or act, people are always staring at me for some reason.

[@noonenowhere6920]

Fact: the homeless are invisible.

[@Duty2Rebel]

Key to invisibility = visibility...drop flags and stickers and hats? Identifiers. Do as they do...look at phone. Check watch. Tie shoe lace

[@user-McGiver]

or act like you do...

[@stoicfabianwtfradio1398]

Wrong. That will make you invisible only to those acting as recklessly. You want to be invisible to predators, and those are on the lookout for the head-in-the-clouds, gazelle crowd which are the best type of victim to any criminal. Surprise is a huge advantage, don’t make it easier for them.

[@richardgould-blueraven]

89 cutlass supreme

[@michaelj.laseter7747]

1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

[@Dan___R4]

Black baseball cap with a tac-patch on the front? -Not trolling, just curious. You kinda look like a cop with the Oakleys and TacPatchHat. Do you think those could be "identifiers?"

[@UPLINKUSA]

I wish i was invisible.

[@copper-tc6un]

AAA Emergency Road Service is a huge map resource, and if you call them, they will mail them to you.

[@hoss5852]

Algorithm comment. 😎

[@BurtBartlow]

Or you could just stay away as my man Scott says

[@dustinh4175]

You look too clean to be a hobo so they probably think your an undercover cop. You playing with your life in the hood.

[@thedrummer7673]

But...that Eddie Bauer logo, as small as it is, let's people know you have money.

[@jaygibson5057]

We are all grey men until the meth head offers to blow you to feed her baby. And you have an M4 at low ready.