In the event of financial restrictions imposed by a digital id, it may become difficult to pay the rent, so there are things you can do to prepare. Accomodation needs to provide for three essential needs -
Sometimes you can't get all three in one place.
If you cannot pay the rent for your home, the following are options -
You can sublet your home and relocate to a single room, loft space, basement, outhouse, summerhouse, converted garage, or converted shed that is part of your property. If you are intending not to comply, then you should prepare these for accomodation changes in advance.
There are many live-on-site jobs. Since your digital currency will be frozen, you might be able to trade work for food, and a place to kip and store your things.
A car, caravan, trailer or minibus can provide accomodation. It can be parked in your own driveway, or on a work site, or on a camp site, or with permission on private unused land, or in areas where there is free parking.
You can rent an outhouse, garage, summerhouse, or shed for about £30 per week.
Outhouse RentalsThese can provide storage. If you have land but no outhouse, then you can buy one of these sheds for about £200 - you wont need planning permission as long as it is only used for storage. This works out alot cheaper than paying for self-storage every month, and gives you 24 hr access.
You can ask -
Explain your situation. Friends or neighbors may accommodate you in their house or allow you to pitch on private land outside, or stay in an outhouse, if you provide something in return. Many charities provide nighttime shelter for rough sleepers, and you can learn about these by searching online or asking at churches.
If you do sleep outside, it is safer to kip on private land than on public land, since you are less likely to be disturbed by passersby, but you will need to be gone by dawn and leave no trace. Avoid camping in places frequented by other homeless, since many are addicts or ex-offenders. Choose your pitch carefully and reconnaisance it before hand. Outside is more noisy than inside, so keep ear plugs handy to help you sleep. Do not camp out with valuables - leave them in a safe storage location.
You can use Google Earth to search for areas that might be suitable. This will short list a number of possibilities. Then visit those places to get a closer look.
In every city in every country there are services providing self-storage. These services cater for -
During the day you may want to store your sleeping bag, inflatable mat and bivvy in a safe place, so that you are freed up for activities like exercise, or work. Conversely, during the evening you may want to retrieve your sleeping bag, mat and bivvy, and instead, store away those things you use for work, e.g. laptop, books, work clothes. There is a service called Stasher which is available in every city worldwide. Stasher provides a personal storage service for luggage. Many shops and hotels participate as Stasher partners. Stasher charges about £5 per day. You can find out more here - Stasher
Stasher wont be necessary if you have an outhouse, garage, or a friends house, or a work place where you can stash your kit . After all, you are only stashing a small amount of luggage - a few bags. Alternatively, ask around any hotel or shop if you can pay a daily fee to store your bag. Many newsagents already have a drop and collect service - for example, many already receive parcels and deliveries which customers then collect - so it is inline with what they are doing already.
Whether you are kipping down in your loft, basement, car, at your work place, in an outbuilding, or sleeping rough you will need -
Andes Nevado 300 : 300 GSM; 1.4kg; winter; 565 ratings; 72% 5 star ***
Andes Nevado 400 : 400 GSM; 1.8kg; winter; 689 ratings; 62% 5 star ***
Unigear Campy Trail : 300 GSM; 1.25kg; winter; ultra-cheap; 161 ratings; 60% 5 stars
Use the Andes Nevado 300 for 3 season use, and add a liner for winter use, because it is one of the cheapest and has a high rating. Start with a cheap option and see how it copes by testing it in your back garden. You can always upgrade later to a more expensive option, but you can't downgrade later. Lower cost bags are more easily replaced in case of damage or theft.
Qezer (ultra-light) : 300 GSM; down-filled; 0.7kg; only 3 season; 402 ratings; 63% 5 star; 15 to 0 celsius
Qezer (winter) : 400 GSM; down-filled; 1.2kg; winter; 211 ratings; 73% 5 star; temp 8 to -3 celsius; 35 x 18 cm compressed
The Qezer (winter) temp range will be extended by using a lining, a quilt, a reflective heat shield or an outer bivvy bag
Qezer (extreme cold) : 400 GSM; down-filled; 2.5kg; winter; 102 ratings; 84% 5 star; temp range -15 to -40 celsius; 46 x 28 cm compression
Berghaus 400 (extreme cold) : 400 GSM; synthetic-fill; 2.15kg; winter; 30 ratings; 71% 5 star; temp range -2 to -26 celsius ; 48 x 27 cm compressed
The extreme cold sleeping bags have drawstring to ensure extra warmth, and reduce entry of insects. They tend to be heavy and bulky, regardless of whether they are made of down or synthetic filling. Berghaus is 1/3rd cost of Qezer and can handle temperatures down to -26 celsius. Berghaus is less weight than Quezer, and compresses down to the same size. An advantage of Berghaus is that it is synthetic, so does not need to be fluffed up. At a third of the price, Berghaus would be my option. Quezer is better for very low temperatures.
Note: Down filled bags must be stored in an uncompressed state, otherwise they will not fluff up and you will loose the heat insulation
Here is a review of the Berghaus 300, which indicates that it is comfortable at 0 celsius, but too bulky and heavy for long hikes, but is a warm bag, and much cheaper than down equivalents. Review
Micro-fibre liner : Wicks up moisture, which increases warmth.
Litume Fleece Liner with head covering : Traps air, which increases warmth.
Snugpak Fleece Liner without head covering : Traps air, which increases warmth.
Heat shield : Reflects heat, which increases warmth. Blocks IR detection.
Camping Blanket : Cheapest feather down quilt for camping.
A liner will keep your sleeping bag clean on the inside, and will also increase warmth, BUT will also make it more difficult to get into and out of the sleeping bag. I prefer not to use a liner, but instead just use clothes.
Test out your sleeping bag. If it feels too cold, then combine it with the fleece liner or a quilt. Testng is always important to make sure you find a combination that works for your environment.
Inflatable mat : An inflatable mat adds comfort and insulation from the ground. You might also consider a puncture repair kit, and a small manual pump
Bivvy bag : A bivvy bag is an outer waterproof shell that keeps the outside of the sleeping bag clean and dry. It will also increase warmth. I have listed a breathable bivvy. The bivvy listsed should be an extra large size, since the standard size only fits a person of height 5ft 4. I have tested it in light rain, and it was quite warm and dry inside - but you should get a large size to give you space to move and store.
When you are in a bivvy bag, your boots and pack will be outside, so they will get wet unless you have a waterproof bag to keep them in. A large bin liner would work. The ultra light bivvy tent listed below is better than a bivvy bag. It has 1.5 m x 2.5 m floor area, and has a height of 1 m. It is open at both ends but provides plenty of room for movement and storage. It is only 120g heavy, and can be folded up to fit into your pocket.
Ultra cheap bivvy tent : only 120g; easy set up; for high mobility, fits in pocket; very discrete; 100% waterproof. Can be used as an extra outer bivvy, or as an inner heat blanket; tube design; open ends allow ventilation. The reflective lining also blocks IR detection.A bug net must keep out mosquitos, gnats and ants. The only point of entry on a bivvy is the face hole, so having a fine mesh net is important. People sometimes use a head-net and cap to lift the net from their face. This is probably the neatest solution.
You should also carry an insect repellant such as vinegar or ant powder, and put it around your tent.
Tarps are very visible, so if you want to be discrete then tarps are not useful. A better and lighter solution is a survival bag tent, such as described above - the ultra cheap bivvy tent - which only weights 120g and will fit into a pocket. This will cover your entire sleeping bag and bivvy with room to spare for kit. It would be better to get one that has camoflage colours rather than a silver one, or use car spray paint to add your own colours.
Small tarp Small tarp for pulling over bivvy in heavy rain.
You wont need to carry around all of your kit during the day if you have a place to store it. Ideally, you will only use your kit in the evening when you are preparing for sleep. So, finding a day time storage place is important. If you don't have a fixed storage place, then you will be carrying everything with you all the time, and you will also attract unwanted attention. It is therefore essential that you arrange a storage place. There isn't really any choice because you will need a place to store your clothes and food as well, and it is impossible to carry all that around. A good storage location could be an outhouse, garage, shed, vehicle, a place of work, relative's home, etc - see options above. Bugging out permanently, i.e. when you have no base, is not realistic. Bugging out is a temporary emergency measure - until you can re-establish a storage base.
What I have described is the kit for being mobile and discrete - especially in urban areas - or when you are out gathering food, and need to be mobile and hidden. It is not meant to be for settled, safe situations where your camp is obvious, and you can leave your tent standing.
These items are not just for outside. Some can also help reduce heating costs, and help elderly relatives stay warm and well in winter.