[Leonie Müller] bought a subscription that allows her to board every train in the country for free. Now, Müller washes her hair in the train bathroom and writes her college papers while traveling at a speed of up to 190 mph. She says that she enjoys the liberty she has experienced since she gave up her apartment. "I really feel at home on trains, and can visit so many more friends and cities. It's like being on vacation all the time," Müller said.... "I read, I write, I look out of the window and I meet nice people all the time. There's always something to do on trains"....Questions: 1. Is this environmentally incorrect? 2. Is this worse than hoverboarding in the airport? 3. What about the people who aren't nice? 4. "There's always something to do on trains" includes stopping terrorism: Will she embrace the full panoply of the experience of life on trains?
August 24, 2015
"I instantly decided I didn't want to live there anymore — and then I realized: Actually, I didn't want to live anywhere anymore."
No, it's not another suicide. It's a lady who lives on trains.
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For some reason the term hobo does not appear in the article.
The train is going to go anyway so no environmental harm. Plus it's a European train and all European trains are environmentally good.
The flat-rate ticket costs her about $380, whereas she had to pay about $450 for her previous apartment
There's no mention if these costs are for comparable time periods but opportunity costs and inconveniences easily eat up the cost savings.
In another case of me anticipating a soon-to-follow Althouse subject: The Splendor of Train Travel..
This is getting uncanny.
I am Laslo.
"Actually, I didn't want to live anywhere anymore."
Problem is, wherever she goes, she still has herself around.
Some apparent mental issues, I think.
"The train is going to go anyway so no environmental harm."
Well, maybe, except that's sort of like the rationalization for riding a bus without paying the fare: so long as there's an empty seat in the bus, the marginal cost to the bus company is very close to zero. BUT, this only works so long as not too many people do it; at some point there's a need to run another bus, or add another car to the train.
If the trains are going fast enough she'll stay younger, longer.
Must be tough to walk the dog.
1. No. She's just a passenger not asking the train to go where it is not scheduled to go.
2. I don't understand this question
3. There are non-nice people everywhere. She doesn't have to interact with anyone she doesn't choose to.
4. We can only hope.
I think he story could be made into a movie. A small one, a probably independent/European art-house one. Or as a companion piece to The Terminal.
From the article it looks like she travels on the train but at night tries to sleep at the homes of her mother, grandmother or boyfriend.
Müller washes her hair in the train bathroom.
She washes only her hair?
Like the mattress girl, she needs her 5 seconds of fame to push her first novel/journal. But unlike the mattress girl, she hasn't accused anyone of rape.
"I really feel at home on trains, and can visit so many more friends"
Living on trains, my ass. She's living off other people. Euro-bum.
I have actually conceived of this idea but on a Greyhound bus. A better variety of destinations.
Up to 190 mph, but normally less than 30mph. Either fast or slow, she's going nowhere.
Back in the 90's I calculated that you could live aboard a decent cruise ship for around $50,000 per year. This would cover all meals, entertainment, a gym and other amenities. Not sure what it would cost today but I'll bet not a lot more. Of course, you'd need to like the cruise ship scene, but for a retiree with a decent nest egg it could be appealing.
When I was in college 50 years ago, kids on trips to Europe did the same thing. They'd get an unlimited travel pass so at that at night, when they'd normally be off to a hotel or youth hostel, they'd just take the train to a city say four hours away. As soon as they arrived, they'd take another train back. In the morning they'd wake up where they started from, having gotten a night's sleep for free.
but for a retiree with a decent nest egg it (living on a cruise ship) could be appealing.
I've read stories of people doing exactly this. But these people were going first class, and so spending a considerable more money.
Where does she find a train that runs at 190 MPH in America? Metroliner service between New York and Washington supposedly had trains traveling at 200 MPH in the 1960s, but the fact is that average speeds were under 150 MPH. Today the Acela Express is our fastest train, but it reaches speeds up to 149 MPH in some sections of track in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
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