Under the radar
If living life under the radar is something you want to do make, sure that you understand what you’re doing. There is no quick fix once you initiate this. Society does not like it when you do not play by their rules.
I paid off my vehicle loan, cut my credit card and moved to Big City USA where I rented the upstairs of a house with utilities included and pay cash each month. Cash worked for the owner because she was collecting social security and she would lose part of her benefit earning money.
The Big City works better for this than the country because you’re just one of a number of residents in thousands of faces where as in the country everybody knows everyone else s business. New residents stand out like a sore thumb. Big Cities are places like Tampa, Miami, Denver, Dallas, Manhattan etc.
Some tips and tricks
In the three years I was in the Big City. My vehicle was still registered out-of-state because I prepaid my tags before I left. Inspect your vehicle lights often and obey traffic laws so you don’t get stopped by Johnny Law.
If your going truly off radar you will need to either find a “Community Vehicle” like what the experienced criminals do or purchase a running salvage vehicle of popular make and model for cash no questions asked and then use appropriate tags off a matching vehicle (white ford van off a white ford van) .
The tags will have to be changed often which puts you right back on the radar if you get caught. I have only seen a hand full of cases where a stolen vehicle was being used for more than a year before being recovered and the person prosecuted.
Ideally you would switch tags to several matching vehicles making it harder for anyone to catch up. Rental car companies and big business are less likely to figure out a tag is missing than if it is off an individuals car.
Find work that pays cash weekly like day laborers or if forced into a check, find a check cashing business that will cash your check for a small fee. Moving companies like on EMove.com are great places to start. Prepaid debit cards are also an option.
Giving up luxuries is hard
Live the simple life and live with in your means. I have met guys who pick up trash at fast food establishment in exchange for a free meal. Others who have their social security disability checks direct deposited to a debt card, then sleep out of a 5×10 storage unit. Pay a little extra for the twenty-four hour access. There are locations that are on the monthly cash payment plan.
Get a YMCA or local Gym membership for access to showers. One homeless woman I met uses the showers of the gym at a local community college during school hours. Use the WiFi at most community college libraries They are also considered as public libraries. Stay clean and be polite so you do not stick out.
I recommend ditching the big brand company cell phone for a prepaid unregistered cell phone. It can be refilled by prepaid refill cards and can still be monitored but not traced back to you by name. Turn it off and take out the battery when not in use. Having it just off will still ping the nearest cell tower.
Avoid the internet and if you have to use it, change locations of use on a regular basis to avoid being a creature of habit and routine. Pick up after yourself and dispose of your trash at a different location. I like to dump old coffee or cat litter on my paperwork.
Don’t expect life under the radar to be fun or pleasant because it won’t. It requires great sacrifices, moving constantly living a modest no frills lifestyle. Try remembering what cover store your using with whom, leaving your friends and relatives. The average person barely lasts 6 months.
Not everyone can pull it off
I know of only three current examples of people who almost pulled it off. Each one was off the radar for 16 plus years yet they to eventually got caught. Whitey Bulgar 16 years on the run, Christopher Knight the North pond hermit 27 years, Frederick Barrett 32 years on the run.
Whitey Bulgar as an organized crime figure had the means, prepared ahead of time and lived a low profile life in the big city paying cash for everything. There is a chance that law enforcement may not have been looking as hard for him because he had also been their informant.
Christopher Knight just walked away from society at age 20 lived in the back woods of Maine and survived by breaking into unoccupied cabins which also lead to his down fall. He truly lived off the grid.
Frederick Barrett escaped prison in Florida and lived on the run for 32 years eventually being captured living in a cabin by Montrose Colorado. Law Enforcement never said how they located him but added he was getting help from family.
All three cases are worthy of further research if you are interested in living under the radar. For me it is fascinating reading and more interesting than the prime time drama on television.
As always, be safe and healthy my friends. Be sure to follow my blog for more informational articles.
Ralph Tcat
About Author
