Looking at campervans I need to consider safety elements as well.

[gina@fosstodon.org]

Looking at campervans I need to consider safety elements as well. Do I go with a bigger one that has more comfort, but is more visible and annoying to park? Or do I go with a smaller Citroën Jumper that is more convenient for stealth camping? What sensors am I getting? How can I make the setup as secure and invisible as possible?

I've got years of experience travelling alone as a woman, so I know I will get harassed by men at some point. It's a when, not an if.

[rachel@norfolk.social]

@Gina @neil Id be asking myself if I can get from where I sleep to where I drive without needing to go outside, where the weirdos are.
Stealth? Not plastering it with loads of “adventure” stickers helps. Throw a red top newspaper on the dash.

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@rachel @neil I was thinking of putting gardening centre stickers on there, making it look like a work van (not a construction work van though, tools are def worth breaking in for).

[rachel@norfolk.social]

@Gina @neil does your local boxing club have stickers? 😆

Much as I joke, I’ve found that, contrary to popular opinion, the world is actually full of lovely people. Ones who look out for each other. Problems are the exception, not the rule.

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@rachel @neil oh that's certainly true, for every unpleasant experience with men I've had at least 6 neutral and 2 pleasant ones. I've hitch hiked from Amsterdam to Finland, couch surfed through Morocco, and solo travelled a bunch of places, and that all went fine. But always by taking precautions. The few encounters with exceptions, that coincidentally are always -always- *always* men, do have an impact on every trip.

[neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk]

@Gina @rachel

This kind of (depressing, but realistic) discussion is exactly why I get irked when I see "#NotAllMen"-type narratives.

Sure, it may not be all men, and there are, undoubtedly, lovely, kind, wonderful men out there, but how does one tell which is which without putting oneself at risk, especially when one just wants to be left alone.

I'm sorry :(

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@neil @rachel thank you, just understanding the "not all men, but somehow always a man" nuance is already very helpful. 🫶

[futureisfoss@fosstodon.org]

@Gina

I'm tagging @tio and @bigworldsmallsasha, you might wanna check their Peertube channel at @ridewithless and the website here - https://ridewithless.com/

Sasha had been traveling around the world for more than a decade by now, mostly alone by herself. She even wrote a book about it explaining how she did it without much money - https://www.bigworldsmallsasha.com/book/

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@futureisfoss @tio @bigworldsmallsasha @ridewithless thank you!!

[fr3d@fosstodon.org]

@Gina if you stick with the stealthier and slimmer van up to 6m length you have considerable more options to park in nice neighborhoods and not only in places outside of inner cities. Also it's easier to navigate and park in general, e.g. shopping mall parking lots, narrow streets, etc. Over 6m might also cost more on ferries and for freeway tolls.
Small hack for safety: stickers that indicate you have a dog.

[graves501@fosstodon.org]

@Gina @neil @rachel

I haven't read all the replies in this thread yet since it's an active discussion/thread, but yeah, it's heartbreaking for me to see how dangerous/unsafe it is to be out alone as a woman.

The "meet bear vs. meet man in the wild" (or was it a wolf?) topic was already eye-opening, but should be talked about more and more thoroughly...

It's always some a-hole that spoils the fun :( Yes, in this case it's almost guaranteed to be a man.