I’m unsure of whether I should be impressed or mumbling “Oh, please!” to myself after reading Creative Loafing‘s “First Person” account of “Sid”, a homeless-by-choice Emory student.   However, there’s no debating it’s a compelling read.  Nice work CL!

Here’s the build up…

Editor’s note: First Person is a series of commentaries that gives voice to those not commonly heard in Atlanta media. In this instance, the subject’s real name is being withheld to protect him from a crackdown on his unorthodox living arrangement.

Sid is not the typical Emory student. He spends most of his time studying and hanging out with friends, but unlike his peers he goes home at the end of the day to a van he parks at the YMCA. Considering Emory’s tuition costs about $50,000 a year, a “kudzu leaguer” living out of his van and scavenging meals from dining hall leftovers might seem surprising, but Sid lives a Spartan lifestyle by choice. Sustainable homelessness is something to which he aspires, and he hopes to always live as simply as he does now.