Who posted such a thing?
Danh Le, 22, who has been living with friends in Queens since graduating from the University of Rochester. He says he put that ad up “just to test the waters.” Right now he says he’s working as a risk assessor for an insurance company. “It just doesn’t seem like it’s my calling, though, know what I’m saying? I feel like I’m working just for money, and I don’t believe in that. I’d rather learn to be poor. All I want to do is smile at everybody and try to promote a good, friendly atmosphere.”
Did anyone respond?
“I got some interested replies.”
Were a lot of them pervs?
“Oh, no, hardly at all. Mostly people were just really inquisitive. One woman I went back and forth with, talking about my goal and kind of philosophy, and in the end, she was like, ‘It looks like you are on a quest for more than I can give you.’ She just wanted a housekeeper. One man was nice enough to lend his outhouse in his backyard, but I never went and checked it out.”
And, anyway, lately Le has been considering whether he might just live in the subway. “I could probably live on the subway system,” he says. “If I had a subway ticket monthly, I would basically be fine. Between that and the freegan lifestyle”—living on food that stores and restaurants throw out— “I could probably live here for $100 a month. There’s a lot of gourmet shops here that throw out great food. There’s lots of free resources in New York.”