squats/communes?

[darkvelveteyes]

does anyone know of any squatter houses or farms serving as socialist communes in europe? i found one house in a-dam, not a communal living situation though and one in rome, but that seemed more communistic and just ready to be bombarded with police, and i know of a few in germany, one in koeln in particular which i wouldn't go to since my ex is there. but i was curious for my next travels to maybe go live and work in a socialist community, meanial work, but a place to live and good people to chill and new life to experience? so anyone know of any... preferably western europe. i.e netherlands, denmark, spain.

much thanxs. S.

[bellelass]

I knew a couple of squatters in london, but its really dodgy.. I lived in a hostel and that was very.. well.. communal. I dunno if you're looking at a few nights hanging out or several months, but if you get a house with a bunch of like-minded people that works out fabulously... you all pay for food and take turns cooking, friends and friends of friends stay at your house when they're in town.. Its really lovely..
Or maybe you're just looking for somewhere to get all strung out... There's some great crackhouses down in east end in London.. Pretty cheap to stay there, too.

[darkvelveteyes]

thanks belle,
yeah i thought about london, just the expense thing... since the pound is the "queen" of all currency. and i had heard of some nice crackhouses in the dodgy areas and round tottenham area maybe i should check that out though its been awhile i've been that strung out
guess we'll see.
hey would you mind sharing which hostel you lived in? did you work there as well... i wouldn't mind that much whatsoever.
muchos gracias... S.

[bellelass]

dude, london is only as expensive as you make it. I posted here http://travelpunk.com/boards/index.php?act...t=ST&f=8&t=5013 about food... Museums and lots of other cool shit to do there is free. For instance, you can take walking tours with this one company ( will look up the name) and you pay at the end if you "enjoyed the experience". I knew a few people who took them for free.

I lived and worked at Hyde Park Inn on Inverness Terrace. Its pretty cheap as hostels go.. You have to be legal there, and its a proper job.
Its hard to tell from your post whether you're looking to go bumming around for months and months on end or just schlep through in a month over the summer like most people..

edit- the buses are free if you dont pay, but its best to learn from a pro. the tube is the next step up, and requires more skill and doesnt always work. but worth a try.

[darkvelveteyes]

no i plan on leaving the states for a real good amount of time and try to find work as i travel. i don't really care for summer travels, too many tourists everywhere. luckily i recently was able to find my grandfathers birth certificate from italy so i can get EU citizenship, but don't know how long that process can take. And i've seen i can get working visa's pretty easily for a few months. But i'd rather not work too proper a job. I'm more into just making enough money to cook some mails, have a bed or a place on a floor and too get involved in different political actions/living situations while just being surrounded by a culture non american. i have a friend who lives in liverpool i'll probably crash with for awhile, but truthfully i'm not looking to live for a good while in england... as i'd like to immerse myself in a country of another language and i do have connections in rome and southern italy for work after england (if i head there, i perfer the sun of the mediterranian.) but again thanks for your knowledge... its good to know about the museums since thats my profession when i choose proper work. oh and the buses thing, i got that down pat already... only caught once but that ticket was torn up.
so grazie.

[xanthuos]

i would like to know more about this "busses are free if you don't pay" idea
care to offering some training bellelass?

[TimmyJames1976]

as far as the tours go, i accidently found myself getting stuck in a tour mob now and then, without paying of course, and if they were in english i may have just kept up with them.

[bellelass]

i would like to know more about this "busses are free if you don't pay" idea

Well, it works really well if you get on with a huge crowd of people. Also, if you find or lift or buy a travelcard or a bus pass you can usually just get away with flashing it briefly and just keep going.. There's a certain attitude to use, its hard to explain. Just act completely sure of yourself, remember that an honest person has nothing to fear. You can almost always ride the buses free that way, but if you're a chick beware the female bus drivers. I had one come upstairs and tell me off and refuse to move the bus til I got off.. But that was once.
The tube is a little trickier, and while you can almost always get away with the bus thing, tube is touch and go. It works well if its late and you are with friends, just push in after them.. Works if you're both slim, and works even better if you are "drunk" and being supported. Also helps if the tube station is kind of full of drunk people anyway and if the attendents are just sort of apathetically staring off into space. With that method you're the straight man every now and then, just to even things up with your mates.. But it feels good. If you really want to become a pro at bilking the evil system called London, just make good friends with some Spanish guys.. They'll teach you everything. its amazing. I would not condone stealing from shops though.. Thats where I drew the line.

[simply_angelic]

Originally posted by darkvelveteyes@Jun 8 2005, 02:47 AM
luckily i recently was able to find my grandfathers birth certificate from italy so i can get EU citizenship,

wait.....you can get citizenship with your GRANDPARENT"S certificates?! I thought it was just your parents....damn I've been living a lie! What does this process entail?

[space virgin]

It depends on the country, I believe. Some may require you to have a parent's information, others it's your grandparent's. Which is how there is a small possibility that, if I go about it the right way, I *might* be able to get a Norwegian passport.

[Joker]

Originally posted by simply_angelic+Jun 9 2005, 05:41 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(simply_angelic @ Jun 9 2005, 05:41 PM)</div>

wait.....you can get citizenship with your GRANDPARENT"S certificates?! I thought it was just your parents....damn I've been living a lie! What does this process entail? [/b]

Some countries allow matriculation of American-born citizens to obtain citizenship provided they can document an ancestor's origin from that particular country.

For instance, I could get an Irish citizenship and hold dual American/Irish with full passport benefits within the EU, including freely working, etc and all the benefits thereof. My great-grandmother was born and baptized there, so as long as my father obtained his, I could get mine. (the trick is to convince him to do it, which ain't easy. His brother has already done all the leg work necessary documenting everythingand got his citizenship. When he and his ex snuck out of Bejing after their US passports were confiscated it came in handy!) There may be a waiting period required after Dad does it, but I'm willing to wait. It'll be nice to travel in Europe next summer under an EU member passport and if I am offered a job during my externship in Italy, even better. If its Italy you are after, so long as you can document your clear line to a maternal great-grandfather that never renounced citizenship, you can do it on your own. I'm also exploring that option.

Anyway, some countries offer it, some don't. Check into your ancestry and see if you can get it, but MAKE SURE YOU CAN DOCUMENT THEIR ENTRANCE TO THE STATES!!! Believe it or not, even though my great-grandfather came from Ireland, they couldn't find a shred of evidence to support his entrance until well after my great-grandmother's info was tracked down. Needless to say, don't go on a wild-goose chase.

Also, beware of countries that may require renouncement of your current citizenship in order to obtain theirs. For instance, the US requires that in the naturalization that you do it, but Ireland does not. (No knock against the US, but understand that even as much as you think the US may suck, etc. renouncing citizenship is a SERIOUS event!)

Do a Google search, you'd be surprised of the results!

[xanthuos]

OK, so here's the question.

On my biological father's side, I think I'm Scottish. However, I don't speak to my biological father any longer. I am pretty sure it could be documented that my either my grandfather (deceased) or great-grandfather on his side emigrated from Scotland. However, since I don't speak to him, there's not a way to "skip" him to me, is there? lol

Now, on the other hand, my grandmother's parents emigrated from Poland. My grandmother is still alive, as is my mother. Anyone know if there would be a way I could get Polish citizenship through that connection? My grandfather's parents are Slovak, but I don't know much about his side of the family (he's still living as well), so I don't know what can or cannot be documented.

I didn't think about it until this post, because I thought you had to be the first-generation child of an emigrant!

[darkvelveteyes]

like Joker said... there are certain countries that grant citicenship, eventually, if you have your grandparents birth certificate, some it has to be through your own parents. The countries i know for sure that do this are Ireland, The Netherlands and Italy. I'm pretty sure there are more (laws of return type of thing) poland can possibly have it, but not too sure. salute!