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The Recession Road Trip
You get laid off from your job. You file for unemployment for the first time. You’re wondering what comes next.
It’s a situation millions of Americans are experiencing right now. But as far as we know, only one of them packed up the peanut butter and jelly and embarked on a three four-month road trip around the United States, with the goal of documenting how the recession is affecting people. Make that only two of them—since 26-year-old Austin Chu is doing it with his brother, Brian.
So far Austin and Brian have traveled through New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, and Alabama, to name just a few, interviewing people they meet along the way. Today, they’re in Washington, D.C.—outside the White House, they accidentally met my brother. And they’re posting regular updates to their website, The Recess Ends. We loved their tips for taking a 21st century road trip on the cheap, like:
Need a place to crash? We’ve been hanging out at local coffee shops and meeting strangers. So far, we’ve been pretty lucky. Two people have invited us back to their house for dinner and a couch.
Sleeping in your car? Look for dark corporate parking lots. It’s a winner.
But we’re even more into their videos, like their version of Fifty People, One Question, shot in Austin, Texas. So appropriate for these times.
What would you do if you lost everything?
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[...] The Recession Road Trip By Sara Clemence ⋅ 4:50 pm March 6, 2009 [...]
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