Off-the-Grid Hideaway Goes Public: Is Slab City Your Next Tourist Destination?
As rent prices go up, the absurdity of finding a place to live follows. When living in a used FedEX truck for $600 is a ‘steal’, it is no wonder that the American dream of white picket fences is forsaken for a more hardscrabble, alternative existence. To get around price gauging, many people have sought out far flung places such as Slab City, an off-the-grid Mecca that is a brutal test of survival yet flips a D.I.Y middle finger to real estate price soars and utility bill slavery. A cross between the anarchy of Mad Max and the good vibes of a hippie commune, Slab City is a utopian experiment outside of San Diego in the Sonoran Desert; one of the most unforgiving climates in the U.S. with temperatures averaging in the triple digits.
Embracing the adage of ‘Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free’, Slab City welcomes a motley group of characters who find the squatter life more inviting than the harsh demands of the 9–5 grind in spite of the extreme environment. One of the more prominent faces at Slab City is Jack ‘Two Horses’, a laid-back defacto guide characterized by his Captain’s hat and dreadlocks. Arriving in January 2012, Jack discovered Slab City through a random Google search on ‘free living’ after falling on hard times. Pushed out by the high rent surge of San Francisco, Jack bought a used RV and hightailed it to Slab City. After ‘beaching’ his RV, Jack became quick friends with a few other ‘newbies’, who quickly bonded together as a way to cobble a life out of the minimalist landscape, going through a boot strap, crash course initiation in off the grid preparation. “When I was a kid, I always wanted to build a fort but never got a chance to. Now, I get to build the fort I’ve always wanted”, Jack jokes.
Intrigued by Slab City, countless media types and documentaries have tried to get an inside look at the counterculture hub that has emerged there, often portraying it as a hedonistic hotbed for crime and drugs. Jack explains, “We have a bit of a lawless reputation since we don’t have a law force”. Despite the lack of authority, many of the ‘Slabbers’ keep their doors unlocked and there is a thriving barter system and healthy ‘help thy neighbor’ ethos in place. The lawless mystique has also ironically contributed to a huge surge in tourism to Slab City. During its peak season of November through April, there is a spike in visitors, soaring from its core inhabitants of 50 to a swell of 2,000. “I see more and more visitors, especially foreign visitors”, says Jack. “We also get a lot of ‘looky-loo’ tourists here with their windows up who just hold their iPhones up. It’s like they’re on a safari”.
The flock of tourism at Slab City recently caught the attention of L.A.-based producer, Aundre Johnson. Johnson has started filming a Reality TV show called You Don’t Know Jack, which teases out the more comedic and authentic side of daily living in Slab City and ‘how it challenges the status quo’. “I wanted to look at Slab City through [Jack’s] eyes”, states Johnson. Many of the tourists perceive Slab City as either a community of like-minded outsiders or a transient flirtation with alternative living, popularized by the film, Into the Wild. Some of the residents, however, are wary of the recent attention and perceived media circus that has invaded their community. Jack explains, “Slab City is a good place to hide which is why some people might not want the media”. Some of the residents have intentionally left trash near their homes. “A lot of people don’t want the place to look too inviting because they don’t want it to be a crowded house.”
Although the residents’ feelings about the attention are a ‘mixed bag’, Jack has welcomed the rising interest in Slab City. He was among the first to open a hostel, causing a wave of others to follow in his footsteps. One of the Slabbers, to the chagrin of some, has posted his supped-up, lean-to on Air BnB. Some residents even sell discarded artillery shells as souvenirs from the area’s former bomb-testing days. Jack also credits Slab City’s active nightlife as part of the allure for tourists. “The weather is perfect in the Winter. There are all these social events throughout the area. A lot of tourists from L.A. come [here] for the music. By June, though, the people have left running”.
Some people perceive Slab City’s boom as another gentrification movement, a capitalization that once again commoditizes something obscure or free. Jack, however, sees it as a study in entrepreneurship, “The Slabbers who can think on their feet have created their own jobs” in Slab City, ranging from water companies to beer and tobacco vendors as well as a humble library. Jack predicts, “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are three more hostels. More and tourists are coming out. They’re very curious about how we’re living out here”.
