Other accommodation issues
Sewerage
Whatever you choose you will need to deal with sewerage. Don’t dilute excrement it just increases the problem. Grey water and urine can be discreetly poured somewhere. Sewerage in a port potty can be treated with portable toilet fluid that stops it smelling and liquefies it. Prize up a manhole in a nice quiet place and poor it away. I don’t do this myself but several people have told me that they do it in a bag and throw it in their stove when it is burning well.
Water
Water can be problematic depending on your choice of home. British waterways have taps sometimes protected by a key that you can buy online. If you are living in a boat on river water paradoxically could be more of a problem. If you are in a motorhome it is best to buy your fuel at a station with an external tap. Allotments and municipal dumps also have water. As a last resort you can get water from a disabled toilet with the use of a radar key which you can buy online. It’s a last resort because there are only ever taps in the sinks, these are really tiny and the tap has a spray nozzle. You can just about fill a jug and keep pouring this into a larger vessel. The absolute last resort is to buy it for 17 pence for a 2 litre bottle at a supermarket. 5 Litre bottles are generally about £1.10 but the empties are more useful.
If you don’t mind being on the wrong side of the law now and then you can buy a stand pipe online . They are legal to own , legal to use but connecting them up is against the law if you haven’t got a licence. If the police come by say that it was there already and you just started using it . Mr plod will know that you are lying but all he can do is seize the stand pipe.
Left : A stand pipe cover . Right : with the cover removed. The round hole is where you screw the stand pipe, and the square spigot in the centre of the blue triangle is how you turn the water on.
I use about 10 litres a day. Five for a sponge wash standing in the shower area and the rest for drinks and washing up.
Security
Your security will depend on your choice of accommodation. If you are converting your own space a concealed panel is a good idea. Also put a light switch in a concealed place so if burglar bill hasn’t brought a torch he will be out of luck. An item that looks valuable is good to have in a place where it cannot be seen from outside is a good too. A broken laptop should do the job.
Post
If you are effectively off grid you will probably need a postal address. A friend's house can be cheapest, but I am in the habit of ignoring parking tickets ETC. Eventually bailiffs turn up and that can test a friendship.
PO boxes cost £288.40 per annum and they generally close at 6PM. The staff are unhelpful in that they won’t sign for items that haven’t been through the postal system. So couriers won’t leave anything.
Private post boxes cost £204 per annum but mine allows two people to share for the same price. They are happy to sign for items and forward post at a cost. Parcels have to be picked up when they are open but post can be picked up out of hours from the pigeon boxes. Your address will be something like "suite 123, "made up name" chambers, whatever street, any town". Much more discrete. These is the company I have used.
www.mbe.co.uk
It is becoming easier to end up in the hands of the police. I think this is due to the fact that they just whistle up a van to take you to the station rather than the old fashioned way, which was to take you themselves. They also like to get new people's DNA in their database. Activities like hanging around allotments after dark, prizing up manhole cover and pouring sewerage down, scrumping apples from common land can attract police attention. In some ways getting arrested gets the whole business out of the way. Once in police custody they may want to bail you. This mean they haven’t enough evidence to charge you and are going let you go whilst they to do some research. They need to bail you to an address so being of "no fixed abode" can be a problem. A private PO Box gets round this nicely. Remember to change your driving licence to this address too.
Storage
Storage companies now have one cubic meter storage units in their corridors. I think they are primarily intended for students who want to leave their stuff over the summer. They are about £5.00 + VAT a week. Your home could be stolen, catch fire or sink. So you need some where for you important things. Most storage companies also offer a postal address for £5.00 +VAT a week. They always seem to be more expensive than private mailbox companies and worse in every other respect too. It may come down to which is nearer to you.