Begging In Europe
 

Now that the dollar has sunk to an all time low against the euro (it broke through $1.60 = €1.00) I need suggestions for effective ways to panhandle on the streets.

To date I have been approached by people who simply walked up and demanded money. Others were soliciting funds for Kosovo relief, while still others tried to pick my pocket.

Any suggestions for creative fund raising methods for poor Americans while in Europe?

I already have a paid for airline ticket, and I am reluctant not to use it because it is non refundable. That would be an even larger loss.

Perhaps we could make a deal with the Navajos and sell jewelry on the streets?? Wonder how many I can cram into my suitcase?

The other question is: Can I get enough clothes in my carry-on to do me until I come back if my checked luggage is full of trinkets??

I had a hardcore musician friend in Seattle who would offer to hurl himself to the ground for a dollar. I think this method would go over well in Europe - but you should practice a lot before you go.

I hope you are a female and can offer the world's oldest service job? ;)

FainaAgain wrote: "I hope you are a female and can offer the world's oldest service job"

No need to be sexist! There are opportunities for men also. [Or so I am told.]

Funny post.

G_Hopper, A neighborhood mongolian restaurant used to have people who would hurl themselves on the floor for a buck. I had to stop going there after I saw a man hurl himself so hard that he actually started bleeding after accidentally hitting his face against a chair! Not good when you have your kids with you.

Why beg? begin now to polish a street performance! Mime? metallic robot? oh I know! some kind of Bush mocking - that would go over big time! Good luck with your trip!

In London I have heard musicians playing in the tube stations.

In Paris one trip, a guy suddenly popped on the Metro with a saxophone and started playing. He saw easily that I was an American and started playing Yankee Doodle.

So much for trying to look like a Parisian!! No I did not have on a Red Sox hat or a Notre Dame sweater.

In Salzburg I heard one of the best street recitals ever. We were window shopping in the Old Town when I heard the unmistakable sound of La Gazza Ladra. I followed my ears to the source and found 3 young virtuosos playing away on a most unusual set of instruments: an accordion, a mandolin, and a cello-sized balalaika. They were flying through Rossini overtures like the notes were programmed into their genes. Perhaps so.

I must admit that the kid on the accordion had a muscular build to squeeze that thing as vigorously as he did, particularly when he got to the finale of William Tell.

Padraig, I apologize. Living in San Francisco, it was silly for me to be such a sexist. I will work on my attitude, restitude, uptitude, and whatever other tudes there are.

:-p

I could never beg for money in any part of the world. Begging is demeaning and you would be making yourself a public nusiance. I can see that you really haven't thought this through, so please accept some common sense advice.

The best way to beat the weak exchange on the dollar is shoplifting. Just go into a store carrying a big empty bag. As soon as the clerk looks away, take whatever you want and run like hell. You'll be surprised at how much money you will save when everything is free.

And if you get caught stealing, that's OK too. This will be a great opportunity to extend your European vacation. They will provide you a free place to stay and 3 squares a day. All you have to do in return is bust a few rocks. And upon your release, they might even pay for your deportation. So you'll get a free ticket home to boot.

Begging....puLEEZE!!!! [-X

I usually see women with tiny babies on the tube going up & down the cars begging. You have to have a doleful expression on your face but since you're male that would be something different & you might make more. Maybe they rent out babies for this activity?

Or borrow a couple of cute little kids to go into pubs & snatch wallets, cell phones, packages. You'd have to split the take though.

In S.Fran, on Fishermans Wharf, I saw a 'busker' sitting on a curb, with a bucket and a sign:
"Beer Money".

So maybe you could place yourself in strategic locations with a bucket and a sign:
"Biere money"
or
"Macarons money" ... ?

P_M =D> :))

"All you have to do in return is bust a few rocks "

Hey, P_M, that's not Spain. Here you do nothing...oh, well, you can study a degree if you wish to. But if you do the shoplifting in the right place, you can have a shared room with a seaview for some months ;)

No kidding?? Well that does it, I'm on my way to Spain!! :-) Can you recommend a few stores in coastal cities where I'm likely to get caught? /:)

I think doing Tarot readings for a fee would actually be the most ethical approach to increasing revenue. Just be sure you make up good stuff so you get a good tip. You won't be going for repeat customers anyway.

Well, the best one is Santander, just at the seaside surrounded by green pastures ! I think the Corte Ingles department store would do the trick quite well ! And if you don't get caught at least you will have a range of best quality products....:P

By the way, Carrybean..they rent out babies for that (seriously!).

Bring some brass rings with you to Europe.

Seaside locale, green pastures, shared accomodations?? brookwood, I think Kenderina is sending you to a meaningful, long lasting relationship with your future room-mate :)

Sorry, but my girlfriend usually comes with me to Europe, and other places too.

In other words I am spoken for, willingly. She's a very good driver.

How is the car hijacking business in Europe?

My friend who lived in Bulgaria says that thieves from farther east hijack luxury cars in a lead-lined van to defeat any GPS chips that may be lurking in the crevices of the vehicle.

"FainaAgain wrote: "I hope you are a female and can offer the world's oldest service job"

"No need to be sexist! There are opportunities for men also. [Or so I am told.]"

Yeah, you got that right. Plenty of men out their peddling their wares.

PS-You could sing instead of beg. You know, have the open guitar case so people can through their change in.LOL

I meant to say throw change, my hands are typing faster than my brain.

Brookwood, I don't think even the best Spanish prisons are offering mixed-sex double rooms...

Zerlina wrote: "I don't think even the best Spanish prisons are offering mixed-sex double rooms..."

Not everybody wants mixed-sex rooms.

Brookwood presumably would. He specifically mentions that he travels with his girlfriend.

Assumptions, assumptions. I see no evidence that brookwood is male.

>>In S.Fran, on Fishermans Wharf, I saw a 'busker' sitting on a curb, with a bucket and a sign:
"Beer Money". <<

That's nothing. I saw one (I think I have a photo somewhere) with a sign "NEED $ FOR WEED".

That would only work in Amsterdam, perhaps. Try it in England, and people will think you're offering to tidy up their garden.

What about "exotic dances" in the streets?

Don't worry, Brook, we'll find something suitable for you :)

In a typical german fashion a beggar is sitting in the underpass every day, playing on his accordeon. Right above him the sign

"This building is decicated to public transport, begging, loitering and making music strictly forbidden. The city of Munich" ;-)

What did you do with the money your mom gave you --- for music lessons?

I figure you can either play a musical instrument on the street or get a sheet and some face paint and pretend to be a statue.

Either way most of your money will come from American tourists, they're the only ones likely to be impressed.

Brookwood is a guy. See his earlier posts.

Brook:

Beating the Euro (in style):

First, you must go to Lima to study with the PPPA....the "peripatetic Peruvian pipers association".....they're everywhere in Europe...just saw them on Rua Augusta in the Baixa, Lisbon...have also seen them in Tours, Strasbourg,Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Athens and Florence. If you speak Spanish, they'll teach you to "pipe" or perhaps "bongo"...

I have a theory that these groups (probably 30-50 of them), all gather in Lima on a Sunday morning, and are transported to Paris by the Peruvian government, from where they disperse to dozens of oher cities, and by Monday evening, they're piping away. Two weeks later they fly home for a week's stay, and then go through the same cycle the next week. Unfortunately, their handlers take the bulk of the proceeds...now, that's the job you should go for...PPPA Handler!

stu t.

Aside: Begging is a business. Kantors report that beggar chiefs (managers) regularly come into to change coins to bills or home currency. Their take is impressive.
Years ago my grandmother kept a woodpile. Tramps begging meals or cash were offered employment! Few availed themselves of it I like the Florida beaches...there is a parade of 'can pickers' moving from one trash bin to the next. Best scheme: Trawling dumps for paper to make paper fire bricks!

Your existing airline ticket is a sunk cost and should not be a major consideration in your travel decision.

Living statues seem to be en vogue. No need to speak or do much, no language/artistic/musical skills required, just stand still. You'll need to carry a fancy costume, though, which may be a problem in a carry-on.

The pipers all come from some village in I believe Ecuador, not Peru, and they are out of fashion - now it is a random set of notes and rhythms on a concertina. No tune detectable. I haven't seen the pipers for a few years now.

Best buskers I saw were Mongolian throat singers in the Rijksmuseum tunnel, making full use of the acoustics! Even I threw them a few coins.

oh, just find someone to sue. It's the American way.

I say wink coyly at a possible sugar momma/daddy for a cheap time in Europe.

Brook - it's obvious you haven't been to Europe very often. Begging really is gauche and not acceptable in most refined circles. Besides, you have to be fluent in so many languages. Shoplifting is possibly an idea but is fraught with potential dangers - like having that unintended extended vacation, which may well go beyond your return, nonrefundable flight. Not good.

No, the best idea is to dress as a local and have your picture taken (for a fee of course) by the American tourists, especially the first-timers who haven't read a guide book and have never heard of Fodors. They won't confuse you with real "natives". In Munich, put on the Lederhosen and park yourself in front of the Hofrau Haus, do a little yoddling - and voila (oops, guess that would be in Paris) you're in business.

In London dress like Prince Philip (better yet, the Queen) and walk in, say, Regents Park or stroll down Brompton Rd or anywhere the tourists are - gotta be a winner. Americans would pay BIG bucks for those pictures. Maybe you could even "shop" at Harrods or Selfridges and get some free stuff - much like American pro sports figures [they always get free things like cars, trucks even they're the most likely to be able to afford these things in the first place].

The possibilities are endless - just don't get carried away in Rome near the Vatican.

You are invited to You Tube. Enter -Art of Begging Street Dance, and you will find your answer.

If that is not for you, you may wish to watch Mel Brooks' "Life Stinks" for additional ideas and caveats.