German Teenager Spends €10K/Year To Live In A Train

[RAMROD 117,008]

 

Most people can barely stomach their daily train journeys into work, let alone the idea of living on one - but this lad reckons kipping in a carriage is like staying at The Ritz.

Lasse Stolley, 17, is probably living out locomotive-enthusiast Francis Bourgeois' dream, as he literally - and legally - lives on various Deutsche Bahn trains.

The German teenager and self-proclaimed 'digital nomad' says that although privacy 'doesn't exist at all' in his unusual living quarters, he loves the freedom and flexibility it gives him.

Stolley boasted that he travels a approximately 600 miles a day throughout the country, seeing him hop on and hop off wherever his heart desires.

He told Business Insider: "If I feel like travelling to the sea, I take the train north in the morning.

"If I long for the hustle and bustle of the big city, then I look for a connection to Berlin or Munich, or I take the express train to the Alps for a hiking trip."

The youngster reckons he has travelled more than 300,000 miles on the tracks since leaving his parents home in in Fockbek, Schleswig-Holstein, when he was just 16-years-old. Which is a pretty mean feat, to be fair.

He explained that he flew the nest and landed in a train carriage after his career plans to train as an IT specialist were cancelled at the last-minute, while also being inspired by a YouTubedocumentary he had seen.
 

Stolley instead signed up Germany's rail discount scheme and bought himself a Bahncard 100, which is similar to the UK's Railcard, and has been enjoyed unlimited travel ever since.

He said: "My school days were behind me and the whole world was open to me. So in the summer of 2022, I decided to give in to my wanderlust, leave my parents’ house behind and embark on a huge adventure."

 

Stolley gets his work as a programmer done in the day, before chilling out in first class carriages, getting his head down on night trains and refuelling the following morning with grub from one of the Deutsche Bahn lounges.

He has to shower in public swimming pools and leisure centres, while leading a very minimalistic lifestyle as all of his possessions have to fit in his 36-litre backpack.

The teen stuffs four t-shirts, two pairs of pants, toiletries, a neck pillow and a travel blanket inside, but says the 'most important' belongings he has are his laptop and noise-cancelling headphones which help him tune out on the train.

 

Stolley continued: "Every night, I have to make sure that I catch the night train and sometimes I have to reschedule very quickly because it suddenly doesn’t arrive.

"I use the app to organise the next connection in the evening and sleep while I race along the tracks towards my destination. I don’t have a place to retreat to. My home is the train."

The lad, who shares his train diaries on his blog Life on the Train, says it costs him around £8,500 a year to live on the trains - and he hopes rail companies will eventually give him a job out of it.

https://www.ladbible.com/news/world-news/german-teenager-lives-on-trains-127901-20240304

https://www.businessinsider.de/leben/bahncard100-17-jaehriger-lebt-seit-jahr-2022-in-den-zuegen-der-bahn/

[NUTELLA 26,422]

5 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

The lad, who shares his train diaries on his blog Life on the Train, says it costs him around £8,500 a year to live on the trains - and he hopes rail companies will eventually give him a job out of it.

Network to get work 🚂

[PunkTheFunk 125,703]

8,500 euros a year is around 12,500 Canadian dollars, or a little over $1,000 per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a great deal.

[Spartacus 4,485]

A fantasy of mine would be to live on a train that travels around Switzerland.

[GagaSine 7,464]

35 minutes ago, PunkTheFunk said:

8,500 euros a year is around 12,500 Canadian dollars, or a little over $1,000 per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a great deal.

Because I've been living in the same apartment in a wealthy Canadian suburb since 2015 my 2 bedroom is only $1300 and I split that with my boyfriend.  but my job also pays terrible and I can't work full time lol. if i had a remote job like this kid I would totally do the same as him.

[Conservative Mom 655]

Does he happen to be homosexualle? 

[Killa 18,817]

A dream life, I’m actually surprised he doesn’t spend more, trains are awesome but expensive. 
but go get real sleep

[nexus 573]

I wonder if Germany has long sleeper trains with beds like the UK? Because I can’t imagine trying to sleep upright every night, for only a few hours at a time, on a regular train 

[HermioneT 1,998]

3 hours ago, nexus said:

I wonder if Germany has long sleeper trains with beds like the UK? Because I can’t imagine trying to sleep upright every night, for only a few hours at a time, on a regular train 

Yeah, however these trains are operated mostly by the Austrian or Italian rail or other companies, but run through Germany going south or to other countries. So I 'm not sure if he gets out before crossing the border because I don't think he can use his DB card 100 in other EU countries.

 

[Oriane 22,747]

I couldn't live with the stress of DB cancelling/changing routes/doing whatever all the time

[GAYHEMikey 8,237]

So he’s homeless when GDL is on strike again? 

[JustTea 6,945]

14 hours ago, PunkTheFunk said:

8,500 euros a year is around 12,500 Canadian dollars, or a little over $1,000 per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a great deal.

It says 8,500 pounds (10,000 euros) 

[PunkTheFunk 125,703]

7 hours ago, JustTea said:

It says 8,500 pounds (10,000 euros) 

8,500 pounds a year is around 15 million Canadian dollars, or a little over $1.25 million per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a bad deal.

[Economy 52,842]

On 3/6/2024 at 7:01 PM, PunkTheFunk said:

8,500 euros a year is around 12,500 Canadian dollars, or a little over $1,000 per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a great deal.

If u work remotely yeah. So much cheaper

[Economy 52,842]

21 hours ago, PunkTheFunk said:

8,500 pounds a year is around 15 million Canadian dollars, or a little over $1.25 million per month. Where I live, a 1 bedroom rental is $2,500 if you're lucky (that's without utilities, renter's insurance, etc.), so this is a bad deal.

Are u high?