What's it like to live in Slab City?

Living in Slab City under normal circumstances requires self-sufficiency and adaptability. The small squatter community in Southern California's Sonoran Desert has no running water, no electricity and no plumbing, and most summer days are 100 degrees or hotter.

What do the people of Slab City live on?

Year-round, about 150 people call Slab City home. Sometimes they call it The Slabs instead. There are no public utilities, so residents typically live in RVs and rely on solar power and generators.

Does it cost to live in Slab City?

While Slab City has package delivery and there is no charge to live here, there is no running water, sewage, plumbing or electricity, unless you are creative and savvy enough to create your own, which some have done.

What can you not do in Slab City?

Can I just move to Slab City?

Slab City has no limit to how long someone can stay, so it makes a good place for those who don't want to constantly move. All that someone needs to do is set up camp and have enough food and water to survive. In recent years people have deliberately moved to Slab City to participate in its unique culture.

What is Life in Slab City REALLY Like?

How do Slab City residents get water?

Be self-reliant, and bring more water than you need. Slab City sits between two canals, and there's a hot spring between them. The canal on the north side has a fence around it, and it's a felony to take water from it.

Are there no laws in Slab City?

Called by some “the last free place” and by others “an enclave of anarchy,” Slab City is also the end of the road for many. Without official electricity, running water, sewers, or trash pickup, Slab City dwellers also live without law enforcement, taxation, or administration.

Do cops go to Slab City?

While it gets described as the "last free place in America," and a lawless land, that's not entirely accurate. The Imperial County Sheriff's Department and the Niland Fire Department provide services to Slab City, while they receive nothing in return such as taxes.

Can anybody live in Slab City?

The population of the Slabs, a.k.a. the “Last Free Place in America,” blooms in winter to more than 4,000 residents by some estimates, then boils down to 150 or so in the summer. Anyone can add themselves to this constellation of tents, trailers, RVs and shacks, but not everybody has what it takes to call it home.

Is there electricity in Slab City?

Built on an abandoned military base in the middle of California's Sonoran Desert, Slab City doesn't have many modern amenities. No power lines or pipes carry electricity or fresh water to the city. Residents have to sort out their own system for disposing of sewage or trash.

Does it rain in Slab City?

Temperature hovers around 6°c and at night it feels like -1°c. In November, Slab City gets 99.93mm of rain and approximately 8 rainy days in the month. Humidity is close to 80%.

Who owns the land at Slab City?

The state owns the land, and any revenues derived from it are earmarked for the California State Teachers Retirement System. Slab City nowadays is home to some 200 permanent residents and between 1,000 and 2,000 retirees seeking refuge from their native cold winter climes. Some of its residents are homeless.

Is Slab City toxic?

Keeley: Slab City is not dangerous if you keep to yourself and stay clean. It seems dangerous to drug users who intermingle and, especially in the heat, get on each other's nerves. In other places, citizens in this circumstance exchange words and ignore each other for the rest of their lives.

How do they make money in Slab City?

Residents with working vehicles can make money transporting water, goods, or people. Other Slabbers set up stands to sell merchandise like artwork and tie-dyed Slab City souvenir t-shirts to tourists and visitors.

Why is it free to live in Slab City?

People have lived on Slab City's 640 acres for decades. They are squatters on state-owned land. They don't pay rent, and so it's often referred to as “the last free place in America.”

What can you do in Slab City?

Is Salton Sea safe to swim in?

Salton Sea beach is located along the western shore of the Salton Sea. The sea is not safe for swimming, boating or fishing.

In what place in America are there no laws?

This bizarre, lawless land in the California desert is inhabited by drug addicts, eccentrics, army vets, hippies and just plain old weirdos. Slab City is referred to by its residents as "the last free place in America."

How hot does Slab City get?

But despite its wild appearance, Slab City has undergone a significant transformation in the last few years. Now its population swells to a few thousand people in the winter months and roughly 150 in the summer, when temperatures can soar up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and leave desert dwellers particularly vulnerable.

Why is Slab City Lawless?

Slab City, CA is the last lawless land in America. After Camp Dunlap, a World War II artillery base was abandoned, many veterans began squatting on the land. Today, drifters from all around the world congregate in Slab City to live off the land.

Are there other places like Slab City?

What cities are near Slab City?

What is the last free place in the US?

About 140 miles east of San Diego in the Imperial Valley desert, there's a spot known as the last free place in America. It's called Slab City. There's no mayor, no zoning laws, no sewer system. People have lived there for decades, squatting on state-owned land.