I was pretty much stranded, having lost my car, my job and my computer down on the Sun Coast of Florida some 13 years ago. It's extremely difficult to find work of
any kind in Florida, particularly if you're not a long time resident --- I was even turned down for a
dishwashing job because I was "overqualified"... Overqualified to wash a dish. That's pretty bad. When rent came due, I was out on the street. For nearly a year I actually
lived on the beaches of Siesta Key, and made my living the VERY old fashioned way --- I never begged, never stole anything, never did anything unlawful...I beachcombed.
I was amazed at the useful (and valuable) items I found at the beach every single day, simply by eyeballing the sands. No detector, no magnets, no scoops, no nothing except my eyesight --- which improved over the months to such a degree that I could spot a dime in the sand 50 feet away (no exaggeration).
During the summer it rains almost every day on the West Coast of Florida, usually at 2:30 pm (you can set your watch by it), and the violent little storms last for a good 20 or 30 minutes before blue sky returns. People run like hell, because there are a lot of lightning deaths in that state, leaving the beaches vacant for a period of time before and after the storm. That's when I would hit the beach, following the "tourist line"... I found everything, everything I needed to survive, partially buried in the sands and exposed by the rains: Clothing, shoes, hats, towels, sunglasses, jewelry, money, gold watches, you name it. I sold the jewelry and gold at pawn shops and flea markets to buy food. I was doing okay.
The beach even afforded me luxuries --- unopened packages of cigarettes, lottery tickets, and whole six-packs of beer that people buried and then forgot. After a couple of months, I was a beach "regular," and my neighbors were
other beach bums and local surfers. The beach gave me everything I needed, including eyesight like an eagle, and I have watched the ground carefully, wherever I go, ever since.
HOT TIP: I have found a LOT of great stuff in certain areas where people step out of their cars for a few seconds, then jump back in and drive away --- namely, the video rental store parking lots. People come whipping up to the curb, jump out and drop their videos in the return-chute, then jump back in their cars and leave in a matter of seconds. They are in a hurry. People in a hurry lose things. I have found Maui Jim sunglasses (worth about $300), silver bracelets, and even a one-ounce gold nugget pendant (yep, pure gold), along with greenback currency and lots and lots of coins.
