Making a Living

[jangles]

Are there any beaches in FL where I could make a meager living living out of my van and swinging a BH id? Maybe enough for batteries food and gas?
How is miami beach for hunting? 8)

 

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[TheSleeper]

Jangles, If you don`t mind a suggestion, you are living close to some of the best gold hunting areas in the USA. With the part time gigs you have allready, it would be very easy for you to do both. May i suggest you explore the gold hunting section and give that some thought.

 

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[GuerillaBill]

I met a man at the golden sands beach park on the treasure coast.

He saw my detector, and we struck up a conversation.

He told me he had decided to metal detect for a living, and he was living in his mini-van.

He had blacked out the windows, and slept in a sleeping bag.

He showered in public parks, and stealth camped in parking lots until he was run off.

His original plan was to detect the beaches from Miami to Vero, and find and sell enough treasures to cover gas, food, and extras.

It didn't work out that way though.

He started with a few hundred dollars for living expenses, and quickly ran out of money.

Even detecting 12 hours a day, he wasn't earning $20 a day - usually much less.

He told me he got a part time day job cleaning septic tanks in Ft. Lauderdale, and still slept in his mini-van most of the time so he could continue the dream of metal detecting.

He said he enjoyed the lifestyle, but as soon as he earned enough gas money he was going to Arizona and look for gold . . .

As someone who has spent time on the beach with a high end detector almost every day for the past year, I can't imagine anyone could make enough to do this full time - unless they were offshore and found an undiscovered wreck.

To me, it is an interesting hobby and a great way to get exercise.

But it doesn't pay enough to do it full time - assuming you like to eat and sleep with a roof over your head.

Bill

 

[47thelement]

just curious.... was one of his arms longer than the other?

 

[JamesE]

http://www.happyvagabonds.com/Jobs/Jobs for RV'ers.htm

Here's a link to jobs for RVers or travelers. Most want you to have an RV, some only need a couple hours a day and you get a free space and utilities.

jim

 

[DaChief]

I am in there with everyone else on this one. I have hunted day and night for several weeks and while I did find something most every day I hunted, I can't imagine living off of it.

The best I did on most days was one gold ring each day. Sounds great till you factor in that I hit the beach in the morning for water hunting all day and then hit the sand at night. Almost every find was from the water.

Some guys are in areas where there is more activity but I just can't imagine a beach hunter doing much for making a living.

Good Luck,

DaChief!

 

[lonewolfe]

Are there any beaches in FL where I could make a meager living living out of my van and swinging a BH id? Maybe enough for batteries food and gas?
How is miami beach for hunting? 8)

If your detector is good on batteries, your van gets close to 20+ mpg, and you maybe eat only 2 meals a day at MacDonalds, you could get by, .........................while you starve to death.

LMAO

 

[TimC]

Hey Lonewolf,

Seems everyone is trying to dissuade you from your daydreaming. What they don't realize is that you have your eyes on the ground while detecting. That means other than metal items are also gleaned from the ground.

I've been a rockhound alot longer than I've been MD'ing. In WI, where I grew up, the Lake Superior Agates can bring in about $30 for a good banded stone the size of a golf ball. In SD a Fairburn Agate the same size (golf ball) can sometimes bring $50. (While on one of my trips to the SD agate beds I saw one woman find a Fairburn a little smaller than a football ((generally the same shape too)) be estimated to have a market value of approx. $500.) I go to northern MO regularly to bring back a hundred pounds of geodes per weekend. Some of those single geodes I sold for $30 dollars each.

Going further, tumble polishing or even hand shaping semiprecious stones can produce an income. Like the other comments, it's all the amount of work you put into your endeavor.

I guess that's my two cents worth, or maybe by the time you read this, one cent worth.



TimC

 

[JamesE]

Meteors pay pretty well too.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Seems everyone is trying to dissuade you from your daydreaming. TimC

No one trying to dissuade him from his dream, he asked a question and was given honest answers.

If someone asked if they could move to Florida and make a living on the lottery, the answer would be the same, but yes there are a couple who could do it, most would starve.

 

[TimC]

Jangles,

Sorry. Earlier I addressed you as Lonewolf. Regardless, the message is the same.

JamesE, right on. I always keep my strong magnet in my Jeep. The sparsly vegetated desert areas are your best bet for meteorites. I hope to try the salt flats soon. My brother (TerryC) and I have several micrometeorites. (They are everywhere!) Ask me and I'll tell you how to find your own.

TimC

 

[freightdawg747]

Are there any beaches in FL where I could make a meager living living out of my van and swinging a BH id? Maybe enough for batteries food and gas?
How is miami beach for hunting? 8)

If your detector is good on batteries, your van gets close to 20+ mpg, and you maybe eat only 2 meals a day at MacDonalds, you could get by, .........................while you starve to death.

Sounds like the airline industry.

 

[steve from ohio]

Are there any beaches in FL where I could make a meager living living out of my van and swinging a BH id? Maybe enough for batteries food and gas?
How is miami beach for hunting? 8)

One way is to offer your services to home owners and realtors who need to find property stakes. I do that at retirement communities and charge $20.00 an hour to find them. I get quite a few requests because my reputation of being able to find them in about an hour. I usually do about 5 a week sometimes more. Retirement communities have a high turnover rate because the owners are usually older. When they pass, the places go up for sale and the property stakes must be found.

I also offer the use of my other detectors to home owners who's homes I know are old if they would allow me to also detect with them. My rule is that I keep what I find and they keep what they find. They usually love the thought of finding something in their yard that is worth something so they almost always say yes.

I also do parks and school yards. I find about $30 to $60 a week in clads. Sometimes on land I find a gold ring or two. I also search the beaches in the water. I sometimes go a few weeks with finding little and then all of a sudden I hit quite a few gold and or diamond rings.

Can you make a living metal detecting? Yes. But it is not real easy. I average about $200 a month detecting but that is only part time. I do it because I want to and not that I have to. When you have to, it becomes a job.

 

[deepsix47]

Are there any beaches in FL where I could make a meager living living out of my van and swinging a BH id? Maybe enough for batteries food and gas?
How is miami beach for hunting? 8)

I've been away from TN for awhile. This is the first time I've come online and this is a good thread. For what it's worth, as asked, I would say no but with reservations.

Look outside the box as others have stated. Combine other things like Relics and Artifacts and you'll do better. I knew a guy that was diving the 1715 Fleet. Every day he worked, he brought back a 5 gallon bucket of Ballast Stones. He printed a little "Certificate of Authenticity" and sold them for $5/$10 each depending on size. The tourist and beach shops loved them.

I would also suggest that you consider the advice of others. You are in PRIME gold and Ghost Town country. Go for it!!!!

Deepsix

 

[Gator-Flea]

I have the same ideal for next year, But with a SS and RETIREMENT CHECK and a WORKING WIFE to back me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>>>>>>>>But do your homework
put your faith in the LORD , and follow your dreams



Gator-Flea

 

[Sand Scoop]

In Myrtle Beach you'd be dead by the weeks end from starvation!

 

[TheSleeper]

One way is to offer your services to home owners and realtors who need to find property stakes. I do that at retirement communities and charge $20.00 an hour to find them. I get quite a few requests because my reputation of being able to find them in about an hour. I usually do about 5 a week sometimes more. Retirement communities have a high turnover rate because the owners are usually older. When they pass, the places go up for sale and the property stakes must be found. /quote

Steve, i need to give u a word of warning here, if you charge for your service locating stakes, you are opening yourself up to being fined. Most surveyors that locate buried stakes also take there measurments and basically do a small survey to make sure the stake they find is the landowners and not the neighbors. By charging the owner in currency, you are taking the stance that the stake you found IS the owners. If there are any future problems, stake belongs to neighbors property, or the stake has been moved, it will fall back on YOU, and you will be the person fined for it, no matter that all you did was locate the stake.

I also have checked into doing this and the risk are greater then any small rewards u can gain.

 

[Marty-Graw]

there should only be 1 stake at property corners.....i worked for a land surveyor for several years...sometimes there are more than one when a surveyors measurements come out different than what is on the ground...in those cases they will add a stake where they designate the line to be (could be right or wrong) but they usually dont pull up the old corner....what you can do is have a paper printed up for property owner to sign stating that the stake you find in no way implies that it is the actual corner.....or something of that nature......most folks that want their corners found usually think they know where it is and just want it uncovered for one reason or another.....just make sure the home owner understands that you are not a surveyor and you will not guarantee that the stake you uncover will hold up in court if it comes to that.

 

[Narthoniel]

Ahh, the sleeper awakes. How ya doin Ken? Will you be at the hunt in 2 weeks?
Anthony

 

[ramfan]

Have to agree with sandscoop! You would starve to death here in Myrtle Beach. Found 3 quarters and a fishing weight today tho....

Darrell

 

[steve from ohio]

One way is to offer your services to home owners and realtors who need to find property stakes. I do that at retirement communities and charge $20.00 an hour to find them. I get quite a few requests because my reputation of being able to find them in about an hour. I usually do about 5 a week sometimes more. Retirement communities have a high turnover rate because the owners are usually older. When they pass, the places go up for sale and the property stakes must be found. /quote

Steve, i need to give u a word of warning here, if you charge for your service locating stakes, you are opening yourself up to being fined. Most surveyors that locate buried stakes also take there measurments and basically do a small survey to make sure the stake they find is the landowners and not the neighbors. By charging the owner in currency, you are taking the stance that the stake you found IS the owners. If there are any future problems, stake belongs to neighbors property, or the stake has been moved, it will fall back on YOU, and you will be the person fined for it, no matter that all you did was locate the stake.

I also have checked into doing this and the risk are greater then any small rewards u can gain.

The places I do that service for have stakes that have been put in by the developers of the community. These stakes are encased in concrete and are usually buried under overgrown grass.

I have been doing this since 1987 and I have never had any problem finding stakes. The communities I do this for even have their own detectors that they let the owners use. Problem is that the people do not know how to use a detector and the detectors are usually old or not working properly. So they call me to find them for the owners.

I always tell the people that what I find is a stake......and that it may or may not be the stake needed for legal purposes.
Most of the time, they have to have a surveyor come in anyways to satisfy the banks. All I do is allow people to know where their lines are and it gives them a general idea of property lines.

Is it worth it?
Some weeks I get no calls. Other weeks I may get 8 calls to find stakes. At 20 bucks, that's $160 bucks for just a few minutes of fun for me. I also ask that anything else I find I get to keep. I found some silver that way more than once.