has anyone here ever gone hitch hiking?

[Potato]

Basically I feel like I need a timeout from the same people, family and work, so I really want to travel, but it gets too expensive the normal way, so I thought about hitch hiking.

I'd be going alone.

I could use some safety tips, I'm not completely defenceless, and I wouldn't get in the car with someone I wasn't comfortable with, but anything else?

I'll be planning this till the end of this year, and hopefully by June next year I should leave, hopefully staying out for the whole summer.

Will have a bank account with emergency money.

 

[Night]

I'd advise checking out https://www.couchsurfing.org

 

[Potato]

Found that site after some searching, it's exactly what I was looking for.

Doing a mini-trip this August but staying inside Portugal, I can get home in 10 hours from anywhere for like 20?, so I'll use that as a test to see if I'm prepared or not.

Staying by the beach, easy access to showers, camping places, etc, and something awesome would be temp work in exchange for food.

Worst case scenario I eat my emergency rice and beans.