Though he’s been off of television for years, fans are almost too familiar with Mohamed Jbali. He helped put 90 Day Fiance on the map.
Now, Mohamed is offering fans a major life update. He says that he and his dog are about to become homeless.
This week, Mohamed Jbali took to his once-private Instagram account to share a photo of himself and his dog.
Mohamed is from Tunisia and is decidedly bundled up for the winter, possibly a bit more than some of us would need to wear.
His caption refers to both himself and his dog.
“Me and this guy are about to become homeless soon!” he writes.
“Not that we have no place to stay,” Mohamed quickly clarifies.
Some people who experience homelessness do have places to stay, but that doesn’t make it less of a big deal.
He explains: “but we choose to go after big money.”
“So,” Mohamed reveals, “we gonna give up on everything and be on the road.”
Mohamed writes that he will be “driving an 18 wheeler and help America transport food and other important things to stay [great].”
It sounds like he is launching a career as a truck driver.
He does admit to having one major concern about this new career.
“So I’m not sure how this boy is gonna hold up waking up in a different state everyday!” Mohamed concludes.
So, to quickly address his concern about his dog.
Dogs are deeply territorial. They understand what belongs to them and their family. Moving can be confusing.
However, many dogs can take to travel with ease and enjoy exploring new places, even if those places are unfamiliar.
Dogs are individuals, just like humans. Hopefully, Mohamed’s dog will enjoy the new lifestyle that he is planning.
The biggest issue with this post is that experiencing homelessness is a very, very real thing.
What Mohamed describes is plans to be constantly moving for his job.
Airline attendants, truckers, and others may lead nomadic lifestyles while they work.
This is not at all the same thing as homelessness.
As we said, some forms of homelessness do involve having a place to sleep.
That means people sleeping in their cars, or in a shelter, or even on a friend’s couch. It can also mean trading sex for housing.
But it sounds like Mohamed will probably be staying at hotels and motels during his trucking journey.
And he hasn’t actually said if he won’t have a home to which to return. Sometimes, paying rent isn’t all that much more than storage fees.
A number of commenters took issue with Mohamed’s claim that he expects to chase after considerable sums.
Many people imagine trucking to be a low-wage source of employment.
Some quick research shows that this is not necessarily the case.
Truck drivers can earn on average between $50,000 and $70,000 a year. That averages out to more than $1,000 a week.
However, truck driving as a career may be on its last legs.
Autonomous vehicles are the inevitable, wonderful future of America’s roadways.
While the rest of us are enjoying unprecedented vehicular safety and convenience that empowers the disabled, there are a few drawbacks.
One drawback is that autonomous trucks are already being developed and tested to replace human drivers.
That doesn’t mean that Mohamed can’t make a nest egg of money for himself in the mean time.
Progress is unfortunately slow, so it may be years before Mohamed finds himself needing to find a new career.
In the mean time, he’ll have money, hopefully benefits, and will be able to add something new to his resume.
It’s a smart move. We just hope that his dog likes it.