"What should I know before running away?"

Here is the sobering reality, that you need to know before saying or asking anything else on this sub.

You are choosing to live a hard, poverty-stricken lifestyle, and you need to prepare yourself in every way you can before diving into it. You are choosing a somewhat-fugitive lifestyle, if you are a minor, and especially if you are under the age of 17.

Think about how you will make money in light of this, if you plan on doing that. Working (legally) can reveal where you are to authorities and you can be returned home. You may need to find under the table work. Now, if you're going to fly a sign/panhandle/busk, what will you do if authorities stop you and ask for ID? This could happen at some point. I can't recommend you attempting to escape - that could possibly put you in a much worse situation than you would already be in, but it's your call if you want to try and run from the police. Running away is not illegal, and you can't be charged for resisting arrest for trying to escape once the police have found you, but you could be considered a trouble juvenile and made a ward of the state. Meaning, put in foster care. What services and companies will not only deny you, but also report you as a runaway juvenile to the police? Make sure you keep your status as a minor as hidden as possible.

Regarding food - any homeless minor, even a runaway juvenile, in the United States can apply for an EBT card with full benefits, indefinitely. This will be your biggest advantage in this regard.

What will you do with yourself once you have somehow nestled yourself into a city, hidden away from authorities and living as an underaged person? What activities will you engage in to stay a healthy and well-rounded person, or what will you do for hobbies? (This is a question anyone choosing homelessness-joblessness/vagabonding should ask themself regardless of age.) Will you try to travel instead? Hitchhiking is a possibility, I suppose, but you had better hope you don't look too young, so this may be undoable if you are young enough to physically show that you're a minor.

Will you stay in contact with anyone at all on social media? Because every bit of data that you produce on them afterwards can possibly be used against you to track you down. Be very wary of your digital footprint in any planning of/during your runaway.

I hope you find this useful. If after all of this it is still in your best interests to run away, then make that decision for yourself. There are other, less dangerous options that you may have access to, such as the foster care system, emancipation, or a legal guardianship with an adult who is willing to take care of you.

(To be updated and made into better detail, will eventually make detailed posts about those other options)