QUARTZSITE, Ariz.—At age 63, Tom, a retired clerical worker, wasn’t planning to live out his golden years in the back seat of an old beater car in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Living alone on a fixed income, Tom said he was just getting by on Social Security until the housing prices in Phoenix began to climb in 2021. He knew he couldn’t afford the higher amounts in monthly rent on his meager income. So he decided to go out on his own, and become a “boon-docker,” slang for someone who lives off-grid. In October, Tom packed all his belongings into his ancient white 1984 Lincoln sedan along with his two cats. Then, he drove 127 miles south, to Quartzsite, Arizona, a nationwide destination for recreational vehicles. Once he got there he staked out a small patch of dirt on long-term visitor land operated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and marked the …