Having said that...at 28? Was getting married and house shopping, and planning for kids, and a full-time white collar professional for a Fortune 100 company. Can't imagine living in my car at that age, and if I had to, my first priority would be to stop. Some people just don't know when to grow up. You're right, it sounds like she's still playing house.
And when someone breaks in, because face it, no matter how noble or "fancy" the article makes it look, she's just living on the street...she'll decry the injustice of it all.
We have similar Histories. Bought my first house, a cute little 800 sq. ft. Cape Cod on a corner lot when I was 26. Unfortunately, it was in, ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan’ but I got out of there soon enough, LOL!
I cannot imagine what young people are going through these days. These prolonged childhoods are not benefiting anyone in the long run.