hi all,
iv heard about this couch surfing concept and looked all over the website and from what iv heard it seems like a great idea. free, friendly, obligation free accomodation? sounds a little too good to be true. anyone heard much about it? good/bad stories or experiences?
bryden
I have a friend who has used it a few times and he says really good things about it, but as as a female I personally wouldn't want to use it if I was travelling alone. It does seem a pretty cool concept though.
I used to host people, never again though. I had three out of five bad experiences, the other two were pretty good. The last guy I hosted stayed for four days... at the end I was just like, 'dude when are you going to leave?' I don't know... they had feedback on their profile and other people said they were okay, but I just felt like I was being mooched off the whole time (which I guess is kind of the point)
[ Edit: Edited on Oct 2, 2008, at 1:50 AM by agordon ]
I recommend giving it a go. I've done it a few times and its really good when theres no hostels in the area (like Memphis) and when you run outta money. Also living with a local even if its 2-3 days will give a new found appreciation of the place your staying. Granted I've only ever been the couch surfer and never the couch owner (as I've never stayed in one place long enough) and I've only had good experiences.
but I just felt like I was being mooched off the whole time (which I guess is kind of the point
I think you need to be respectful of someones else's home and realise when enough is enough. Its common sense and sensibility. Don't eat all their food, drink all their booze etc. And you'll be fine. BTW I'm a 23 y/o chick travelling by herself and it's never been a problem.
Try it, don't like it at least you'll know.
ive surfed 4 times and hosted 5 times and i love it.
i surfed all the times alone as a female and had no problems at all...
you get a better idea of the ppls city and you can find out more about the culture, and make new friends n stuff...
if its not your thing and youre only doing it cos you dont wanna pay, and dont intend to host, then i would recommend not tryin it.... thats not really in the spirit of the organisation.
but remember that you might be suprised how cool it is and the ppl you meet might be awesome, the hospitality i recieved has been amazing....
My experience with couchsurfing has been awesome as well, although I haven't been able to participate much in past few months. The people I've hosted so far have been great and my hosts in different places were lovely, too.
Never surfed on my own though and it seems some people think of it as a dating site 
...
Anyway, I definitely like the concept of it and will probably continue to host/surf in the future as it is a nice way to meet the locals. And I mean there's a risk you are used as an alternative to a cheap hostel, but if you read through the references carefully you can usually avoid that and get a good first impression of the person you are dealing with.