couchsurfing/wwoof/ect ect

[Mouse]

couchsurfing.com

hospitalityclub.com

wwoof.org (we'ev already had posts about this but I figured it cant' hurt to include it)

http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/

or good ol' craigslist.com


what I'd like ta know

1. have you used these sites to find places to crash before?
2. if yes, how was the experience?
3. if yes, did you use it for international travel?
4. same as #2

i've heard good things about CS.com but I was hoping to hear some more first-hand stories.

Post edited by: Mouse, at: 2007/03/05 04:55

 

[Mady]

I have heard really good things about couchsurfing.com but I am sort of skeptical. I have a group on facebook where people can ask for places to stay, and thats been pretty effective so far.

 

[jamessheaj]

Mady Klepto wrote:

I have heard really good things about couchsurfing.com but I am sort of skeptical. I have a group on facebook where people can ask for places to stay, and thats been pretty effective so far.

whats the link?

 

[Crazycoon]

Fuck woofing!!! I was conntacting this honey farm once for a week every day, telling them about myself and why I wanted to werk there. When they finnally sprung the ultimate lame ass question..."do you have a woof number" I sayed no cause I copied the book (which apparently your not supposed to do) in the spirit of piracy. And asked them if they really beleive there should be a middle maan to it all (you have to pay the creators of the book 40$ in canada to woof) I never heard from them again. Fuck it Everything cost money in this fucked up modedrn time. Fuck the woof system!

 

[Mouse]

yeah the Woofing thing seemed cool till I saw the big dollar sign. and then I thought... hmmm... MAYBE I'll consider it... maybe.

I mean, 40 bucks really isn't much but I don't feel Ishold have to pay money to volunteer my labor.

it's unpatriotic to not PAY for things. I mean, I live in America for fucks sake. if you're not paying to live - you're not living!

"weeds" are flowers that are free.

 

[Oksu]

I've been looking into wwoof recently, and I guess for each country it's a different price. A lot of Latin American countries are really reasonable, Costa Rica is 15 bucks I believe, and Mexico is equally cheap.
And you can get joint memberships, which is cheaper than a single country.
But of course, it's still paying. I don't know, I'd like to talk to someone who has actually experienced it before I sign up for it.

 

[Jamie]

couchsurfing.com is awesome. i have had nothing but positive experiences with it and met a bunch of really cool people.

 

[Crazycoon]

Paying to woof is FUCKING RIDICULOUS!!!! They should pay YOU!!!, actually at some places they do if you werk there long enough... Pay to work for osmeone... I hate that shit!
-Rageing lurch-

 

[wokofshame]

globalfreeloaders.com


im staying with a dude in miami right now who i found from the site

its unreliable and not the most user-friendly of sites
but by far the easiest to sign up for

 

[Mady]

I just used couchsurfing, and had a wonderful experience. The kids were awesome, made us free vegan food, and stayed up[ and told ghost stories and sang with us. I am sure this isnt a constant with the site, but so far im 1/1 ^^

 

[bakerdoo]

I haven't used globalfreeloaders.com but i am really surprised at the number of users and number of places people have posted. i am going to try it soon.

Just doing a few searches for random cities was surprising
Lima, Peru : 42
Prague, Czec : 58
Minneapolis, MN : 144

 

[Mouse]

fer real. a while ago I searched my local bum-fuck area just cuz I wanted to see how many people, IF ANY, were on there.. and 5 came up. that's a LOT for this type of area.

 

[NASTY]

for the past three months i have been staying in a friend of mine's dorm with another one of my friends. it was my friend, me, and 4 chicks... it all ended last night after one of the roommates mother's complained about us. i gained some new friends from the experience... and i found out that some people just hate freeloaders or bums of any sort.... i saw human greed first hand and how people are sometimes not willing to share what they have to someone who has nothing but the clothes and pack on their back... i might have to write abook about it even though i just sat around all day and smoked cigarettes...

 

[shasellette]

a lot of people hate freeloaders and bums
some are jealous some are afraid

 

[Mouse]

some get tired of being sucked dry as well. some peopel overstay their welcome, take too much, or sometimes just straight up EXPECT shit they have no real right to. that's when I draw the line.


I know a lot of people who think freeloaders are pure scum. i mean, I like to be self-sufficient and all that good shit but sometimes that feels very isolating.


the world counteracts those bum-haters with lots of cool people who know it's good to share.

 

[NASTY]

when i was living at this place we always asked if we could have food, we sometimes even bought groceries and said they were all of our housemates. i don't think we ever really asked for too much except a place to stay.

but the world is really pitted against people who are trying to live outside the system; one form or another. i guess the reason for this is because the world IS the system. though that lifestyle isn't for everyone, a person living that lifestyle is that way for some reason or another. asking them to change their way of life is disrespectul in my mind. there just comes a time when one needs to realize it's time to move on.

most bums, hobos, tramps, freeloaders---whatever you wanna call 'em---are the nicest people out there, though there are some bad apples in the bunch that ruin it for everyone (it's been said soooooo many times before). but must hobos i've met are willing to share whatever they have with you or, if yer a fellow hob, give you helpful information. which is what any good hob should do.

 

[rideitlikeyoustoleit]

I tried to use CouchSurfing last summer when I was in weird small towns (which was most of the time) and it never worked out. A lot of the website seems like someone heard about it and made a profile and then never checked it again.

 

[joe_]

couchsurfing.com

hospitalityclub.com

wwoof.org (we'ev already had posts about this but I figured it cant' hurt to include it)

http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/

or good ol' craigslist.com


what I'd like ta know

1. have you used these sites to find places to crash before?
2. if yes, how was the experience?
3. if yes, did you use it for international travel?
4. same as #2

i've heard good things about CS.com but I was hoping to hear some more first-hand stories.

Post edited by: Mouse, at: 2007/03/05 04:55

1. yes... I have stayed at over 20, hosted over 40, met 100s...
2. always good..
3. international and national
4. great...

I am HC/CS ambassador...
anything you need to know let me know...

yes 1st post..

hi

I've done WWOOF before also (its 25, I do disagree with the money, but you can always raise some)... and on global free loaders...

I am new to squatting though... would eventually like to live property free totally and do intermittent volunteering, I have a small eco house in GA I plan on eventually settling down in when I can't get around...

 

[lilylove]

hey, i've done a fair bit of couch surfing too, and it's always worked out perfectly. Great way to meet awesome ppl, and locals too who are more than happy to show you around the area. Which is great if its not your home country. You generally get the sweetest deals too... ive stayed in everthing from a fully decked out granny flat overlooking mountains and ocean, to a coach/bus bunk bed that the guy built and lived in. Seems like most of the ppl on there are pretty like minded, cool folk, and except for a few times, ive always found somewhere to stay in the town i wanted to stay in. This is all in aus and nz though. Hoping to use it when i get to europe in july.
The only downside that i found was that you had to be a little bit organised. I never plan where im gonna end up, just kind of happen there, and then realise i need somewhere to sleep that night or the next day or whatever. Which does work sometimes too, but mostly you need to email at least 4(ish) days in advance.

there is also http://www.hospitalityclub.org/ which i dont think is as good, but worth a look.

 

[macks]

I've always had good experiences with couchsurfing - staying and hosting. Some cool people are hooked into it.

I've heard mixed reviews of wwof, a good friend of mine had a great experience in France and a few nights ago told me about one farm in Palm Springs that a guy owns and has really nice workers' quarters (and a pool!?!?). You also get 5$/hr as well as room and board there. I've also heard of some crappy experiences. People have told me to just get in contact with the farm you want to go to and make sure that's where you want to stay/work. I'd like to do it in the future, sounds like good fun.