CouchSurfing – Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time

Here’s a site that lends serious new meaning to budget travel. If you’re like me, you prefer meeting people in a dark, seedy bar in nowhere, Romania to actually meeting someone via the internet. Come to think of it, that philosophy might need some revision given some of the memories of nights in dark, seedy bars that are suddenly coming flooding back to me. Well, just in time comes CouchSurfing.com.

There’s a million places to meet and exploit people on the internet, but few are as unabashed about it, let alone put a “we’re saving the world” spin on it. Here’s what they have to say for themselves:

After your first experience of either surfing or hosting, you’ll find out that what you get out of it is so much more. We help to create a better world by opening our homes, our hearts and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing changes not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!

CouchSurfing.com helps you make connections worldwide. You can use the network to meet people and then go and surf other members’ couches! When you surf a couch, you are a guest at someone’s house. They will provide you with some sort of accommodation, a penthouse apartment or maybe a back yard to pitch your tent in. Stays can be as short as a cup of coffee, a night or two, or even a few months or more. When you offer your couch, you have complete control of who visits. The possibilities are endless and completely up to you.