[y66]

Has anybody used one fine stay?

[onoway]

I've not used that site but I have done house sitting and it worked very well, have made some very good friends and got to know some places I'd never otherwise have spent any time. It's also great in that you always have a pool of local people you can talk to about the area as the owners always introduce you to family or friends as resources while they are away.

Not all are wonderful, I was dumb enough to agree to house sit while the owners were away but had a guy continuing to do some renovation and that was a disaster. It had been agreed that I wasn't responsible for anything he did or didn't do but the guy was a total freak AND he was cheating them. Other than that, though, it's been great, and even there the owners were terrific.

One of the people I house sat for spent several months in travelling in Australia couch surfing with a friend and she absolutely loved that as well, and is planning to do a whole lot more of that when her (old) dog dies and she is freer to travel.

So there's house swapping, house sitting and couch surfing, it all depends on how adventurous you are.

[y66]

Thanks for comments. I've had good luck with Craigslist, most recently snagging a room in a gorgeous old Brownstone in Brooklyn a block from Prospect Park owned by a very likable guy who collects comic books and comic book art and old motorcycles. Have thought about house swapping but never pursued it. May give that a try some day.