There’s no better way to get a feel of the life of locals than staying with local hosts. But Couchsurfing strikes me as too dangerous as it’s usually individuals as hosts. A family seems safer to me. I liked my time in a host family as a teen. Now take this story with a grain of salt as most host families aren’t that nice (mine told me my people will steal their jobs lol). But, still, you could get lucky and end up with friends for life. Here’s a story from someone from my country I found on a web forum who stayed with a host family as an adult student:
“[This] reminds me of my study abroad from hell/heaven. At first it was hell. I was staying in a dorm like most. Almost no locals whatsoever. In uni they had their groups and foreign students were in a separate bubble. The 2 groups would rarely interract. Moved to a flatshare, even worse.
I missed my family like crazy so I signed up for a stay with a local family in a small town not far from my uni’s city. The oma, a somewhat traditional Mrs. Doubtfire-looking lady temporarily had to move in with them as her house was getting renovated. I can still smell her delicious sponge cakes, home cooked meals & tea. Her daughter was into yoga. She taught me to meditate, while her husband would play tennis with me. It was my first time living in a terraced house. I still can smell the fresh backyard grass after the rain.
Best was they took me with them on their camper van trip to France! The children (also students) would get back in the weekends & on holidays. They offered me to try weed. I hate the smell so I refused but we went partying together often.
Their oma would take me to church with her and teach me about their values and traditions. At times she’d scold me for dressing ‘too Balkan & standing out’ (Dutch directness + being in the bible belt). One of her catchphrases was ‘This is (not) the done thing here!’ but she’d congratulate me when trying my best to soak the culture. It was the best way to experience life as a local and get to really know the local culture. Yeah, sometimes I felt like bac kto being a kid and that might get annoying sometimes but it was better than living in the dorms or co-sharing a flat with equally miserable immigrants or students. I hate the alienation of that.
We’re basically an extended family with them now. If you wonder why I didn’t move there I found out I cope better in cold continential winters with snow than mild but humid oceanic ones.
My eyes are now wet from nostalgia. Maybe I’ll have to do the same as a working adult. Like pay rent to a family in exchange of a glimpse into their culture/language. Has anyone here tried a home stay?”
So where do I sign up for that? Frankly it sounds too good to be true, but who knows.