Couchsurfing: A Dating App?

Couchsurfing: A Dating App?
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I will answer this question right away: NO.

Couchsurfing is not a dating app. Is an app to meet like-minded travelers that are willing to help you to find your way around a new city or culture. They become ambassadors of that certain place you're visiting, whether you are surfing their couch or not. As everything in life, Couchsurfing definitely has a catch.

Couchsurfing is all about getting connected and getting closer to that new culture you are experiencing. In case you are a host, is about blending in with the culture to give your guest the best experience. Couchsurfing is about breaking distances and make people feel comfortable with that process. Wouldn't make sense that getting too close with someone might result into developing deeper feelings?

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I have experienced Couchsurfing as a host, as a surfer and also as an useful tool to meet locals or visitors. I have to make this confession: Couchsurfing is the best dating app I have ever used. No, it is not a contradiction to what I said earlier. It is my true and I will explain this better.

When I use Couchsurfing, I am definitely not looking forward to date someone. I use it to find somebody that can make that certain place I am visiting even more amazing. I look for someone I can get along with, someone funny and who is definitely willing to show the best of that certain city. I am looking for somebody with whom I can share my traveling experience while drinking a beer or sipping a coffee. I will totally look for someone with whom I can talk for hours and never get bored. Isn't that what we --somehow-- look in our friends and/or significant others? We want someone with whom we can share our experiences, and even though Couchsurfing is not meant to be for dating, there are huge chances of meeting someone with whom you can actually match.

In my experience, Couchsurfing has been way more effective than other dating tools, like for example, the infamous Tinder. On Couchsurfing I have made connection with fellow travelers that go way beyond physical attraction. I can actually have a conversation on books or music with most of the people I have met on the road. Thanks to Couchsurfing I have spent nights eating ice cream while trying to be funny in a new language. I have ended up having dates in fast food restaurants drive-thru while talking about life goals. I am not embarrassed to admit that a few of these experiences have ended up being travel flings. The ones that didn't ended up that way, became friendships that will last forever.

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I am not trying to say that now you should go on Couchsurfing and start hitting up on people. Neither I am saying that girls should tolerate harassment or situations that we definitely do not feel comfortable with. All that I am talking about is chemistry. Is about finding someone who shares your craziness and adventure spirit. Someone who enjoys and treasures the time you both spend together. I am talking about someone with whom you can definitely establish some sort of bond. I wouldn't mind at all telling my granddaughters someday that I met their grandfather on the road thanks to an amazing app like Couchsurfing.

If you have any doubts about meeting someone on Couchsurfing I will totally encourage you to do it. No, don't get there thinking you are having a date. Think about it as a meeting with a local or visitor with whom you can share many things. This meeting sometimes is enough for you to tell if you have a good chemistry with someone.

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