I lived on a couch for 3 months. There. I said it. But before you judge me, know that I’m not alone. In fact, there is a common saying around these parts that goes, “The LA experience begins on a couch.” While I was struggling at the time (my bed, desk, and entire bedroom was actually just a long brown couch in the living room of my friend’s one-bedroom apartment), I like to think that I kept it classy.

(Image via Tinpot.com)

Here are just a few tips to couch surf with some elegance:

-Know when you’ve worn out your welcome. When couch-surfing you basically have a 3 month maximum at one place, assuming this is a very good friend. After that, people start asking questions: When will you be leaving? Where is the orange juice? Why is my tooth brush wearing out quicker than normal?

If you are traveling light (ie, one duffel bag or less), try to stay with several people for small bits of time, say week long “vacations.” A week is a great length of time because at that point you are still a guest and your “host” (I mean this in the hospitality sense, not the parasitic one) will feel obligated to treat you nicely (warm bath towels, dinners, etc). After a week, when they start asking you to vacuum or chip in for groceries, you know it’s time to leave.

-Be as invisible as possible. Your host doesn’t want to be reminded of the fact that there is some liberal arts major sleeping on the couch in his bachelor pad. If you have a lot of extra stuff, think about storing it in your car; many people forget that a car can double as a closet. Or when sleeping on a couch in a high-travel area, make sure to “make your couch” in the morning. This will let your host know that you are classy

-If you are there for longer than 2 weeks, offer to pay as much rent as you can afford. You are a couch-surfer, not a freeloader. If you can’t afford any rent, offer to do chores instead, such as washing dishes, walking the dogs, or giving relationship and/or career advice.

-If there is a party going on in the living room, and people are socializing on your “bed” when you want to sleep, you must wait it out or find another place to sleep. You must bend to your host’s social schedule, not vice versa.

-When sleeping, it’s best to remove the back cushions for extra space and to bring your own pillow. This will give you the added support you need for a good night’s sleep.

Hope this helps…

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Previous Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.