Hostel vs Couchsurfing

Unfortunately using sites like Uniplaces or Spotahome often don't let you pay the reasonable amount if you're not moving in on the 1st day of the month. Like honestly it's ridiculous. This semester starts at 28th of September and the enrollment period started a week prior to this. I was looking to book my room and I noticed if I will try to book it from the 22nd they will charge me the price of a whole month. Like what?! I even simulated a booking starting from the last day of September, and I kid you not, the site would still charge me 300 euros for one day. So in occasions like this you'll be better of living somewhere else for a short period of time. (Fortunately, I could contact the landlord and they agreed to let me move in on the day of my arrival and pay the 1/3 of the month, so that's one option too)

HOSTELS

PROS: You are guaranteed to get a place to stay even last minute. Couchsurfing could neverrrr. You don't have to wait till one of the one thousand hosts you messaged finally replies, you just press a button and there you go, you're reservation has been made. It's less stressful of a process. You also got the choice in your hands: where you want to stay, whether you want to stay in a room alone or not, etc. You don't even have to socialize if you don't want to (although staying in a hostel is partially about meeting other travelers, so I highly advise you to be open to it).

CONS: While there are really cheap hostel rooms out there, it still adds up and can turn your carefully calculated budget for the semester the wrong way around. Also, if you're anything like me than you're probably looking for the cheapest okay option which is often to live in a mixed bedroom. It might not always be like this, but my experience is that I often end up the only girl in the room, and while I'm mostly okay with it, there are girls who wouldn't prefer this situation.

COUCHSURFING

PROS: Well, first of all: it's free. If you want to save some money or you didn't receive your Erasmus scholarship money in time, it's optimal. Every couchsurfer would hate me for this statement, and I would very much understand them because Couchsurfing isn't just about sleeping somewhere for free. You got to meet to real locals, and this is the main beauty of this experience. Don't forget that this people are hosting you because of their true curiosity for other cultures and what they can bring. It is mostly about cultural exchange in theory, some hosts are likely to even be your tour guide and show you around the place you're staying at. Of course, this cannot be generalized. To be honest, most of my experiences are that the hosts offer you a place out of kindness (maybe even some food or drinks) and they let you do your things, so it can be suitable for introverts too. It is an amazing community and I admire the people for their ability to being open to let strangers in their house, or walk into a strangers house and trusting them.

CONS: You really need to pay attention to every detail. While trusting each other is essential in this case, a little skepticism goes a long way. You have to read the description carefully since it may have small details you might not be comfortable with. For example, some description may say "yeah, sure, you can stay, but I'll be walking around naked the whole time" or "I can only offer you the other side of my bed" and while you might be open to some things, but maybe not all the way there. There must be boundaries set. If you're comfortable with these then good for you, but I can see why most of the people wouldn't be.