Homestays can be a great place to stay– you get to live with a family, you get to eat the local cuisine, mingle with people who are often willing to help you embrace a new culture, and learn a foreign language. So, if you’re planning to travel for an extended period of time and looking for a great place to stay – why not pick a homestay over a hotel, which is a home away from your home. Well, as great as it may sound, there are also a few downsides to the experience. It all boils down to what you’re looking for, and what you’re willing to compromise. To see if this budget living option is for you, take a look at some of the pros and cons of lodging in a homestay:

Upsides

It won’t cost you a thing:

Alright, that’s an exaggeration – but it sure feels like that since, it can be a lot cheaper in comparison to the other options available. In fact if you’re lucky, you could get a really good price that includes some cleaning, a meal or two as a part of the price you pay for the room. All this, and a more homely stay for half the price, (or less if you’re lucky) than you would spend anywhere else.

You’ll be a part of the local culture:

You will get to learn a lot of new things when you choose a homestay. And the best part is that you can experience all of this without really having to go out of your way to befriend locals, or read a heavy country/city guide book. You get to eat the food that’s synonymous with the culture of the home you’re staying at, usually for no extra charge. You get to see how they live everyday there, get to experience and be a part of their daily life, and learn much more than you would on a tour, at a hotel or elsewhere.

You’ll learn:

Whether you’re learning a new language, helping out in the kitchen, or with the housework, learning new skills would be much easier and quicker here, because you will be constantly communicating with someone rather than just trying to learn from an application or dictionary. After all, practice makes perfect, right? Another advantage of staying at a homestay is that you usually won’t be forced to cook your own meals or eat out when you don’t want to do so. You can also learn more about new cuisine this way.

You won’t be homesick:

Well, not really. Even if you do miss home, you will miss it a lot less because you will be in a sort of home away from home. Staying with a bunch of congenial people running the house will give you a sense of being with the family – which is a very good idea especially if you’re going to be there for at least a few months.

You can connect:

Make friends, make connections, whatever you’re aiming at – a homestay is just right for that. It’s a way to make sure that you build your network among the locals, make friends with co-travellers that could last a lifetime, and open yourself to new social connections.

Downsides

You may not be as free:

Compared to living alone at least. If you opt for a hostel or a student accommodation, this may give you required liberty. By choosing a homestay, you will save a lot of money, but you won’t really be living on your terms. There are often several rules and regulations that hosts may set according to their beliefs, according to how they run their homes, or simply according to how they deem fit for a visiting guest in their home. It might even feel like living with your parents. Some people may like the feel of home, but if you’re planning to travel a lot and explore on your terms, this may not be the best option for you.

You may meet more people outside a homestay:

Homestays are great because you get to meet and live with new people. However, they can be a little less satisfactory for the same reason. Confused? Living alone, you will have to get out and do things on your own. Meeting travellers who are trying to find the tourist spots, to meeting friendly locals while you’re buying groceries – you might actually end up meeting more people when you live on your own than you will, when you’ve got a readymade family to live with.

You may become dependent:

If you’re travelling abroad to practice being independent, staying at a homestay might be a little counterproductive. You will be pampered, and if you get someone to do your laundry, cooking, cleaning – you will end up doing very little by yourself. You could also feel so used to being with a family that it will be tougher later to live on your own when you move out. On the flipside, you will feel like you’re growing dependent on this family to help you through your stay. Either way – it’s not the best feeling, for an independent you.

You may have culture conflicts:

Sometimes, the way people live in foreign countries is extremely different from your own. Often, this is a good thing since you learn so much through this. However, sometimes, this could be difficult to deal with, especially if you don’t agree with the way they do certain things, or if they don’t agree with some of the things you do- from the way you dress, to what you eat, where you go and the kind of friends you keep – it could end up in a conflict that is hard to live with.

You can’t always choose:

Your meals will be chosen for you, of course, they will ask you about your dietary requirements. Don’t worry! This is just about tastes and preferences. If you get a sudden craving to eat out, you probably will have to inform them about it first. Cuisine and meal times can get a little restrictive at a homestay.

Nicole

A poet with a penchant for prose and the itch to travel, Nicole Reed is an assistant editor and features writer for a daily newspaper, struggling to find a way out of the concrete mess by dreaming of one day living and breathing off words in an idyllic country setting somewhere. Having been editor of her college magazine, written for a number of publications including Shamiana’s short film newsletter and as a current student of Literature from the University of London, Nicole sees writing like travel - an adventure – a journey to find her place, to define and redefine who she is over and over again and to live and learn through the process.

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