Hostel Life

Having been in the hostel for over 2 weeks, I feel I am in a good place to talk about hostel life, the pros and cons (Warning: There will be more cons)

So here goes:

Pros

 

 

1. Cheaper than a hotel - This is pretty much the main reason anybody lives in a hostel, and it is the only reason I remain here. Hotels in Vancouver cost a fortune. I nearly discovered this after the hostel was fully booked for one night without me in it. Thankfully I had a friend who let me crash on their floor. A person I know, though, wasn't so lucky, and spent a night in a hotel. The cheapest hotel cost him $260 for one night!

2. Meet new people - It is true you meet new people in hostels. If you are the kind of person who is comfortable sitting alone at a bar speaking to anybody that sits next to you, this place is fantastic. For me, not so much. Sure, I've met one or two people here, so I can't complain, but for the most part, I am not comfortable approaching people I don't know and striking up conversations.


3. Middle of Downtown - The hostel is right in the middle of Downtown. We only have to walk outside and we are in the middle of everywhere. Once we move out, we will most likely be on the outskirts and have to take public transport to everywhere we need to be, which will get a little annoying eventually.

Cons

1. Living out of a bag - I can't stand living in such a disorganised fashion. Clothes are all over the place as there is nowhere to put them, other than on the floor or back in your bag. You can't remember if you have worn things or not.

2. Shared bedrooms - Sharing bedrooms can be cool at times. It forces you to meet new people. I've lived with 2 Irish people, a Japanese person, an Aussie and 2 British people. Will I keep in touch with them once they have left though? Probably not. The cons outway the pros here. Living with people who get wasted every single night and crawl into bed at 3am, turningsthe lights on and waking everyone up, gets tiresome fast! Oh, and don't get me started on snorers either. They should all be shot.

3. Shared bathrooms - These are just horrible places to go. Grotty showers, broken toilets and generally a disgusting place to be. The only place you feel dirtier after having a shower than before.

4. Way more expensive than your own place - Hostels are cheap compared to hotels, but a fortune compared to a home. It costs over $1000 a month to stay in these squalid conditions, whereas homes can be $400-$750 or so. Then you also have to buy every meal in a restaurant/bar whilst being in a hostel, which also costs a lot long term.

5. Awful internet - The internet here is terrible. Almost unusable at peak times. I can't wait to be in a place with internet that works.

I can probably think of a few more if i thought about it, but that will do for now. All in all, I want to get out of here!