TxTravelPro

I have offered a couple of people the same thing in Dallas, but it seems they think I am some sort of stalker. They typically ignore the offer on the post.
I am a long time Fodors poster and travel professional. I have hosted Japanese and German families in my home, which worked out just fine.
I LOVE Texas and I love meeting new people.
I work and travel a lot, so obviously my time is based on availability.
I wish I could meet up with someone local in Berlin in a couple of weeks!

eurotraveller

TxTravelPro, put up a profile in couchsurfing.com or hospitalityclub.org and you will have the opportunity to meet many locals should you have the desire! Check them out and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

wintersp

You might add to that list GlobalFreeloaders.com for meeting and/or staying with locals. I've hosted Australians and Indians and enjoyed the experience.

eurotraveller

wintersp, I have heard of that one. Do you need to pay a fee to be a part of it. The two I mentioned are free. I have hosted people and also been hosted in Thailand, Canada and Seattle. It is a great way to travel as you have a built in tour guide, too!

yestravel

If you're in Portland, try and take eurotraveller up on her gracious offer. Tamara was a delightful tour guide and her enthusiam about her city is so evident. It was enlightening to hear her thoughts on her many years living there. She took us to several places where we had never been in Portland and we enjoyed a nice lunch with her. And of course, we talked about our travels...loved hearing about some of her past adventures and her upcoming trip to Argentina.

eurotraveller

Greetings! I have enjoyed meeting a few people since posting this and have even developed some friendships with people I keep in touch with. It is really fun to show people this gorgeous city and get to know people from other places!

I do have to to say the last person tested my faith a bit.

She contacted me about a month prior to coming to Portland and I offered a lot of advice and spent time helping with her itinerary. I don't mind doing that so that isn't a problem.

The problem was she completely stood me up. We had made plans to meet on a Friday evening. I called and left her a message to let her know where we would be. I specifically asked her to call me if she wasn't going to make it so I wouldn't have to sit waiting for her. The call never came and she never showed so we left after about 2 hours.

I figured she was tired or got distracted so I called her the next morning and even left a mesage offering to drive her from the hotel she stayed at her first night to the one she was staying at the rest of her stay and give her a tour of Portland. She didn't have the courtesy to return my call during her entire stay.

Will this affect my offer to extend this invitation to others? Absolutely not! Meeting the kind and considerate people I have make it all worth while! I will continue to pay it forward!

maria_so

This is a really nice thread! What a great idea!