Hosteling in Your Own City?

I was just talking to a friend about staying in a hostel in our own city. I mean, you have an apartment or house in Vancouver and you pack your bags and go stay in a hostel... in Vancouver. Occasionally, I've heard of people doing this in a hotel but usually they're trying to get away from kids and have some time to relax. Haven't heard of anyone doing it with hostels.

Not that I think we'd be the first or anything.

Aside from the initial, "that's a strange thing to do" appeal, there are a couple reasons why it might be worth it. Reason one mostly applies to people who are considering staying in hostels abroad: you get a chance to test drive it in a not-so-foreign environment. Sure, hostels probably aren't really that dangerous and the suggestion might even come across as a bit paranoid, but it'd be a good idea if you want to get your feet wet. For all the "extreme telecommuters" you'd have a chance to find out whether you can expect to get any work done at all in the hostel!

Reason two? People. I haven't stayed in a hostel myself, but I've heard from several friends that one of the great benefits is meeting lots of interesting people. Just think, you could show them the "secrets" of the city since you already know it so well and you'll have your very own group of international, albeit short-term friends. Haha.

I'm not sold on the idea but it's definitely amusing to consider...