I came out to California for an internship. It was my first time in the state for an extended period of time (3 months. Last time I was there was for a night in LA). I'd never used AirBnB before, but it appealed to me because it was much easier than trying to figure out how to rent an apartment, or even the corporate housing that my company recommended.

I don't regret my decision at all. Price-wise, it was really cheap for such a nice living space. My other intern friends were probably paying 3-4x what I was for a space that they still had to share with other people.

Then there are the people--I feel like it takes a certain kind of person to feel attracted to this style of living. Everyone seemed so chill. There was always an opportunity to go out and have a good time (I even took a trip to Yosemite with some people from my and other houses in the "network"), but no one will pressure you if you feel like just having some time to yourself.

When I first arrived at the Sunnyvale home, I was somewhat taken aback by the number of people living in it (from the description, I thought it would just be a handful), but the house is big enough that you hardly feel like there are as many as there are.

Because it was the summer, a fare number of the people were interns at companies in the area (even another one from mine). Most were international, which made watching the World Cup pretty interesting.

I spent my last week in Vic's home in Santa Clara, in the private room. Vic and Sarah are both really nice, and it was an equally pleasant experience there as well.

Each of the houses have their own personality. Because the Santa Clara house was smaller with more open rooms, people tended to be a lot quieter. While at the Sunnyvale house, because there were rooms with doors and a big backyard, every room would have something going on in it--people playing guitars outside, watching movies in the den, having deep philosophical conversations in the kitchen over a bottle of wine.

I have, and will continue to, recommend the HackerHome to anybody looking for a place to stay--whether for a night, for an internship, or for those in between finding a more permanent residence--there are all sorts who find their way coming through.