I retired as a History teacher (mostly at the high school level, though I also taught one year at the middle school). A couple years after that I moved to Portland, OR, where I lived until September of 2019, when I moved down to Carpinteria, CA to be close to my sister. I moved back to Portland in 2021 and have a big old house in a pretty nice neighborhood.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've traveled a fair amount and I know an expensive hotel can be a drain on the budget, so I thought I'd offer my house as a simple place to stay. I also met the founder of Couchsurfing at a trivia game in Phnom Penh a few years back. That meeting made me think I should involve myself in this community. I know hotels can be expensive in the Portland area. Finally, I'm on Couchsurfing because my best friend died in 2014, and he had talked about his desire to couchsurf in various countries. I live alone and thought it might be nice to meet various people of different ages from many countries by making my place in Portland available.

Interests

I'm a gay man. I'm 67. I'm retired. I like to read and travel and be lazy. My life can be somewhat isolated, so I am interested in meeting different people. I waste far too much time on the Internet...I just updated my age and looking back four years, I still waste far too much time on the Internet! I could blame COVID, but that's largely over. I'm still concerned about COVID, though, and request that any guests are vaccinated fully.

• coachella
• festivals
• trivia
• traveling
• teaching
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

David Bowie (big time!), the Beatles, Elvis Costello, Arvo Part, Richard Thompson, plus I keep my ears out for new and interesting music. I tend to like historical fiction, both in movies and books. My favorite author is Gore Vidal, though he doesn't grab me as much as he used to. Now that endless programs are available on tv formats, I don't read as much as I'd like.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I made Paul McCartney bump into me once.

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't know that I can teach anyone anything, but I enjoy spending time talking with travelers. I'm laid back, especially now that I've retired. I enjoy hearing about different lives. I am pretty independent. I would be happy to share my part of the Northwest. There are lots of places to hang out in Portland and the surrounding countryside has variety and beauty.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm laid back, courteous, and easy to get along with. I enjoy being with one or two people, but I'm also fine by myself. Pre-Covid, I liked going out occasionally for karaoke, but I'm not a big party guy.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States