Craigslist is a site that allows completely free adult dating in all forms, from strictly platonic friendships to casual hookups and even long-term relationships. Started as an email list for local San Francisco events in 1995, Craigslist has a huge user base and is very easy to use, making it one of the most popular websites worldwide. Keep reading, though, to find out what I think of it as a method for finding casual encounters.
Craigslist Casuals Review
Interested in learning everything about the Craigslist classifieds website? Great, then keep reading. Just be sure not to take any action without reading it entirely.
Joining Craigslist
Craigslist is a very easy site to register with, which is what makes it suspicious. You can literally sign up in seconds, giving them your basic information, such as location, age, gender, and sexual orientation. While it is easy, you really should pause and decide if it is worth your own safety to register with Craigslist to meet people. There is very little in the way of security on CL and Crazy things have happened to many users of this site.
Casual Encounters
Thousands of ads are posted daily, and Craigslist has a huge number of daily users seeking out a way to advertise quickly and freely. Users looking for a date can post in a variety of sections: strictly platonic, the “seeking” sections (men seeking women, women seeking men, couples seeking singles and couples, etc.), missed connections, and casual encounters.
When you’re searching for a good time, you can enter what you’re looking for and where, as well as see any pictures members have posted. Anyone looking at these ads should be aware, though, that many of these ads are fake. Yep, they aren’t looking for a (free) good time, but instead, these are ladies who are prostitutes and escorts, looking to play with you if you pay. It’s not like Socialsex.com where people are connecting for free sex.
All the posts go in order of when they’re posted, so if you don’t want to slog through page after page of ads, you can search for exactly what you want, whether it is a specific kink, gender, city, age, or date of ad and Craigslist will bring up any ads that match those search parameters.
Finding a Friend
Craigslist is all-inclusive in their relationship offerings, including couples, straight, gay, bi, and transsexual. If you want something different, chances are that it is on Craigslist. Just beware! A lot of what is posted is spam and prostitutes looking to make a quick buck. You’re not going to find much love on Craigslist, but you will probably find a good bit of criminal activity, liars, thieves, and double-talk that is used by professionals to trick you into spending some time with them, at a price. Your chances of being ripped off are better than the chance of making a connection with a hottie.
Is It Safe?
Members of Craigslist really need to take their own personal safety seriously. The site itself offers an anonymous email address for communication, but that’s it. Corrupt people flock to Craigslist looking to prey on those that are easy targets so use common sense and don’t give out any money, don’t accept checks from others, don’t give out financial information, and be very careful if and when you decide to meet someone from the site. Please, read Craigslist’s safety information and protect yourself.
Cost
It is free to search and communicate with members on Craigslist. Members post an ad for $10 and they pay $5 to repost that ad. Craigslist accepts all the major credit cards as payment and the ads expire after a week.
Well, Is It Worth It?
The short answer is No. There is just too much that can go wrong when trying to find a date on Craigslist. There have been numerous stories of people meeting with people off of Craigslist and being ripped off, mugged, getting a disease, and even murdered. It really just isn’t worth the risk to find quick and easy sex. If you want to find a hot, NSA date, there are numerous sites out there that are safe, offer member verification, and security, even if you do have to pay. Not much that is free is worth it in the end!
