[UPDATE] My (50m) wife (50f) and I are going on a multi-month backpacking trip through Europe. How can we avoid staying in hostels?

Edit: I originally thought the domain for this account was invalid. I was mistaken. I have posted the original thread in the comments below for you to read first.<br><br>Hey everyone! Thank you for all of your great replies, I appreciate it a lot. These were the most helpful comments, I have added my thoughts and plans below: <br><br>- To the person who’s friend stole $50 and called me a liar for saying that never happened to me even when I stayed in a 5 person room- it didn’t happen to me, and I’m sorry it happened to your friend, but that doesn’t make me a liar. Sorry that happened to you then. Also, I didn’t meet a lot of older people, I met one girl who was in her 30s, but when we were chatting, she seemed to be taking it fairly easy as well. <br><br>- To the person who said hostels aren’t for older generations-<br>I went on a similar trip 20 years ago at the age of 30, and a third of the people I met were older than me. My conclusion for this one is that the times have changed. It sounds like a lot of people are staying in air bnb these days as well. <br><br>- To the people who said we are just snobs and should get over it-<br>I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree with the sentiment that we need to get over it. We’ve traveled extensively for the past 30 years, and we didn’t start being picky until recently. We are also not lazy and don’t mind walking or taking public transportation everywhere. We’ve done it many times. I understand that as you get older, it is more difficult to get around, and so a lot of the things we used to do we can no longer do, which is OK. It’s just that hostels were something that used to work for us and now don’t. <br><br>- To the person who suggested staying in an airbnb with other people-<br>I like the idea, but my wife isn’t too keen on it. She also isn’t too keen on staying in a rental car. The problem with booking a place with a bunch of people in a city you’ve never been to is hard, and also knowing who you will be staying with. <br><br>- To the people who said that my story was fake- <br>I don’t know what to say. I feel like the vast amount of advice I was given and the amount of people who related to my story was evidence enough that this is a real problem that a lot of people are facing. We aren’t lazy, or irresponsible, or liars. We’re just travelers who are traveling in a different way than years ago.<br><br>It sounds like there is a bit of a shift in the way people are traveling, and many people are moving away from hostels these days. Which is fine, but we were hoping to meet people. My wife said that her solution to this was going to be staying in hostels and talking to people for an hour a day in the common room then going to our private room. Honestly, I was dreading that, but I would rather do that than not do the trip at all. I do think that the age thing was a problem, though. It sounds like older people are staying in air bnb, hotels, and other things. The fact that we were traveling for an extended period of time probably made things more difficult. I did look into staying in the same city for a week at a time, but the only places that were available were outside of town and a bus ride away. All in all, I believe that our age and the length of time we are going to be traveling were two big contributing factors. I was also on a tight budget, which probably contributed. I also felt that many of you gave great suggestions that were unfortunately unrealistic, ie- buying an rv, houseboat, or building an app. Some non-realistic suggestions even had me in hysterics- like the one comment that suggested we stay on a cruise ship! But I do appreciate the creativity!<br><br>My wife and I talked it over, and we did decide to take the trip, but we will be staying in airbnbs and hotels. We will probably just plan out our trip better and do it in segments, and book things in advance to avoid being screwed. We have decided against staying in hostels, and we will most likely research every place we stay in beforehand. We will also be mentioning in all of our bookings that we are quiet and elderly so we would prefer either our own place or a quieter arrangement, and if our hosts do not seem to cooperate, we will simply cancel and stay somewhere else. <br><br>We are now in Barcelona and our trip is going wonderfully! The only thing I regret is that we aren’t staying in a hostel and meeting new people. However, in our 60s, we have found that meeting people is a bit more difficult, as I think we met only one person over 30 in all of the hostels we stayed in. <br><br>I know that some of you felt that this was an unrealistic problem to have, but I think it’s interesting to note that many of you had stayed in hostels and had horrible experiences with roommates, so it seems that things have changed over time. <br><br>Thank you all for your thoughtful advice and for helping us come to a decision. Also, to the people who weren’t as nice- I understand. I don’t see this as a problem that needs to be solved, it is just a shift in the way people are traveling and changing times.