He perhaps asked every person that walked by? That would be more creative than looking at the post popular ad site.

Harassing strangers is not really something I would encourage no matter how creative it is.

"Harassing" doesn't seem like the right word to describe asking questions to strangers. But he probably just moved around looking for announcements.

Speaking to other people is now harassing?

What a world we leave in

Just keep your eyes open is all I mean. Life is strange, you never know what you're going to find.

That's more of a banal aphorism then a piece of concrete actionable advice when trying to find a place to live. Expecting to get a rent below market rate by arbitrarily walking into somebody on the street is just...

It's true, I omitted a vital piece of the puzzle. Without it, my comment's advice does really come down to "have luck".

"That's more of a banal aphorism then a piece of concrete actionable advice ..."

Are you kidding ?

It's the best piece of advice you'll read all year.

Go and do likewise!