I don't mean to be rude, but use some common sense! The OP sound rather naive. CL is a public forum, so you can trust the ads as much as you can trust a stranger. Sure, lots of people find roommates, cars, etc. on CL, but there are also people who will be scammed, robbed or killed. The last two are probably rare, but it has happened. Are you willing to put a deposit down on a room that you've never seen in person? If so, you are the perfect target for a scam. Webcam chats are useless for renting room - you can't judge the neighborhood, you can't smell the place and you probably won't have high enough resolution to see physical problems with the room.
I found my last room-for-rent off CL. I traveled there, but I also made appointments to see about 10 different places on that day. That way, I don't travel for a single ad. Most of those places were horrible in-person. One was covered in cat fur, even though the photos didn't show it. Another had some really sketchy folks living in the apartment next door. My apartment ended up great, but after a year, I had some major conflicts with the roommate. Luckily, I finished my program by then and moved back.
