Do you use coworking spaces? What are the best ones?
Yes! I actually just use my neighborhood clubhouse which has an amazing coworking space, complete with conference rooms to rent, printers, etc. It’s so great, and it’s just a two-minute walk from our home. Can’t beat it!
When I started, It was very important for me to work outside to feel the social stimulation (that was at the time I was working all day long, 5 days a week). Early 90s, there weren’t any co-working spaces as today…so I had rented a little office in a multi businesses center… Then when I started traveling in 1994, it was actually my dream to have a co-working space…so I did on many occasions initiate arrangement to work in an open space in either shops or a company’s offices. Rest of the time, I was working in little cafés and hotel lobbies, calling those my offices (back then, I could only upload through dial up at the end of the day). Eventually, came the internet cafés…but it felt like I was among the very few working, while others were there more for leisure…(at one point, I made a deal with an internet cafe in Barcelona and published an ad inviting other entrepreneurs to join me to make it our co-working space… We ended up a small group and had a lot of fun!). For the phone consultations, I was doing them as much as possible from phone booths or call centers… So I was always using strategies to be outside and to get the feeling that I was among people…
But I kind of stopped working outside my home in the mid-2000s…following various lifestyle changes, it just happened naturally… One of them is that I decided to work 7 days/7 but take every afternoon off… It is also around the same time that my length of stay in each city went down to between 1 to 3 months at the time… (However, I still sometimes use public spaces, but only when on the move…like at the airport.)
This being said, although I don’t really use co-working spaces for the time being, I still believe it is awesome… It is like my dream came true! And it is certainly not out of question that I join some in the future… I really think it is such a great solution to help avoid isolation.
Sometimes I use coworking spaces, but usually to network more than work on anything serious. The work I do typically requires a great deal of focus, and there are too many interesting things and people at such spaces a lot of the time.
Yes, I do a lot actually! My favorite one is here in Canggu/Bali called Dojo and Hubud in Ubud. SkyLoft in Santa Teresa/Costa Rica is also absolutely amazing.
I like The Hive in Bangkok and betahaus in Berlin.
I have not yet. I don’t typically need to be ‘team focused’ or even be around others when I work. However, I might try one out on my upcoming trip to Thailand.
No, the idea horrifies me. I like my desk with my stuff. I especially don’t get the idea of working from a coffee shop—too many people, too much noise, and I’d feel like I would have to buy coffee all day.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I loved BrooklynWorks at 159. Now that I’m in Westchester, I lean on the public library pretty heavily.
Personally, I do not; however, our company offers a WeWork program to all employees who would like to cowork and/or get out of the house for a change of scenery.
I don’t, no. I can’t write well with any noise so I prefer to write at home.
Occasionally I’ll go to events at a coworking space to see what’s going on in the area, but not to actually get work done. 🙂
One of my favorites is iHub, in Nairobi, Kenya. The community there is incredible, and there’s always a fascinating mix of people working there or passing through for a few days. It also had an incredible view of Nairobi!
Coworking spaces don’t work for me. I find them distracting and unproductive. If I’m in the city of a colleague, I’m open to going to one with him/her/them but it would never be my suggestion.
I don’t use coworking spaces. Though I did attempt to cowork with friends, who also worked remotely. If the individual does not share your work ethic and practices, it’s not successful.
I love my home office and have always hated going to co-working spaces. Mainly because I like to work on my own, but also because the chairs in co-working spaces are uncomfortable, the temperature is never quite right, and the coffee is generally bad.
However, I do like to be around other people and have helped create a virtual co-working group that meets regularly in a virtual office called Sococo. With virtual coworking, I can have my comfortable home office and work with other people at the same time.
We don’t use co-working spaces. I have heard good things, especially for people starting tech businesses who need to be surrounded by like-minded and well-connected folks. But for us, that’s an added expense without the return.
I have used WeWork before, as well as lots of private ones. I don’t really have a favorite yet, but I’m interested in Regus and these new Capital One cafes.
I have used two coworking spaces in Cebu City: The Tide and the local Regus office. Both are fine and provide fast internet connections, but I have more acquaintances and friends at The Tide.
I rarely use these co-working spaces, they are new to the scene and by this point and I very accustomed to working amid the chatter of a coffee shop. That said, I have used Impact Hubs in various cities—Boulder, Seattle, and Oaxaca—and it was nice to have a spot with amenities like a printer and large work tables.
I’ve only been to a coworking space once, but I did enjoy it! Klevverdog in DTLA is amazing. Lots of space and they allows dogs!
I’ve thought about it, but I enjoy having my dog under the desk and not getting stuck in commuter traffic so I’ve never pulled the trigger.
I shared an office with some friends in the 90s and that was nice, but mostly from a social point. In terms of productivity, working at home is probably the best.