Coworking alternatives?

[akratic]

I'm considering joining a coworking space. I find myself unproductive at home. Somehow getting out of the house and into an office type setting causes me to focus more and waste less time. Having just moved to a new city, I can also benefit from the community and networking aspects of a coworking space.

That said, the coworking spaces near me are insanely expensive. The three closest options are $200/mo, $350/mo and $500/mo.

The obvious alternative I'd say is the public library, which I'm going to try tomorrow, but I don't have high hopes, as the last few city libraries I've been to have been rather noisy and crowded.

Another idea I had was the University library. I'm sure I could find a quiet spot there, but I don't actually belong, nor have credentials to connect to the wifi.

I've also considered a coffee shop, but I don't want to buy a single thing on the menu, and I wouldn't feel comfortable free riding for a significant amount of time.

I just need wifi, enough quiet to focus, and enough people randomly looking over my shoulder that I don't even consider a marathon youtube session.

Do you guys have any other ideas?

PS: Don't suggest increasing will power to be productive at home. I'd have an easier time generating the exorbitant coworking fees.

[DividendGuy]

I write around 20 articles or so per month, so I spend a considerable amount of time on the laptop writing. I looked into coworking spaces but I, too, found them prohibitively expensive for what you're getting. I tend to work out of a local coffee shop. Most sell bottled water. Have you not considered just grabbing a bottled water and doing your thing for a few hours? I know it sucks to pay money for the water, but I look at it like paying for the experience/environment that I can't replace at home.

I personally cannot work at home any longer. But I've been much more productive at the local coffee shop. So productive, in fact, that I was actually starting to burn myself out from doing too much.

Just a thought!

[Ego]

Small Business Associations often have work spaces or resource centers to incubate small businesses.

[bryan]

The library works great for me. Just get some earphones, start some background jams, and off you go! The end of the album is a good time to stretch or take a break and check email etc.

[jennypenny]

The heath club I used to belong to had free wifi and comfortable seating set up in several places throughout the building. I found it convenient to go work out, shower, and then work for a few hours. It was no problem bringing my own snacks and drinks if I was going to be there a while. The membership fee was certainly lower than buying a coffee or two every day at a shop, and I got the benefit of a health club at the same time.

[vexed87]

You could work on the train:
http://tinyurl.com/pd2r5yx



In all seriousness, do you have any self employed friends who have a spare desk? My dad one in his home office. His best friend will often come in and get work done from time to time, although I suspect they really just gossip and eat fish and chips like naughty school boys...

Is this going to be 5 days a week gig, I guess that would make it harder? Student unions often have quiet areas, and there's often a great vibe on campus. Also, why not see if you can find some local companies that have collaborative areas that you can exploit, I'm thinking along the lines of the Google offices. Most collaborative zones are not kept under lock and key and you could just walk in and remain free from hassle if you look the part. A simple wifi dongle plan will get you connected for next to nothing.

If you want this space for next to nothing, generally it's going to require some form reciprocity, i.e. businesses that offer goods to attract you in. If I needed to get out of the house as a one off I personally would just order the cheapest thing in Starbucks etc. Now winter is approaching there are limited options for working near public wifi outdoors, although it's worth mentioning I used to take a laptop to a public square on a nice warm day.

[Dave]

This topic is near and dear to me.

I started working remotely full-time at the beginning of July, in our 270 square foot studio. It was really tough for the first few months: I missed seeing my coworkers, it was hard to focus, and our apartment was hot.

But I made some adjustments and things have gotten better. I go for more frequent walks, make an effort to talk to people when I am around or grocery shopping, and do quick sets of exercises when I get bored/tired. The cooler weather has also helped a lot. I still get distracted or bored, but using these techniques I find that I am much more productive per hour of work at home than I was at the office, even though I maintain that focus for a shorter time.

With all that, I still want to find ways to work outside of the apartment at times. The problem for me is that I really need my second monitor to do the bulk of my work, so I am limited in how much I can really do out and about without a second fold-up monitor.

So, I am sort of in the same position as you of testing things out and stewing over the same issues. Actually though, I did find an interesting café/internet lounge with a unique structure. They run various pay-to-attend seminars, have larger private rooms you can rent, but also have a lot of free desks and tables that anyone can use. They do ask that if you want to eat or drink that you buy from them, but you do not have to buy anything to sit at the free spots. I will probably give this a try soon.

[Cerberusss]

You say you don't belong in the university library, but I don't think it's a problem. Of course it's crawling with students, but why would that bother you? It's still a library. As for Internet, are you sure you can't connect? Isn't there an open network besides the university one?

[Gilberto de Piento]

My local makerspace offers a membership for $30 per month that allows you to sit anywhere you want and connect to the wifi. They also have desk space and office space for $100+. You could check to see if there is a makerspace in your area.

[GandK]

I just need wifi, enough quiet to focus, and enough people randomly looking over my shoulder that I don't even consider a marathon youtube session.

Do you guys have any other ideas?

For the month of November, look online for NaNoWriMo events and write-ins near you. You'll have your pick of environments like the one you're describing. No one will care that you're not writing a novel, too. They're too wrapped up in their own work.

Admittedly, this doesn't help during the other 11 months of the year.

I second the gym membership suggestion. I've worked in the gym, too.

[C40]

+1 for university library. A student union may be a good place. Also, you can basically pick a building at a university and there's going to be places to work inside. Most buildings have sections of tables where people will be working but that don't get packed full.

As for wi-fi, I don't know what kind of setup you're dealing with, but You are fully capable of finding a way in using social engineering.

If you explore and look around with an eye for them, you'll end up finding a ton of places with chairs/tables/desks in public places that are empty most of the time. Places where there's nothing to buy and no one will second guess your presence.

[George the original one]

Government buildings (other than libraries) and hospitals might have public wifi, too. Drawback with those that I've used are they're slow (guest speeds and often oversubscribed), spotty coverage, and likely have content filters (because taxpayers don't like paying for porn).

[bryan]

Also, why not see if you can find some local companies that have collaborative areas that you can exploit, I'm thinking along the lines of the Google offices.

Putting on my list of good ideas! Tons of shared office buildings have relatively public areas, inside and out, that you could work from. Bathrooms/showers too!

Even a single company's office probably has some chairs/tables outside.

Another one I do occasionally are bars.

[ebast]

I share the sentiment that libraries were the original coworking space, if occasionally confused that they are in the book & dvd distribution business.

Do you have a public law library? Open to the public and typically less trafficked than a general library. Also, typically designed as less of a cattle-pen (with more carrels & such) and more conducive to concentration and focus.

[akratic]

I'm loving the suggestions, guys. Keep em coming if you've got more.

I tried the local library on Thursday and was surprised to find it had an enclosed room with six good workspaces complete with big desks and power strips. That said, the library hours are weird -- 10am-9pm M-R and 1pm-6pm F -- and the place turned into a bit of a zoo at 4pm when the Minecraft club turned the 12 computer cluster nearby into a LAN party. (Actually I thought this was neat, just not conducive to my goal of getting work done.)

On Friday I gave the public law library a try -- mostly because I liked the hours M-F 8am-5pm -- and I was totally blown away by it. I've never seen a library this nice, and I'm a library person who found all the hidden nooks and crannies at my university libraries. Anyway the law library had about 25 good places to work with thick wooden divider walls to give privacy and huge windows providing natural light and a view to the grassy courtyard. From 9am - noon it was literally just me and the library receptionist in this huge space, and at peak there were only about six people there. To get to this library you need to pass four security guards, including one that scans your backpack like at an airport and another that waves one of those security wands over you. I would say this is the perfect space for quiet, focused work, and my search is over (unless I want to prioritize the social aspect of coworking).

Now I'm toying with the idea of getting an external screen to bring along with my laptop. So far these are the best two options:
- GeChick 1303H - 1920x1080, 13.3", 1.3lbs, $370, high screen quality
- Asus MB168B+ - 1920x1080, 15.6", 1.7lbs, $210, low screen quality
There are some cheaper ones out there, but they're unacceptably low resolution. I wish there were more products in this "portable monitor" space.