10 Cities with Co-Working Spaces
More and more people are working from home. Some own their own businesses. Some are independent contractors that freelance for a variety of clients. Some telecommute to a specific employer. What all of these people have in common is that they work from home and that always comes along with some pros and cons. Coworking spaces help to mitigate the drawbacks of working from home.
What is a coworking space?
This term refers to an office space that members of the general public can come to in order to work with others. They vary in terms of what they offer and how they are set up. On one end are spaces that require you to apply for membership and to pay a monthly membership fee in exchange for your use of the space. On the other end of the spectrum are spaces that allow you to “drop in” free of charge to share the space with anyone else who happens to be there that day.
Benefits of a coworking space
Some of the reasons that people who enjoy working from home may also decide to sometimes work in a coworking space include:
o Socializing with other people. One of the biggest drawbacks of working from home is the sense of isolation that you may feel sitting at your own desk by yourself day in and day out. Coworking spaces provide some of that social time that you used to get when you worked on site somewhere.
o Collaborating with others. As you get to know the people who share the same coworking spaces that you do, you may find that you each have skills that can complement one another. In turn, you may choose to bounce ideas off of one another or even collaborate on projects. This can enhance your own work.
o Access to office equipment and supplies. Many coworking spaces have fax machines, conference rooms and other office tools that individuals who work from home need only occasional access to. Being part of a coworking space provides that access at no cost or a low cost.
o Work space when traveling. If you know where good coworking spaces are in different cities then you can find access to them whenever you travel. This opens up your options for working on the road and may increase your ability to travel throughout the year.
With that in mind, let’s look at 10 Cities that Offer Great Co-Working Spaces:
1. San Francisco, California. I can speak from firsthand experience about the coworking experience in San Francisco. This is a city filled with people who work from home doing many different types of jobs and it’s a city that accommodates those workers with several options for coworking. A top choice is Citizen Space where you can pay a fee to rent a desk but can also just drop in for free during most business hours. It’s a welcoming space. Another option here is Jelly, a coworking group that changes locations.
2. Portland, Oregon. Another West Coast city where independent workers can gather together to get their work done is Portland. One creative space that people here really seem to love is Backspace, which offers coworking by day and a poetry / music venue by night. CubeSpace is another popular choice in this city.
3. New York City. Heading over to the East Coast your best choice for finding a coworking space is going to be in New York City. That’s really not all that surprising, though, is it? What doesn’t this city have?! There are coworking spaces in all the boroughs so you can find a spot to work when you need one. Some of them are Coworking Brooklyn, The Metropolitan Exchange, New Work City and The Hive at 55. Also, the aforementioned Jelly in San Francisco has a New York group as well.
4. Boston, Massachusetts. Another great East Coast city for coworking folks is Boston. Betahouse, WorkBar and the Cambridge Coworking Center are a few of the options around here. Another is Geek Offices, a Cambridge location that rents out desks for various rates depending on how often you need to be there.
5. Denver, Colorado. If you’re interested in an eco-friendly coworking space then you’ll be happy in Colorado where Green Spaces is located. This place uses 100% wind power to power the offices, has a passive heating and cooling system and implements numerous other green actions. Incidentally, this same company has a coworking space in New York City as well.
6. Houston, Texas. Another (perhaps surprising) place where you can find a green coworking space is Houston. It’s called New Living and is actually a store that sells eco-friendly home décor items. However it also has a green co-working space that is specifically designed as a work space for professionals in eco-friendly fields. Another top choice in Houston is the Caroline Collective, a midtown coworking space that allows free half-day drop in.
7. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here’s an international city that I love and one that I’d be happy to work from for part of the year. They do indeed offer coworking spaces including a leading one called Urban Station. With comfortable chairs and colorful décor, this place has all of the energy of a South American city but also has everything that you need to get your work done, too. Other options in this city include a space simply called Coworking in Buenos Aires
8. Melbourne, Australia. There is actually a series of coworking spaces called Bureaux that has locations in several Australian cities including Melbourne. Grab a drink at their coffee bar and settle in to do your work in comfort. Coworking Melbourne is another option in this city.
9. Berlin, Germany. There are quite a few different options for coworking in Berline. One of the ones that I have heard mentioned more than once in articles about coworking is Betahaus. One random unnecessary perk here is that you can use email to order yourself a drink from the espresso bar that the coworking space offers.
10. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Webecoist reports that one of the best coworking spaces in the world can be found in Dubai. It’s called Shelter and in addition to offering a space to work it offers a store, a library, a movie theater and a Zen Garden. Sounds great for when you need a break but I wonder how conducive to working it really is?!
