Is a Coworking Space Worth it for Digital Nomads?
On my first day working remotely from New York, I hopped on the 1 train and found myself in the beautiful West Village, ready to take on the world. I had done my research and picked a spot on a list of top coffee shops for digital nomads in NYC, but when I showed up there, laptops were not allowed. This must’ve been a change since the article was published. I didn’t let it get me down and walked a quick 7 minutes or so to another spot. Their wifi was down. I found another coffee shop on Google Maps only to arrive and discover it had permanently closed. Luckily I had no calls that day, but if I had, I would’ve been in real trouble meandering around the neighborhood looking for a spot to set up and work.
Even if you do find a great place to work remotely in New York — or any city for that matter — they may have a time limit on their seating, or you just feel pressure to keep ordering expensive items that you don’t even want that much. And if you do find a spot, you may not have the luxury of spreading out or being in proximity to an outlet to charge your devices. And with no control over who’s coming in and out and audio levels, it can be tricky to ensure a professional background and audio set up for a meeting or call.
I soon realized I needed a solution. And that’s when WeWork slid into my emails with a 50% off deal I couldn’t resist…
WeWork is surrounded by a lot of controversy but honestly, getting a WeWork subscription has been one of the best things I’ve done for my business this year. Having a place where I’m 100% sure I’ll be able to 1. Enter 2. Set up my workspace comfortably 3. Have a quiet area to take a call 4. Be surrounded with other people actually working has been such a luxury. If you’re anything like me, you get very easily distracted at coffee shops, eavesdropping on everything from first dates to gossip seshes.
You might like working from home, but I sure don’t. Lockdown taught me how claustrophobic it feels to have no separation between your work and personal space, and living for 6 months working from home in St. Louis taught me that if you want to travel to a new place, one of the worst ways to gain your bearings and avoid loneliness is to work from home all day. Ask me about how I’d bring my iPad to Ikea to mix up my workday…
Why Working from Coffee Shops is Impractical
If you’re wondering how to choose a co-working space (and why you should go to a place dedicated to working not just a coffee shop) here are some elements to take into consideration:
Wifi Reliability: Can I depend on my connection for getting work done efficiently?
Ambience: Is the environment a place where I’ll actually focus and get stuff done?
Outlets: Can I charge my devices, or if they run out am I screwed?
Loiter-ability: Will I feel comfortable sitting here for a solid chunk of time?
Networking: Am I surrounded by other motivated professionals?
Access to Food/Drink: Is there food provided? Can I bring my own food?
Noise level & Privacy: Could I take a call and look professional doing it?
For me, a dedicated co-working space checks all of these boxes and then some. Forgot your phone charger at home? No worries, there’s a charging station at the front desk. Need a dependable bathroom with no lines in case you’re cutting it close to a meeting? I find they’re mostly empty, not to mention they almost all come stocked with menstrual products and some locations even have travel sized tooth brushes and toothpaste on hand. WeWork Barcelona toilets have mouthwash and cups. Only once did I encounter a WeWork space that ‘closed’ and was asked to wrap up my work. Mostly, even if the space is only open until 6, you can stay, there are just no front-desk employees present after that time.
Is a WeWork subscription expensive?
It depends how you look at it. If getting the subscription is going to make you more efficient and able to take on more projects, then it’s a great investment. Also, when you take into account the fact that at most cafés you have to buy something sit down and work, (and keep buying things to stay) and that WeWork, on the other hand, has drinks on tap like Nitro Cold Brew, Kombucha, and seltzer, you realize a subscription practically pays for itself. I sometimes plan my day around popping into a WeWork for my caffeine fix. As I previously mentioned, the 50% off deal they often offer is a game changer. The cost after the discount is $150/month for an All Access pass (granting you access to any WeWork office around the world).
What type of WeWork subscription makes sense for me?
If your city only has one WeWork location and you don’t plan on traveling much, you could consider a regular WeWork subscription, which I’m not as familiar with. In New York, there are so many locations that it was extremely useful for me to have an All Access pass. It allowed me to pick a new neighborhood to work from whenever I felt like exploring a new area of the city, or depending on my surrounding itinerary that day. I even used the space to get ready to go out on occasion, choosing a location nearby wherever I was going without having to first go home to get changed.
Even if you have a home office, library, or local co-working space you love at your primary residence, if your job or lifestyle requires frequent relocation, WeWork All Access allows you to have an office (almost) anywhere you go. I could go visit a friend in SF right now and have my own place to go to during the day to work, rather than having to always hang about in their space or fill my day with tourist activities. I could fly to Paris for vacation and have 5 different locations around the city where I could work. If you’re resourceful and think out of the box, you’ll realize these are also spots where you can drop in to use the bathrooms, freshen up, or relax with a cup of tea.
Now that I’m working from Barcelona, because of my All Access pass, I was able to just show up and have access to all of the offices here. In April when I’m visiting the UK, I’ll have an office space available to me in both London and Cambridge. This is especially useful since I’ll be staying with friends and family at points, and I can’t rely on them having a space in their flat or home where I can work from. Plus, it gives me independence—I have another location in that city where I can spend an extended period of time.
You can also rent a dedicated office at a WeWork location, which is great if you’re staying put in one place and need or want dedicated, private space, or if you have a team you want to provide offices for.
Can freelancers work from hotel lobbies?
I’ve heard hotel lobbies are a good space to get some work done, which could be a great solution on occasion, but isn’t, in my opinion, a long-term or particularly consistent solution. I have a hard time believing you could show up to the same location every day without getting questioned. If you live in a busy city, you could scope out a different location each day, but then you’d run into the issue of reliability—that particular hotel might have restrictions on who can loiter in the lobby, for instance. I personally hate feeling unwelcome in a space or like I’m ‘under-cover’, not really supposed to be there. I even feel this way staying a long time at a café, especially if I’m hogging a table from other customers. I like how at WeWork, as long as I book a desk at that location, I can be confident that I have every right to be there.
Why not just work at a library?
Getting a local public library pass is a great choice for many freelancers, but there a couple differences that for me, make a coworking subscription worth it. Every floor in a WeWork has a kitchen, which grants you access to a sink, microwave, plates, bowls, and cutlery, and hot water tap, so you can easily bring your own food (which many libraries prohibit), allowing you to park it and really work a full day, and avoid relying on takeout when you’re far from your apartment. Meeting rooms and phone booths you can book and rely on from the app are another plus. If you need to host a client or meeting, you can do so in a professional space.
I also find it motivating to be surrounded by other working professionals. I've found the Barcelona office to be much friendlier than those in New York, likely because there’s a large expat community here looking to find community, whereas New York has more of a hustle culture and a ‘keep to yourself’ vibe at large.
The location nearest my apartment in Barcelona has two stunning terraces, one with a view of the Sagrada Familia, and the other getting hours of direct sunshine until the sun sets. There’s no kombucha, seltzer or cold brew here—instead, the taps are filled with beer and sangria.
Investing in yourself
In the past few years since I started freelancing, I’ve discovered that investing in yourself, your business, always comes back in spades. For me, investing in a co-working space has done wonders for my motivation. Knowing I’ve paid for the space motivates me to get properly dressed, get out the door in the morning (or afternoon, or evening!) and get some work done. Knowing that I’m taking my business seriously helps me convey that to clients.
WeWork has a slogan on its cups that say, “Always Half Full”. I’m definitely aligned with that attitude and strongly believe outlook is everything when it comes to life, but particularly self-motivated, independent work. It’s easier to view things this way when you’re grateful for the luxuries and blessings you have access to, which, while gazing out at the Barcelona skyline with a cerveza, isn’t too difficult.
