Dedicated Office vs. co-working space

[manlymatt83]

Hi all,

Last February, I got myself an office in downtown Boston. Primarily because I liked closing the door, and just getting work done under dim lighting. More recently; however, I find myself working from home more, and not necessarily enjoying the "lawyer like" atmosphere of the rented office.

I've been thinking of switching to co-working space. Like this place:

http://www.workbarboston.com

It's much cheaper per month (about 1/4th the cost) and seems to have the same features - 24/7 access, etc. I don't care about a dedicated desk, as it seems like they have everything I would need (more actually, as my current place has wired Internet only). I'm not the kind of person who "Sees clients" or anything like that, so the dedicated office is becoming less and less intriguing.

I'm just wondering if anyone can think of any differences I might encounter that might not make this a good idea. The only thing I can think of is if I encounter loud, obnoxious people who also belong to that co-working space.... or some guy who decides to chew gum loudly all day long and mess up concentration. But that's what moving to another part of the room is for, and also what noise canceling headphones with music are for.

Any thoughts/comments?

 

[Bignate603]

I fail to see the advantage of this place over working from home. You'd have to get up, drive to it, work around strangers, and then drive home.

If you rent I'd just take the money you save from not doing that and switch apartments to a place with one more bedroom to turn into your office.

 

[nageov3t]

the chief downsides I could see about working from home are a less reliable internet connection and family issues (I experience this sometimes when I work from home... my family doesn't get that just because I'm sitting in my bedroom in my sweatpants, it doesn't mean I can drop everything to help them with something at the drop of a hat).

but if you're not experiencing any downsides working from home, why pay the money?

 

[n yusef]

I feel more motivated when I'm working in a café. I feel self-conscious if I procrastinate in front of strangers, and the café doesn't want me there indefinitely. So, I understand the desire for a non-home workspace.

 

[Jeff7]

It of course depends who you're around. Here, there are 3-4 people in the engineering office, and I like it this way. None of us are naturally loud people, so that angle works out. (Temperature is the biggest issue. Room temperature preferences here differ by a range of about 10-15°F. 😀) It's handy if you need to verify something, have a technical question that's slightly outside your engineering discipline, or just want to bounce ideas off someone quick.