Talked with a former coworker who's been nomadic 5 years and he changed my mind about coworking spaces

I was always anti coworking spaces. Too expensive, too much noise, I can work from a cafe for free. But Dave, a guy I used to work with back in 2018, hit me up a few weeks ago. He's been bouncing around Asia and Europe for 5 years now. He said he hit a wall 2 years ago where working alone in Airbnbs every day made him start to hate his work. Said his output dropped by maybe 40 percent in those months. He started going to coworking spaces just 3 days a week and his focus came back. I always thought they were a waste of money but he broke it down with real numbers. Now I am looking at a $200 a month spot here in Chiang Mai next month to see if it helps. Anyone else have that experience where a basic setup turned out to matter more than they thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_green5220h ago

Oh man, that's a good point. I'd bet the real money math is more about avoiding burnout than direct earnings spikes. Like yeah, maybe Dave didn't make $200 more that first month, but if his output dropped 40% for a few months, that's way more than $200 in lost income. Plus there's the hidden stuff - less stress means he's not impulse buying flights or getting sick as often from burning out. I've seen people save a ton just by not switching Airbnbs every few weeks because they actually want to stay in one place with a good workspace. The $200 is basically insurance against a way bigger loss.

oliverhernandez1d ago

Hang on, did Dave break down exactly how much his earnings jumped after he started using the coworking space? Because $200 a month is a real hit if the numbers don't work out. I'm curious if he just felt better or actually made more money.