Wifi, Quiet, and Community: How to Find Places to Work When You’re Traveling

How to prepare for working without wifi

Wifi, Quiet, and Community: How to Find Places to Work When You’re Traveling

Wifi, Quiet, and Community: How to Find Places to Work When You’re Traveling

One of the biggest issues location-independent entrepreneurs face is finding temporary workspaces that suit all of our needs (#thestruggleisreal). When you arrive in a new country or city, it can be pretty challenging to find that perfect working space -- one that combines solid internet, great coffee, a quiet ambiance, and the chance to meet other digital nomads to befriend on your travels.

Even in your hometown, you might be looking for new cafés or workspaces to change up your routine and get out of the house. Working from home in your pajamas can be great, but sometimes a girl needs to get dressed and get out to feel productive (and escape all the distractions that come with a home office).

There are more options than ever for you to set up shop with your laptop and notebook. Whether you’re a digital nomad who roams the world, or a location-independent boss that stays put in her city, here’s how I recommend finding a space to work that suits you.

Coffee & wifi

To find a nearby café or coworking space, all you need is your smartphone. A quick search in Google maps for “cafés near me” will show you spots nearby where you can grab a coffee and set up your office for an hour or two. But with this method, you always run the risk of the place having poor wifi -- or none at all.

Luckily, many-a-nomad before us has faced this issue, and a few of them have created solutions for us. There are café hunting apps that not only tell you where the nearest latte is, but how fast the wifi is, how many outlets the place has, and if they have food or not. (So, pretty much everything you need to know before setting up camp for an afternoon.)

Start here:

Coworking bliss

Maybe café working isn’t really your thing. After all, it can be noisy and distracting with the constant rotation of customers. That might make coworking spaces a better option for you. Coworking spaces are a shared office environment where freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small teams can rent a desk or office. Some coworking spaces allow drop-in and flex passes, while others strictly rent by the month.

Start here:

  • Copass, an organization that offers a membership to over 500 coworking spaces around the world, also has a pretty extensive directory.
  • WeWork is an organization that has a network of coworking spaces in many locations around the world, and is expected to continue growing rapidly as it expands to new locations. With its recent valuation at $16 billion, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we will be seeing more coworking spaces opening all over the place.

Because existing apps and directories online are usually pretty incomplete (it’s a tall task to cover coworking all over the world!), oftentimes the best way to find coworking near you is Google. You can also try finding the main startup scene online community and website for your city. Chances are, they will have a list of coworking spaces nearby.

Temporary office spaces

Sometimes you need a space a little quieter than a café and you need more alone time than a coworking space can provide. For example, if you’re giving a webinar, recording a podcast, or having an in-person interview with a brand new client, you might want to look into short term office space rental. There are a few companies that are offering office space rental by the hour or day.

Start here:

Use those sites to search for available temporary offices in your city. You can find a desk, a conference room, or a private office to suit your needs for the day, without having to commit to an entire month of rent. Perfect for those days when you need more space.

Join a nomad community

With more and more entrepreneurs and freelancers choosing the nomad life, there are tons of communities popping up that you can join to meet likeminded people, find travel buddies, and learn some nomad lifestyle tips (like the best wifi/brunch combo in town).

If you are looking for a community to live and travel with, consider joining a group like Remote Year or Hacker Paradise. These organizations bring together entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers for a coworking adventure. They make most of your living and travel arrangements for you, so you don’t have to worry about all the logistics of being constantly on the move.

If you’re looking for a shorter term stay in a coworking/coliving environment, something like Outsite or Surf Office might interest you. These organizations offer accommodations along with a dedicated workspace in beautiful locations like Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Lisbon, and Gran Canaria.

Maybe you’re not ready to commit to living with strangers, but still want to meet other nomads. Good news -- there are communities for that, too! Join the #Nomads Slack community to connect with over 10,000 nomads and find people in the cities you’re planning on traveling to. Similarly, joining groups like One Woman Shop will introduce you to solopreneurs living all over the world who you can connect with. There’s no better way to discover local gems than from people who’ve been there!

Getting work done on the road has never been easier

Finding the perfect workspace as a digital nomad isn’t easy -- but fortunately, there are options galore to make the search simpler than it’s ever been before. And once you’ve found that perfect place, you can settle into a routine before your wanderlust sets in and your next digital nomad adventure begins.

Tell me in the comments below: What will you be adding to your workspace bucket list?

Digital nomad and location independence resources

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Kayli is the co-founder & CEO of SparkWrite, a platform that helps connect clients with the best freelance writers. She’s also a Digital Marketing Strategist and creator of Young Guns Creative, a marketing agency that works with entrepreneurs and startups to develop digital marketing plans and content that connects with their people. Follow her adventures on Twitter and Instagram as she roams the world while running her businesses.

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