Just realized coworking memberships are worth it after years of cafes

I spent 2 years bouncing between coffee shops in Chiang Mai thinking coworking was a rip off at $150 a month. Three weeks ago I finally caved and joined one near the old city and my output literally doubled just from having a proper desk and reliable wifi. Has anyone else found that the cost actually pays for itself in productivity or am I just lucky with this place?

4 comments

4 Comments

murphy.tessa2mo agoTop Commenter

That $150 a month place in Chiang Mai sounds like a steal honestly. I pay $200 at my spot in Medellin and thought it was overpriced at first too. But I was wasting like an hour every morning at cafes just hunting for a decent outlet and seat that wasn't wobbling. Now I walk in, grab my desk, and I'm actually working by 9am instead of 9:45. Plus the free coffee here is actually decent, so that saves me a few bucks a week compared to buying lattes at cafes.

emery2901mo agoMost Upvoted

Haha right?! The latte savings alone probably covers half the rent anyway. I swear every cafe owner in SEA must have a secret pact to charge $4 for a burnt espresso and call it artisanal. But yeah, the psychological shift thing is real... I used to feel like a stray cat just wandering between coffee shops with my laptop. Now I walk into my coworking spot and it's like "okay brain, time to actually do stuff." Still miss the people watching though... sometimes I trade $50 of productivity for a solid hour of eavesdropping on someone's dramatic Zoom breakup.

samflores2mo ago

Yo wait $200 isnt overpriced for Medellin at all, thats actually pretty standard for a decent spot in Laureles or Poblado.

the_olivia2mo ago

Heard a podcast where a digital nomad said the same thing about coworking spaces in Bali. The big difference for me is the psychological shift - when you're at a cafe you're just killing time, but a proper desk tells your brain it's work time. That reliable wifi thing is huge too, I was losing 20 minutes a day just cafe hopping because a spot got too loud or the power went out. Made me realize I was paying for productivity, not just a table.