

Lessons Learned Working from Coffee Shops - bleachtree
http://blog.sqwiggle.com/post/47026109259/8-lessons-learned-from-2-years-working-from-coffee

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w1ntermute
Does anyone else find it painful working at coffee shops? Non-ergonomic
chairs, weird table heights, poor posture inherent to using laptops (no
external monitor). I'd much rather work from home or an office.

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kayoone
Agreed. Doing that on a regular basis for a few years cant really be good for
your posture.

Besides, i find the coffee shops in the city are usually very cramped, lots of
noise and young parents/babies, mediocre wifi. I enjoy working from a
coworking space and i also enjoy a proper working enviroment with a beefy
workstation, 2 external displays, people around that are developers vs young
hipster moms, stable fast internet etc. I go to the coffee shop to take a
break and well, grab a coffee.

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thebear
The hubbub of big city coffeehouses is indeed not conducive to hacking. If you
have the luxury of being able to move around, it's worth checking out
coffeehouses in small towns. My current favorite in Northern California is the
Curly Wolf in Nevada City. Exquisite interior decoration, great people, quiet
atmosphere, open til midnight Sun through Thu, til 2am Friday and Saturday.
And if you're willing to travel farther, you can even still find hacker's
paradise, like the Shot in the Dark in Tucson, AZ: open 24/7. Trust me, it's
quiet in there at 3am.

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kayoone
I live in europe (germany to be exact) and the problem is that coffee shops
outside of the city often dont have Wifi, or if they do it isnt free. In the
city its usually different, but they are cramped full most of the time and
close at 6pm. Also driving around to find a good spot creates too much
overhead for me, i will continue to go to coffee shops for drinking a coffee i
guess but YMMV of course.

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w1ntermute
I just tether all the time to get around this. Unless it's a place I regularly
go to (home, office, friend's place), I don't even bother messing with wifi. I
can have internet on my laptop up and running in seconds by tethering. Other
people are awed when they see that I instantly have internet, without having
to wrestle with annoying login pages and wifi passwords.

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kayoone
only got 300MB of data on my quite expensive plan, so tethering is more like
an emergency option :/

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w1ntermute
Ah, that sucks. I've got a grandfathered unlimited 4G data plan on Verizon, on
which I've used 15-20 GB of data in a month without any problems.

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ja27
I'm not a coffee drinker and really don't like the smell of burnt coffee. My
solution? Local libraries. Mine recently started allowing drinks (with a
sealed lid like a bottle) and simple snacks and some even have vending
machines now. It's often me, the librarians, and a few retirees until school
lets out. I sometimes work from a nearby sports bar with good wifi, but the
19th hole bro crowd gets pretty obnoxious.

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lostlogin
Burnt coffee isn't nice, but the smell of fresh coffee is amazing (for me) -
it beats fresh bread, the smell of brewery's and the smell of warm oil from a
classic car engine bay. The only thing that comes close I think, is the smell
of the oil (which dries like a varnish) which I did my floors with.
www.naturalhouse.co.nz/shop/java-classic-resin-oil/

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monitron
Bringing a little power strip can make you the most popular person at the
coffee shop, especially if you're sitting at one of those long tables with one
measly outlet nearby.

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tommoor
great tip!

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ruswick
I find his point about "overstaying your welcome" to be of significance. What
constitutes such an intrusion? Is there some sort of universal time limit? Is
it commensurate with the amount of money one spends?

I've always operated by the tenet that, if they take my money, I am justified
in staying for as for long as is necessary. This seems to be the generally
accepted precedent, as I've seen an immeasurable number of people purchase a
single item and spend an entire day working. This is especially true of local,
boutique coffee shops, at which the patrons seem to be less transient than
those of, say, a Starbucks. Personally, I generally purchase a single espresso
for $1.50, add milk to attempt to simulate the taste of an actual cappuccino
(at one third of the cost), and stay for between three and six hours. This
seems to be standard operating procedure for many people. Are extended stays
stigmatized elsewhere?

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pacaro
First: tenet not tenant; accepted not excepted.

$1.50 espresso for 3-6 hours feels a little like you are taking advantage of
the coffee shop. There is always going to be some variation, but I would
prefer to be a customer that helps a business--that provides a service that I
like--stay profitable rather than one that helps put them out of business.

If/when times are hard it is good that you can do this, but otherwise if you
can afford to support a business that is supporting you then order the
cappuccino!

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cail
Agreed. Personally, whenever I study or do work in a coffee shop I try to
regularly make purchases.

I usually end up averaging between $1 and $2 per hour which I think is
completely reasonable for the space, drinks, snacks, and internet access. I'll
ramp it up a bit if they get busy and if they stay busy for very long (30 min.
or longer) I will usually leave.

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dangoldin
How is this in the top 5 of HN? Most of the points seem pretty obvious.

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gojomo
Yes, standalone it is banal - but it's interesting as a conversation-starter,
to see what habits and tips other HNers will share.

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dangoldin
Fair enough. I do find that depending on the title I will sometimes read
comments first.

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doug4hn
I find that more people aren't even going into the coffee shop. They just park
outside close enough to get a good wifi signal and relax in their car or van
for hours on end.

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ultimoo
But what's the idea in that? People work out of coffee shops because they need
a social place with other human beings around. Almost everyone has an internet
at home, so they could always work form home rather than being cooped up in a
car waiting for the cops to come around asking.

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doug4hn
Some are just stuck because they can't go elsewhere because of traffic jams
and they don't want to go inside because it's too crowded or too many people
waiting in line for coffee (or to go to bathroom).

Afraid I've never heard of anyone being accosted by officers about hanging out
in the parking lot inside their car w/ their computer. Who is to say who's
wifi they are using anyway (especially in a tight area where you have multiple
choices for wifi)?

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buildnship
This has to be one of the most useless articles i've ever read...

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wolfowitz
You must be new to the internet then ;)

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rammark
Also, make sure your Internet connection is secure. Set up a VPN (or buy from
a provider) to be 100% safe.

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abraininavat
Your advice is... buy something? Bring the stuff you need? This is the blog
equivalent of Fox & Friends

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Paul_D_Santana
The "Advertise On Your Laptop" advice is a terrific idea.

I really like the back of iWaffles' laptop, and the suggestion to put your
Twitter handle on there too (or website etc).

As to your comment on the validity of this article:

When I read an article or a book, I focus on getting something of value out of
it. If I can gain at least one good idea that I can use for the rest of my
life, then it was a worthwhile. Focus on the positive. It will change your
life.

