I find it interesting that Coffee shops have such a long standing history in London given that tea is basically the national drink.
The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
51–60 of 178 posts
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I think the atmosphere is quite cozy, and love taking my own stuff to work on I can remember a time (1980's and earlier) when the modern version of the coffee shop didn't exist. The nearest equivalent was a bar: Dimly lit, filled with smoke, loud annoying music, aggressive people, and a waiter coming around every 10 minutes to ask/demand if you want another drink. If you dared bring in some papers or a book to read…
>I can remember a time (1980's and earlier) when the modern version of the coffee shop didn't exist. Are you talking about the US here? I'm pretty sure they've been around in Europe and the Middle East for centuries.
Yeah, in Lisbon one of those "modern" coffee shops has celebrated its 230th anniversary.
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, as far as I know the very first cafés in Europe opened in the 17th century in Vienna, Paris and London and then spread to Italy and the rest of the Austro-Hungarian empire over the following two centuries.
Yep, there were revolutions in Europe that started out in coffee shops.
And yet the guy with "a PhD in coffee shops" in the original article says he thinks they contributed to political stability in 18th Century England because they give people a place to rant and feel better afterwards...
(I never was convinced that you feel better after a rant, though. Rather, you have just worked out your "angry muscles".)
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
A bot that recognizes approximately-quoted pop culture references and provides their source would be a hell of a bot.
Oh boy... it's actually not that hard to imagine a future of spambot's running on neural networks. :/
And the same networks could fuel spam filters, eventually leading to: https://xkcd.com/810/.
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Might be geographical? Many of Vienna's most popular cafés were established in the 1800s.
My exact thought. I also think elsewhere im europe there were cafes and bars where especially writers would work.
This article from a few years ago is quite interesting regarding the literary history of London's coffee houses:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united...
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I can remember a time (1980's and earlier) when the modern version of the coffee shop didn't exist. Are you talking about the US here? I'm pretty sure they've been around in Europe and the Middle East for centuries.
Yeah, in Lisbon one of those "modern" coffee shops has celebrated its 230th anniversary.
Those hipsters.
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or maybe people want a middle-ground (in outcome or in rate-of-change) which for whatever reason doesn't seem to be in the cards.
You're either ascending, or you're declining as a city. Things don't remain frozen in time. People age, buildings age, new people are born, commerce brings people in, those are the dynamics.
Theoretically you could, but I don't want to be the one designing a PID controller for that...
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
When they don't have it people want it, and when they get it, they don't want it. Run down cities, rust belt cities wish for gentrification, people who live in places going down hill wish for it too, it brings safer neighborhoods, better stores, more jobs, on the other hand people decry rising rents and "changing the character" of the neighborhood, as if unemployment and the transients didn't also"change the characte…
I don't think it's a binary either-or. People obviously want safety and opportunity. They also tend to want to preserve the micro-culture of their neighbourhood. "Globalisation" (whatever that is) feels homogenous and corporate. Some people don't want that, they don't want to live in a place that could be anywhere else. They want to own the land and property, not be priced out. I'm quite surprised at people here sugg…
About "displacing" people, honest question: why people who already live somewhere (but rent and don't own) should be privileged compared to people who have the same financial ability, but didn't live at said place before? Why is being "priced out" of same place you already live at perceived as something worse than not being able to afford to move into some neighborhood to begin with?
BTW, apartment that I live in right now is already below the market, and if the landlord decides to adjust the price next year when my contract expires, I'll have to move. I don't feel that I'm privileged to some special treatment just because I already live here though: free market is what it is.
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#59Commenting on this post while I'm at a coffee shop myself.
If I had to pick one city for having the best coffee shops, it would probably be Tel Aviv. The coffee is great, all coffee shops are laptop friendly (and gladly provide you with the wifi password), and people are very open to social interaction with strangers. At any given moment you'll find a designer working on a logo, an architecture student reading a post blasting gentrification, entrepreneurs discussing their new startup, or freelancers looking for a break from working at home. Tel Aviv coffee shops are also very dog friendly, and that's always a great conversation starter.
I often find that "could you watch my laptop while i go to the bathroom?" followed by "hey, what are you working on?" is usually the best way to get to know new people.
I even find that I'm a lot more productive when I work at a coffee shop instead of an office. A coffee shop provides with just enough distraction and people watching when you need to take a break, but not enough that you completely lose concentration and focus.
Re: The caffeine curse: why coffee shops have always signalled urban change
#60> I love looking in through the outside window and seeing everyone on MacBooks, it’s busy, it’s exciting and yet you’ll get someone walking passed saying ‘Oh my god, look in there, everyone is on a laptop! What’s wrong with them! Why don’t they talk to each other!?’ This is funny, because it perfectly describes the difference in attitude between me and my father. He gets annoyed when he walks into a coffee shop and s…
My father used to blast me for years for being on my laptop all the time. Today he actually spends more time with his laptop at coffee shops than I do.