Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

I can't stand how poorly sound-isolated the conference rooms and offices are. I have literally been standing outside a conference room, waiting for my meeting to start, and overheard the details of a company shutting down. The private offices that we pay good money for aren't much better. Because they use single-paned glass (cheap) you can hear every foot step, conversation, or other random noise from any office or hallway near you.

What's even more hilarious? Our door locks seized closed for a couple of days, and their fix was to just open all of the locks and leave the entire WeWork unlocked with a single security guard there during business hours. Ridiculous.

"irritating"?

Cafe owners are free to allow laptop users or ask people to stay for a short time.

I haven't had a great experience with co-working at all, I wish there was something like Breather where I live.

Has anyone here had experience with Breather.com?

I work from home but would really like to tap into that "private space" vibe now and then. Regus is available here but it feels like going to the "PC room" in 1999.

I can block certain people from Facebook and Linked In, but those people are very active in coworking spaces. They're the type who love to mingle and promote themselves as experts, talk above others, completely ignoring that other people are focused on doing their own thing.

At least if you work in a company open office, your boss tries to prevent it from happening.

I echo the same sentiment as other commenters in this thread. I have tried all possible routes and here's my findings:

1. Working from home

This is possibly the worst decision I've made because, the disconnect between work and leisure disappears and either of the two things will happen - you will either end up working 24/7 or you will relax more often than you would in a proper office environment.

If you have a large house with an office room in the ground floor and the rest of your rooms upstairs, it can work. But then, there is very little friction to stop you from moving out of that room to watch TV, play with your dog, etc.

The other thing is it's super hard to control external distractions - like guests visiting, delivery guys, etc.

I don't recommend working from home if you can avoid it. But I do understand not everyone can afford office spaces and home offices are basically free.

2. Proper office spaces

I rented out an office space with a provider for about a year. It was very expensive and on top of a city center, but the experience was amazing. I had a private room for myself with a really beautiful view of the beach nearby. There was a receptionist I hired, who would take care of and filter out all the noise. I had absolute tranquility and was very, very productive.

In my view, this is the best bang for your buck as when clients visit your office, they know you're not joking around and you have proper office space that gives them the confidence, especially if they're corporates.

3. Co-working spaces

The idea seems nice on paper, but it was really terrible. It's only terrible because I have to pay money for it. It's literally a Starbucks experience you pay $300-400 per month for. People will fight for charging ports, talk so loud, keep interrupting you for random reasons, etc.

I absolutely think co-working spaces have the least value for money. In fact the co-working space owners know this themselves, which is why you will often see them try to attract customers by saying they host events, invite investors every month, things like that. But, the value isn't there for me.

4. Coffeeshops and Public libraries

These days, I'm on constant travel and hence I usually find out the nearest public libraries and take my laptop there. Usually they have ample space, so I'm not taking away any readers' space and it's dead silent and as a bonus you get free Wi-Fi too. The next best alternative is Starbucks, but you better invest in a good noise cancellation headphone (I use a Bose).