Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot • Hacker News Board

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#31

Post by Luc » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:54 PM UTC

sreyaNotfilc wrote: post #26

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony is that all the companies and startups work on internet companies which could happen anywhere with internet access. It's not like there is a gold mine under San Francisco streets that requires on site mining. And before you say "the people are the gold mine", those people could be interacted with remotely quite easily.

I saw 'San Francisco' and rolled my eyes. This is the dumbest idea I have seen in a while. What if someone runs you over trying to back into a spot? What if something falls from the sky (besides rain)? Or someone runs off with your equipment because your weren't looking? Or even, its a busy day and someone didn't reserve a parking spot. Putting your workers at risk because you're trying to save some dough is highly i…

Woosh!

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#32

Post by ryanSrich » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:55 PM UTC

jontaydev wrote: post #6

Has anybody tried to create something like AirBnB for co-working/office spaces? There must be people willing to rent out a spare bedroom they never use, etc. All you really need to provide is a desk and internet.

Workfrom seems to be pivoting to something like this https://workfrom.co/homebase

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#33

Post by Luc » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:56 PM UTC

keeganjw wrote: post #11

Good on them for bringing attention to how much space is wasted for parking in cities! A clever way to raise awareness.

Apparently a bit too clever for a lot of people, going by many of the comments here.

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#34

Post by Scoundreller » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:00 PM UTC

s3r3nity wrote: post #10

jontaydev wrote: post #6

Has anybody tried to create something like AirBnB for co-working/office spaces? There must be people willing to rent out a spare bedroom they never use, etc. All you really need to provide is a desk and internet.

A lot of states have laws against office and living spaces being in the same building, if I recall. Maybe someone else has more expertise and correct me. This would obviously make it difficult for someone to rent out their living room to $Startup, for example.

Did Uber let local laws strangle its business? NO!

Did Airbnb let local laws strangle its business? NO!

Did PayPal let money transmitter licenses and rampant fraud strangle its business? NO!

Did YouTube let rampant piracy strangle its business? NO!

Now go start your residential hot-desking business!!’

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#35

Post by candu » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:03 PM UTC

lprubin wrote: post #23

$2.25/hr for 8 hours is $18. I don't know about the SF prices but in Manhattan you can get a "hot desk" for $30/day at some fairly nice places. I'd guess in Brooklyn you can probably find/negotiate something comparable to $18/hr.

I was just going to say the same - and $18 / day * 21-ish working days per month is...$400 / month.

Hey, that's roughly what a coworking office space costs! Except sitting in a parking spot, you don't get free wifi, coffee / tea, bathrooms, networking events, shelter from the elements, facilities security / maintenance...

So: I'm not sure how coworking fits into the larger point they're trying to make. Yes, residential rent is insane in San Francisco - no argument there. Yes, parking spaces that sit unused throughout most of the day are an unfortunate legacy of car-centric urban design. Both of these are solid and reasonable points to make.

But $400 / month for an office space that comes with a slew of amenities? That seems entirely reasonable to me, and definitely in keeping with permanent desk costs in other, less extravagantly priced cities.

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#36

Post by fyfy18 » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:03 PM UTC

Invictus0 wrote: post #19

cowpewter wrote: post #12

That makes me wonder what else you could repurpose as an office in places where offices are disproportionally expensive. What about a climate-controlled storage unit? A quick Googling tells me you can get a small (but large enough for a desk) climate controlled storage unit in San Fran for about $100-150/month. That's vastly cheaper than a co-working space. I know you can get storage units with power, they're pretty…

Met a guy in DC that actually lived inside a warehouse storage unit. He had installed lights, walls for multiple bedrooms, a kitchen/bar, and a lot of cool art. I'm awful at estimating distances but I'd guess the main room was about 800sqft and the bedrooms/bathrooms were divided from another 400sqft. With a little love, any place can become a home.

I haven't ever seem a storage unit with plumbing before...

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#37

Post by RandallBrown » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:04 PM UTC

lprubin wrote: post #23

$2.25/hr for 8 hours is $18. I don't know about the SF prices but in Manhattan you can get a "hot desk" for $30/day at some fairly nice places. I'd guess in Brooklyn you can probably find/negotiate something comparable to $18/hr.

You can get a hot desk for $30/person/day. This parking spot is only $2.25 for as many people as you can fit in it.

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#38

Post by dcosson » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:04 PM UTC

chrisan wrote: post #28

dcosson wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can’t tell if you’re serious but this was a joke/stunt. The point being to show how poor of a use of space it is to have street parking lining every street in an expensive and crowded city.

He may have taken it too literally... but he does have a point. Everyone doesn't _need_ to live in SF. > proving two points: one about the high cost of coworking spaces in an already unaffordable city, and another about how the space currently dedicated to on-street parking in cramped cities like San Francisco could be put to better and more human-centric use. You can reduce your cost of living/co-working by moving o…

Again...it was a stunt. These were pro-housing folks but no one is suggesting directly turning parking into makeshift long term office space or housing. Human centric uses might include — protected bike lanes, trees so that the sidewalks feel further removed from cars, food trucks, outdoor cafe seating, etc.

Also, sure, not everyone needs to live in SF. But that’s a completely unrelated point. There are still people who do choose to live here and want to make the city a nicer place to live.

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#39

Post by lprubin » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:05 PM UTC

jontaydev wrote: post #6

Has anybody tried to create something like AirBnB for co-working/office spaces? There must be people willing to rent out a spare bedroom they never use, etc. All you really need to provide is a desk and internet.

This company does that with extra office space: https://liquidspace.com/share-office-meeting-space

They have a Slack integration that can ping you when somebody places a request that matches your availability.

Re: Newest coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

#40

Post by [deleted] » Wed, May 01, 2019, 2:05 PM UTC

lprubin wrote: post #23

$2.25/hr for 8 hours is $18. I don't know about the SF prices but in Manhattan you can get a "hot desk" for $30/day at some fairly nice places. I'd guess in Brooklyn you can probably find/negotiate something comparable to $18/hr.

[deleted]