The Boston/Cambridge co-working scene continues to grow, with many many options for the entrepreneur who can’t yet afford or doesn’t want to open up their own office. As of last summer, there were more than 50 co-working options in the area. If you’re looking for an office in a co-working space, where that co-working space is often depends on where you are in your life. Single and city dweller? Young couple? Young family moving to the suburbs? What location works best for you?
I often tell my clients that the most precious thing they have is their time. It’s the scarcest resource and the one thing it is impossible to outsource (until cloning comes along.)
And until instant transporters get invented (“Beam me up, Scotty”), the daily commute will continue to be one of the biggest time sucks for many entrepreneurs. When you have a home in the suburbs and an office in the city, you could potentially waste 3-4 hours daily sitting in traffic each day or taking the commuter rail to the T to the bus to the office. Then again, if your office is the ‘burbs, you could feel like you are spending your life running back and forth to Kendall Square and the Innovation District for meetings. Or, maybe you are just spending a hella amount on rent and living and working the urban dream. No car payments though, right? Because who can afford to park in the city anyway. Yeah.
So, when a new coworking space opens up that takes a chunk off the commute, I want to check it out. Last week’s Innovation Breakfast was hosted by TechHub Boston at their new location at the edge of Davis Square, Somerville. This new co-working option is equidistant from the Porter Square station and the Davis Square Station. If you are coming in to the city on the Fitchburg line, this is a good option for you. Commuter rail all the way and walk those last few blocks, or jump on the T one stop to Davis.
When TechHub surveyed attendees at their events over the course of the last year (drop a token in the appropriate bucket), Somerville was a popular option. And, Davis Square, on the Red line, is an excellent choice. Just down the street from popular café/coffeehouse Diesel, with more than just a smattering of bars and excellent restaurant choices, it’s an easy lunchtime stroll out to pick up a sandwich, soup and salad. Or visit the drugstore, banks, dry cleaner, etc.
The space itself, in the former Powderhouse Productions home on Elm, is open and flexible with enough offices, conference rooms, etc. to make most people happy. The big windows provide plenty of natural light and views of the Painted Burro and the Rosebud Diner across the street. There’s plenty of on-street and lot parking throughout the day for 2 and 3 hour visits by those with cars. (Things do get more challenging in the evening, especially if you and the crew are looking for ribs and want to park near Redbones!) And Somerville needs to address the needs of all day commuters. Where can I put my car for the day? Note to self, if I was working in Davis Square, look into business permits. Or plan on parking at Alewife and hopping the T for a single stop. Big savings over downtown parking lots for sure.
Big thanks and welcome to the TechHub team!