[hacknat]

I work at a non-profit coworking space that strives to put community first. It is a registered art gallery and has programs for helping women and minorities get their ideas off the ground. The community has been great and the noise isn’t anything that a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones can’t fix.

Coworking spaces are actually terrible businesses so they end up being real estate plays for most people. The non-profit model is the best, IMO, because it puts the focus on the community which ends up making the space great. The non-profit element also ensures that it isn’t a software mono culture: a couple of political campaigns, and the local ACLU chapter (to name a couple) work out of the space and it super interesting to chat with them.

Addendum:

I also think coworking spaces are one of the rare times when open offices don’t suck. I don’t work with anyone there, so if I have my headphones on no one bothers me.