I gave up on coworking early this month. I've been using a coworking space for nearly 2 years, tested out various spaces and realized that they're just bad for productivity.
Far too many people at coworking spaces seem to be there for networking, or are simply not serious enough about work.
I moved to a 'business center' (like Regus) which has a much quieter and more professional environment. Couldn't be happier.
With Regus, it seems it depends a lot on the location and how it is being managed. I've had different experiences in the same city.
The good part is that they have a lot of locations.
I'll be very happy to pay a premium for a quiet working space, even sound proof where I can work alone in peace. I wonder if there are any startups tackling this need
Yes! Whenever my wife and I have spent large amount of time at her mother's (where there's effectively no internet due to being so far out in the boonies), I'd drive the 10 minutes to a nearby library in town that actually had a decent connection, and would work from there.
Only issue was the dearth of areas to take calls, but even that was only mildly inconvenient, since I'm usually on mute, and could duck outside for those.
Every library I've been in has had a few small spaces available for reservation for maybe 2 hour blocks. They're sometimes kinda hidden though, and sometimes first come first serve, so not always what you need.
Libraries are great places to work from! Typically quiet, good internet, nice people, and many larger ones have rooms you can sign out or rent for meetings.
I had a good experience with Regus in Kuala Lumpur. However in Barcelona they really nickel and dimed me. Worse though, we had to pay per device for Internet connectivity - and the Internet was subpar.
Far too many people at coworking spaces seem to be there for networking, or are simply not serious enough about work.
I moved to a 'business center' (like Regus) which has a much quieter and more professional environment. Couldn't be happier.