Yakoob on 2/5/2012 at 01:34
Since graduating I have been working as a part time freelance web designer, which basically means sitting on my laptop for hours on end, coding. Needless to say after almost four months of this I am quite sick of being in my room all the time; I need a change of scenery!
When I was writing my masters in North Ireland I'd frequently go to my nearby Starbucks, which is much unlike the US counterpart. Comfortable couches and tables, great ambiance and music, free wifi, friendly staff, and most importantly - free refills on coffee! I'd routinely spend like six hours there, working on papers, catching up with friends who'd stop in for lunch, and chatting with the baristas. After a month of this, as soon as I walked in I'd be greeted with a smile and "so how's your dissertation coming along?" It was nice.
Now that I am back in Los Angeles (near Alhambra and South Pasadena) I've been trying to find a place to replicate that but sadly, no luck! After some yelp-research and checking a few places out I realized pretty much all of them aren't geared for sitting-in, but rather "grab a quick iced mocha / boba milk tea / snack and gtfo." No comfortable sitting, focus on iced/boba/specialty drinks (which are awesome in its own right, but wheres my simple coffee?), not much of an ambiance and never, ever any refills. I did find one nice diner-styled cafe in Pasadena Mall (Camille's Cafe) that fit the bill, but after spending half my day there, the staff was giving me weird looks (I paid for the coffee and lunch dang it!) There was another one in South Pasadena (Kaldi) that has the perfect couches and mood, but no bathroom (which is ridiculous at a place where you drink lots of coffee).
I am really missing the sit-in cafes now; I guess they really are a European thing, huh. I'm making this thread to see if anyone else here is into cafes. Because getting out of your room on a cloudy cold day, sitting in a comfy couch with a laptop or a stack of books, sipping on that warm mug as people come and go... it does wonders to one's mood and productivity!
demagogue on 2/5/2012 at 01:53
Cafes on the east coast are usually sit in, especially Starbucks. In NYC and DC both I was always like you, I'd go in, get a coffee & a table, and do work for like 5 or 6 hours. Well you can't always do that in Manhattan because some days they're so crowded all day long, but DC ... definitely. Maybe it's just a west coast thing?
CCCToad on 2/5/2012 at 04:29
Its Starbucks that is the problem.
There are a few places that have a lot of sit in cafes. Savannah has several nice, comfortable cafes that you can just lounge in. A number of Colorado's mountain towns have the same. In "strip mall hell" towns where every business is a franchise you won't find them.....only Starbucks exists.
Koki on 2/5/2012 at 05:28
You code on a laptop?
Al_B on 2/5/2012 at 07:27
Quote Posted by Yakoob
There was another one in South Pasadena (Kaldi) that has the perfect couches and mood, but no bathroom (which is ridiculous at a place where you drink lots of coffee).
Are you sure about that? I believe there may be exceptions for extremely old restaurants,
but unless the place is extremely small I'm surprised that they can get away with no bathroom facilities at all.
SubJeff on 2/5/2012 at 08:21
Quote Posted by Koki
You code on a laptop?
Ha ha I thought exactly the same thing.
And now I feel dirty.
catbarf on 2/5/2012 at 14:03
Quote Posted by Koki
You code on a laptop?
Is there any reason not to?
demagogue on 2/5/2012 at 14:17
Especially web design where half of it is probably aesthetic and creative, I'd imagine it's much better to be in a cafe than in a stuffy room or office. There's lots of kinds of work that I've found better done in a cafe on a laptop.
Pyrian on 2/5/2012 at 15:11
While I prefer two large widescreen monitors for serious development, a laptop will suffice. 'Course, I've written a fair amount of code in notepad (or vi for that matter) so I may not be the best judge.
SubJeff on 2/5/2012 at 15:27
Well, anything will do if you have to, but I'd far prefer 2 monitors.
Laptop in a coffee shop would only be if I was really desperate.
