Coffee Shops: Office or Playground?

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www.AmyMorse.co.uk

 

I am self employed, but I'm also a social person and gather energy and inspiration by being around other people. 
 

It means that one of the greatest challenges I face is struggling with the isolation that working at home can bring.

I find a reason to go out every day and like to conduct business over a coffee with people, when people meet me, they are more likely to want to work with me.

As a writer, it's easy to lose an entire day tapping away at a keyboard and not see another person until my husband gets home from work.

I like to take my laptop out with me and work in coffee shops. I find that just the babble of voices around me feeds my creativity and motivation to write, and it gets me out of my pyjamas and out of the house!

I live in the fantastic city of Bristol UK. 

A city that has won awards for its cuisine and its independent spirit.

A city that celebrates diversity and does so through food and drink. 

I am spoiled for choice for places to eat and drink and all within walking distance.

But Bristol is a different animal in the daytime during the week, when most people are at work. 

As you would expect in a family friendly city; during the week most of the coffee shops are filled with mums.

At this point, I need to add a caveat...

I'm in my late 30's, I'm very happily married (and have been for 12 years) and I have no desire to be a mum.

This is the part where most people look at me with either; fear, disgust, mistrust, horror or sympathy. 

I am a social pariah by virtue of the fact that I am childless and I choose to be. Even my own family (especially my own family) don't understand it.

I'm a proud aunt, most of my friends have kids - I don't hate children. I'm not some weird Cruella DeVille character who wants to make a child skin jacket. 

Kids are fine, they can be fun to be around, but at the end of the day I want to come home to a quiet house and minimal responsibilities.

Frankly, I'm amazed I've managed to keep myself alive for this long, let alone another person!

My husband and I are very happy in our family unit of 2 (+ cat) thank you very much.

I can work in a noisy, child filled environment but I don't want to. When I told this to my sister (who has 2 small children) she said that was "depressing".

Is it? Is it not okay for me to want to have a public space to work in that is not filled with children? (Without having to pay to book a room - the whole point is to be around people, not in a room on my own!)

Picture this: You're trying to have a professional meeting with another freelancer and you have to raise your voices over the sound of children screaming and make sure your bags, coats etc. are out of reach from sticky fingers.  

In a city as eclectic as Bristol with its, literally, thousands of coffee shops it should be possible to find one to take a laptop into or meet a client in, without feeling like I'm sat in an adventure playground?

This is my challenge.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to work in a variety of coffee shops in the city and rate them for their useability as a mobile office.

I've constructed a short survey, so that I measure each establishment against the same criteria.

My questions include:

• Do they have Free WiFi?
• Value for money - Not 'cheap', I'll pay more for a good coffee.
• Friendliness of staff
• Noise/Environment

I'll score each place and report my findings.


Have your say...

Am I out of order to seek this?

 

Should there be places where adults can find sanctuary from other people's children?

 

Are there enough child friendly places?  

What's it like where you live - how child friendly are public spaces?

(Please comment)