Working Alone, Together

Freelancing can be a tough life. Health insurance isn't always easy to find, taxes have to be paid 4 times a year, and you don't get a water cooler to share stories around. The last one, at least, can be easily solved if you join the thousands of freelancers who share space with other indie workers. "Coworking," as the phenomenon is known, has been around for awhile (the New York Times traces it back to 2005) but it seems like spots are popping up all over the place. If you’re looking for somewhere to cowork, you can use a service like DesksNear.Me or Loosecubes to see what’s available near you. Freelancers Union offers discounts at a few places in New York and L.A., and a quick search for “coworking” and the name of your city will probably bring up a few places nearby. Whether you want a desk on monthly retainer, a space to drop in every once in a while, or even a whole office to yourself depends on your budget and personal preferences, because there are options out there. We're curious: do you cowork? If so, where? Do you like your arrangement? Anything you want your fellow freelancers to know about coworking? Leave your responses in the comments, and we'll highlight a few in a future issue of The Buzz, our email newsletter.