I’ve been “working remotely” for a few years now, which really means I work from home. The truth about working from home is that unless you’re working with others, it’s easy to get distracted by household chores like cleaning and laundry. Worst case scenario, you turn on the TV for one second, and realize three hours has gone by.
The beauty of working for yourself is the freedom you have to work when and where you want. So it makes sense then, to look for places you both enjoy being at and can get work done at.
I’ve been living in Venice for almost two years now, and I’ve been to easily over 20 coffe shops on the westside alone. The following are my three favorite coffee shops do work at, in Los Angeles, west of the 405.
#1) 212 Pier – The bohemian cafe open 24 hours a day, with free wifi and plenty of desks near outlets.
http://www.212pier.com/ | 212 pier ave, santa monica, ca
I was recently introduced to 212 Pier by my friend Aviva, who I often meet here for “casual coworking” sessions. While it’s the newest coffee shop I regularly go to, it quickly proved to be my favorite. First and foremost, it’s open 24 hours a day, which means I can sit here and do work til 4am. I like their coffee, and they also have good food (breakfast food, pastas, salads, and sandwiches) serving til 2:30am and again starting at 7am, which means I can order myself an omelet at 2am! Where else can I do that? Most importantly, they have plenty of desks (both on the first floor and the upstairs loft area), with plenty of outlets. It’s not surprising that you’ll always find a good number of students, writers, and entrepreneurs. Additional plus: the girls who work here are cute and nice.
#2) Intelligentsia – Awesome espresso and no outlets means it’s great for power work sessions.
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/ | 1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA
Intelligentsia has more than one location, but the one I’m talking about is the one on Abbot Kinney. The reason I started liking this place was their awesome espresso and the baristas who take their profession very seriously. What keeps me going back is the people who go there. I’ve met up with, both randomly and purposefully, with more entrepreneurs at Intelligentsia than any other coffee shops. Some of my favorite entrepreneurs that frequent Intelligentsia include Alex Brunkhorst from Bungalux, Ken from Givigiv, and Skot from GoPhilosophie. Intelligentsia has free wi-fi, but they don’t have any outlets. This means you can’t work here for more than a few hours on your computer, but it’s great for sitting down and pumping out work for a short amount of time. The time limit happens to help me work faster. Unfortunately, the food options are limited to a few pastries.
#3) Cow’s End – You can literally see the ocean from the front porch seats.
http://www.thecowsendcafe.com/ | 34 Washington Boulevard
Venice Beach, CA 90292
Cow’s End is cute coffee shop on Washington Blvd, next door to the Cabo Cantina by the Venice Pier. They have great food and coffee, but mostly I just love that you can see the ocean while working. Street parking isn’t bad on Washington as long as you’re more than a block east of the ocean.
#4) Of course, there are more. Please tell me where you work.
I’m looking for more places to work, if you know of any places I might like, please let me know (in the comments section below)! What I’m looking for are: good coffee/espresso, food options, free wi-fi, late night spots, ocean view, and cute baristas.
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