This is an attempt to visit every work-friendly coffee shop in NYC.
Some Background
Hi! I’m Alex, a voluntarily jobless software engineer based in New York City. A year ago, I decided I was going to quit my job (which was a yearlong process in and of itself) to figure myself out and maybe eventually start my own company.
It has now been two weeks since my last day, and I am starting to go stir-crazy sitting around my apartment. I feel like I’m going to leave a permanent indent in my couch. For the first few days, I ignored the problem, but the 4x8 square of natural light that I receive in my apartment was not enough. The empty bottles of Elijah Craig on the counter paired with the relentless mid-work-day bang bang bang of Call of Duty on the PS5 I feel were starting to unsettle my roommates—let alone my ability to stay motivated.
The Inspiration
As any good Gen Z’er does when they encounter an issue, I turned to reddit to research solutions. Because of my current lack of income, I’ve decided to adopt a radically minimalistic lifestyle, so joining a coworking space or anything like that is off the table. Reddit is a great resource for finding answers to questions that are timeless and not bound to a specific location, like “How do I get over a breakup” or “If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?” When it comes to coffee shops, the platform shows a severe lack of insight into spots that have good vibes but also offer ample space to work. Things move fast in New York I guess. After a few days of research I ended up with a hit or miss but fairly large list of workable places.
The Project
The list got me thinking. Out of my desire to help others who find themselves in similar situations to me (or due to my severe lack of structure and looming mental breaking point), I am going to visit every coffee shop in New York with any kind of seating/work area and organize a database ranked on a variety of helpful attributes.
I am going to rank each coffee shop on its Comforts, Work Practicality, and potential Hazards.
In the comforts category, each place will be ranked on its seating comfort, available views, and overall vibe. For work practicality, I’m going to rank based on seating availability, charging accessibility, and peace & quiet. Those are the positives. I’m going to rank the hazards based on the bathrooms (quality and number), the drinks (coffee, tea ,etc), and the likelihood of having your stuff stolen. I am also going to record the internet speed and access so you don’t have to.
New York City is a constantly changing place. Restaurants, stores, and coffee shops come and go fast. I know what I am trying to do is ambitious. While I am using this blog mostly as a log of my activity, I hope you enjoy following along (both here and on the socials). Wish me luck!