This is part of an ongoing series on happiness. I’m going to continue sharing everyday moments, experiences, and activities where I feel most happy. Since I believe the pursuit of happiness is something that binds humanity, and since one of the major reasons to attain financial freedom in the first place is to improve one’s happiness, I find it important to share aspects of my life where I feel like the pursuit of happiness is most successful. I hope to show through these regular insights that not only does it not take much (or any) money to improve one’s happiness, but also that financial freedom provides additional opportunities (via more time) to boost happiness.
If you’re not familiar with what a coworking space is, it’s essentially a shared work environment. It allows like-minded people who work independently to come together, under one roof, and ply their craft.
Wikipedia has a great article on all things coworking, if you’re interested in learning more about it.
A good coworking space effectively takes everything I love about working in a coffee shop to the nth degree. It allows for the community aspect, the avoidance of the isolation/distraction of working at home, and the access to high-quality food and beverages to keep the creative juices flowing.
But it kicks it up a notch or ten.
Whereas the coffee shops I’d work at in America were frequented by retirees, active moms running in for a coffee, or just people hanging out on a day off, a coworking space is often filled with serious entrepreneurs and digital nomads who have a like-minded approach to life, work, and money. They typically have various online businesses (blogs, vlogs, coding, freelance, etc.), which they built by adopting a lot of the principles I espouse. There’s a certain kinship there that can add value, inspiration, and synergy to one’s life and work.
There’s a coworking space here in Chiang Mai that I’ve been visiting almost daily. It’s called C.A.M.P. (Creative And Meeting Place).
The place is truly global inside. I’m surrounded by people all over the world.
I was just having a conversation the other day with a vlogger from Bulgaria, upon which time I introduced him to a local coffee club run by and for digital nomads and online entrepreneurs. We had a conversation about online work, geographical arbitrage, visas, and the beauty of living in Chiang Mai.
It’s the kind of serendipity I moved here for.
There’s a certain amount of happiness that one feels when they’re surrounded by like-minded people. Conversations can skip right past the whole explanation phase (you do what?) and get right into the meat of what it is to live this way. There’s a mutual understanding that has a lot of value. And there’s validation there that inspires you in a way that’s hard to describe.
And while coffee shops in America might offer a $5 large iced coffee or $7 cold sandwiches, C.A.M.P. offers an array of cheap and delicious food and drinks.
For example, a 20-ounce iced caramel macchiato costs $3.00 (all in). Pad Thai (which tastes amazing) costs around $2.70. So on and so forth.
These prices are admittedly a premium to what coffee or food costs elsewhere in Chiang Mai, but you’re also getting that premium experience/atmosphere. Plus, you’re getting the Wi-Fi: every 50 baht ($1.50) spent gets you two hours of Wi-Fi. This is a much better structure to what a lot of other coworking spaces offer, whereby there’s usually a rather expensive membership (daily, weekly, monthly) that one has to pay for in order to gain access to the space. C.A.M.P. is basically free, because I was going to buy food and/or coffee anyway.
There are coworking spaces all over Thailand. It’s a popular concept across the world, but it’s perhaps especially popular in SE Asia due to the number of digital nomads that come to this area to work online.
In fact, there’s even a coworking space literally right on the beach down in Koh Pha Ngan, called Beachub.
Coffee shops were my “happy place” in America. And to a large degree, they still are: I really enjoy the vast number of coffee shops that dot the streets pretty much everywhere over here in Chiang Mai. But I’d say an excellent coworking space is even more of a “happy place” for me.
I’m writing this very article from C.A.M.P. And I couldn’t be happier with my office. It has an amazing view. And I’m inspired by the like-minded people who surround me, doing their little part to live differently and, just maybe, change the world.
Ever been to a coworking space? Enjoy it?
Thanks for reading.
Nice co-working space. I’ll have to check that out next time I’m up in CM.
Thanks for sharing this.
-Mike
Mike,
It’s definitely a great place to get some work done. 🙂
Cheers!
I have yet to check out our local co-working space, but I intend to! I work full time remote and find that the day at a coffee shop or in another location can be very refreshing.
AR,
Definitely worth a look. I hate working at home. Getting out of the house to write inspires me. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers.
Jason – you’re a skilled writer. Is it relatively quiet there at C.A.M.P.? I have to have a quiet area in order to write. And Pad Thai, come on, now I’m hungry.
HP,
Thanks so much. Writing is a big passion of mine. I do my best with the content.
Yeah, it’s fairly quiet. You can engage in private conversations, but it’s largely a workplace where people are getting stuff done.
Best regards!
Jason,
CAMP looks very nice and is packed with many expats and locals. It is nice to meet people from different countries and cultures. Such a place didn’t exist in CM 10 years ago (when I visited there). CM seems to have changed a quite bit. There weren’t nice modern condos back then. I may want to visit CM again and find if we can fit in or not.
BTW, I am considering Philippines because we speak both English and Spanish, and want to attend a barista class in Manila for a while. Their language has some influence from both English and Spanish. But it is true that the culture is somehow influenced by the American culture. Anyway, we have no plan to remain in a single location and will move around every few years or so.
I am curious about the complimentary wifi access at the CAMP. How do they track? Does every customer get his/her own code?
ER19,
Yeah, it’s a great coworking spot. It’s very global. I’ve been able to get so much work done there. It’s like my productivity is on steroids right now, which allows me a lot more free time to explore and have fun. 🙂
What they do there is give you a little piece of paper when you spend the prerequisite amount of money (50 baht). That paper has a login and password, which is good for two hours. Much better/cheaper than the usual coworking structure.
Cheers!
Jason, your blog keeps getting better and better! Amazing post and love the photo. I really enjoy following your journey. Hope I get to visit Chiang Mai one day!
Ian,
Thank you very much. I sincerely appreciate that. As you know, I put my heart and soul into the content. So I’m glad that the quality comes across. 🙂
If you ever visit, make sure to drop me a line. I’m always interested in meeting up for coffee or something.
Best regards!
You know when I hear about all the people that cannot possibly live anywhere else but California, I think of places like this.
Why spend so much money to live in expensive areas, with all the taxes and traffic and other crap, when there are places where you get so much more for so much less.
Congrats on finding your happy place.
MDD,
Well, I appreciate those that live in places like California. Reduces demand for places like CM, keeping my prices low. Everyone can’t live here. As always, I say “to each their own”. 🙂
But I have found my happy place, and the coworking space is just one element of that. I have to pinch myself sometimes over here. Feel like a dream.
Thanks for dropping by!
Best regards.