If you can rent an office in walking distance of your home, there’s nothing better. It gets me out and walking around a bustling little one-stoplight town. I get privacy, focus, and quiet, but I also get fresh air and connection to people in my town. Commuting by foot is really pleasant, if you live in a pedestrian-friendly place.

The best for me was working out of co-working space BUT not the one you imagine. It was actually from an office of a company I worked for before. About 5 people, modern, spacious, 15 minutes walking distance from my home. Literally not a single con. I just paid for my old desk space and that was it. I always suggest people to do the same - don't go to dedicated co-working space. I never understood that concept. Try to find a company that would rent you out a desk, in a walking distance from your home. Ideally with 24/7 access ass well. I had my screen there and only carried my notebook. Unfortunately after years, the moved to smaller space and there was no space for me, which sucks. I haven't worked outside home since :(

I tried renting a desk at a co-working space as an alternative to working from home. The space was nice - modern, nicely decorated, quiet. However, the internet connection was managed by monkeys who hard-limited everyone to 5mbps on the Wi-Fi network and blocked everything non-HTTP on the wired one. As an employee of a company who makes heavy use of video conferencing and, well, lots of non-HTTP things, it was completely unworkable. Got a refund and cancelled two days later.

> It was actually from an office of a company I worked for before. About 5 people, modern, spacious, 15 minutes walking distance from my home. Literally not a single con. I just paid for my old desk space and that was it.

I have always felt like there is a market here. I work remotely, but want somewhere to work from consistently for a few days a week. I've tried coffee shops, coworking spaces, etc, but none of them replicate the social aspect of working in an office (which is something I somewhat miss). I'd love to find a local company that has some extra space that would rent me a desk, but I'm not really sure how to approach it short of cold calling a bunch of places.

i made a website for renting and selling real estate - worldwide. visually close to airbnb(ie. big map on the screen) and quite unique filtering mechanism for the ads(i've yet to see anything close to it). essentially the point was to connect buyers and sellers directly because i think real estate agents are just leeches that have no place in 21st century. it was completely free and the goal was to sell ad space. it had not only homes and flats but warehouses, offices and anything else you can think of. one of the things i made point of having was exactly what we are talking about - a rentable desk space. unfortunately, these days, these types of projects live and die with how much money you are willing and able to put into advertising. it is not like in early 2000s or 2010s where a good idea could make it. today, everything has been done and everything has top players(whether service or software). so innovation won't do shit anymore. your success is solely based on ads and getting the name out there(essentially brute-forcing your way to the market). so in the end i killed the project.

though one thing i began working on was my own map tile rendering. i had a free provider(since google and others are insanely expensive for this specific type of project) but i wanted to make my own, for fun. and recently i quit working on a one of my big projects so with a ton of free time on my hands i am thinking of trying again and relaunching the project.

For dedicated co-working spaces I think it depends on the person. For me I really like having different people working on different projects around me, developers, artists, writers, etc. I am a fairly social yet introverted person so I really enjoy the atmosphere of a co-working.

I've been working at a dedicated office at the house of a family member who also works from home, ~2.5 miles away. As long as it's not raining or too cold (below ~25°F/-4°C), I bike there in the morning. Other days I either drive or work from home. Although I prefer on site, this feels ideal for remote:

- Exercise most mornings - Ability to socialize - Comfortable space - Privacy - Work/home boundaries - Fridge to store food in, and ability to leave my laptop there so I don't have to carry anything on my bike ride (I use my desktop at my house).

This would also be workable at the house of a sufficiently close friend, I think.

I also like voice or video conferencing with others, without actually talking to them, just working at the same time. It helps build some of that "coworking space feel" without most of the downsides.

Do you exercise on a regular basis and do you have sufficient in-person social contact?

The trade-offs you describe ring true to me, I'm in a similar situation. I'm not sure changing your office will be a permanent solution for you.

'I'm thinking now of renting an office but instead in the residential area I live in (think 2-5 minutes drive, 10 max)...'

I have been on a similar journey and now rent an office in small town centre (10 minutes drive from home). It gives me the discipline to work set hours and also the freedom to walk around where other people are going about their business so I don't feel isolated. It's also useful for shops, cafes, bars (for after work) and such.

No solution is ever going to be ideal but this is the nearest I have come so far.

It seems like you are just enjoying the change of the scenery and surroundings, which gives you the boost of energy and productivity. After a while you get used to a new location too much and the start finding some issues and inconveniences, explaining in hindsight to yourself why you dislike that particular place.

Perhaps you can just switch your working area every 4-6 months (does not really matter where) and be happy and productive all the time?

I rent an office two minutes from my home and it’s been a huge productivity boost for me since switching from my dedicated office at home.

> 1. Working from the bedroom is hell. It's fun for the first few months but then you are likely to have severe eye strain and become very sleepy.

Do you mean actually working from bed? If not, I don't understand this. I work from a spare bedroom and it's as good as any office. It is an office, in a way.

I think it he means, using your normal bedroom where you sleep as an office.

Spare bedroom that is an office, is basically your office.

I thought so too, but explicitly pointing out eyestrain and sleepiness got me confused.

There is some law that changing environmenteal conditions increases productivity, which then reverts to the mean, regardless of what the change is. I wonder if that's what's happening here.

I also vary my work space, but I don't think one is necessarily the best, I think the mind is just made for variety.

Related (but maybe not exactly on the head of the nail): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect

Thanks for reporting. It feels like web 2.0 made us all wanting to reevaluate the old habits, only to realize that they were good compromises (unless you have a crazy team member, a crazy commute etc)

I went from bedroom > home office > shared office

The shared office space has been by far my best situation. My main drive is preventing loneliness, working from home can be very isolating for me. My shared co-working space is expensive, but gives me a sense of having colleagues. Given this situation/requirement I don't think I would want to 'upgrade' to renting a private office.

My office is about a 20 minute bike ride away from my home. I think I have used my car maybe twice in the past year.

I moved to doing basically what you suggest at the end and would highly recommend it. I rent space in a shared office about 10 minutes walk from my apartment. I still have a desk and monitor at home if I ever feel like working there too.

I think the optimal solution is to be able to alternate between the last 3 ones.