TIL that 'coworking' in a hostel lounge is a terrible idea for actual work

Last month I tried saving $40 by skipping the coworking space in Medellin and just working from the hostel lounge. First day was fine, but by Wednesday the WiFi kept dropping every 20 minutes, someone was playing reggaeton at full volume, and a guy kept trying to show me his travel vlog. Lost a whole client call because I couldn't hear anything. Ended up paying $60 for a day pass at a proper coworking spot and got more done in 4 hours than I did all week. Has anyone else learned this the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.lee14d ago

That Medellin blender story hit close to home. I think people forget that cheaping out in one spot usually means paying more somewhere else, it's like the thrift store shoe trap where you save $30 on boots but they fall apart in a month and you end up buying expensive ones anyway. Same thing with bad wifi or noisy rooms, you're basically paying with lost time and fried nerves instead of cash. I've started asking myself upfront what a mistake is actually gonna cost me, not just in dollars but in hassle, and it's saved me from repeating that exact hostel workstation nightmare.

jenny_hall14d ago

That medellin coworking spot you found for $60 sounds like the same one I hit up in Laureles after my hostel disaster. I did the exact same thing in Bangkok thinking I was being smart with money. By day two the hostel "quiet hours" sign was basically a joke, some guy was making a smoothie with a loud blender right next to me, and the WiFi went down during a zoom interview. What really got me was how much time I wasted packing up my stuff every time I needed a real break or had to take a call. Now I just budget for a proper coworking space from day one, its like buying peace of mind. The coffee is usually better too, and nobody tries to show you their travel photos uninvited.

tylerpark14d ago

Damn yeah that packing up thing is so real. I did the same in Lisbon last summer, trying to save a few bucks at the hostel. By the third day I had this system where I kept my laptop in my backpack with the charger already looped around it so I could bail fast when the noise got bad. But even then I'd lose my spot and have to hunt for an outlet somewhere else. Ended up working from a cafe next door that had terrible ergonomics, my neck hurt for a week. Now I just tack coworking onto my budget upfront, it's cheaper than the stress and the physio bill.