Any idea why...?

[delalluvia]

People go to places like the lobby of a country club, the local Starbucks, etc.,  very social public places and then sit there with their laptops and don't socialize?

Why don't they just stay home?

[Clyde-B]

Free Wi-Fi?

If we guess right do we get a prize?

[serious crayons]

I don't know about country clubs, but people definitely go to coffee shops to get:

-- free WiFi, as Clyde said, and

-- a place to work on their computers that might be quieter than their homes, if they don't live alone, and

-- coffee.

[delalluvia]

 

Sorry, no prizes, I just didn't know. 

Thanks, makes more sense now.

[Brown Eyes]

One of my best friends wrote almost his entire dissertation on his laptop at coffeehouses.  He had a routine of going to his favorite coffeeshop and pretty much working all day.  He said he liked having the background noise and the sense of being surrounded by people.  He clearly could have stayed home, but that can get a little isolating.

I also like to go to coffeehouses to read.  I hate lugging my laptop places.  It really might as well be a desk top, because I never take it anywhere.  But, I do regularly take a book to a coffeeshop and sit and read alone.  I think it's for the same reason... liking to feel surrounded by people, and the desire for some background noise.

[delalluvia]

One of my best friends wrote almost his entire dissertation on his laptop at coffeehouses.  He had a routine of going to his favorite coffeeshop and pretty much working all day.  He said he liked having the background noise and the sense of being surrounded by people.  He clearly could have stayed home, but that can get a little isolating.

I also like to go to coffeehouses to read.  I hate lugging my laptop places.  It really might as well be a desk top, because I never take it anywhere.  But, I do regularly take a book to a coffeeshop and sit and read alone.  I think it's for the same reason... liking to feel surrounded by people, and the desire for some background noise.

OK, just differences.  I don't like being surrounded by people and when I want background noise, I just turn on the TV.

[Kerry]

I live near Sydney University and there are lots of cafes and coffee shops nearby. It's not at all unusual to see students sitting alone in a local coffee shop, typing away furiously, paying absolutely no attention to their surroundings.

I venture two explanations, either (i) the coffee shop is quieter than their noisy, overcrowded student accommodation, or (ii) they're just posey wankers.  

I incline towards the latter.  After all, there are some very nice parks nearby which would be much more pleasant and conducive to study.   

[serious crayons]

After all, there are some very nice parks nearby which would be much more pleasant and conducive to study.   

But with WiFi?

One of my best friends wrote almost his entire dissertation on his laptop at coffeehouses.  He had a routine of going to his favorite coffeeshop and pretty much working all day.  He said he liked having the background noise and the sense of being surrounded by people.  He clearly could have stayed home, but that can get a little isolating.

I also like to go to coffeehouses to read.  I hate lugging my laptop places.  It really might as well be a desk top, because I never take it anywhere.  But, I do regularly take a book to a coffeeshop and sit and read alone.  I think it's for the same reason... liking to feel surrounded by people, and the desire for some background noise.

Yes, I can see this, too. When you want to get something done, sometimes it can help to have a little bit of mild distraction -- other people sitting around, having conversations, etc. -- but not a lot of intense distraction that might draw you away from your ork, like TV.

I have a friend who wrote a book in a coffee shop. Internet turned off. Even though he had a home (though small children), and an office.

[Brown Eyes]

Yes, I can see this, too. When you want to get something done, sometimes it can help to have a little bit of mild distraction -- other people sitting around, having conversations, etc. -- but not a lot of intense distraction that might draw you away from your ork, like TV.

I have a friend who wrote a book in a coffee shop. Internet turned off. Even though he had a home (though small children), and an office.

Taking the grad school example again... I think it's exactly like creating a study hall type atmosphere for yourself (combined with the pleasures of coffee). 

In the dissertation phase you often have no structure at all to your days (no classes any longer to attend, etc. .. maybe one meeting with an adviser per week), so going to the coffeehouse is simply a way to get out of the house.  I did a lot of grad school reading and note taking at coffeehouses, though I did almost all of my dissertation writing in my little studio apartment in Philly.  There were really intense writing phases when I wouldn't leave the apartment for two or three days at a time.  In the final push when all you want to do is finish... it's easy to become very isolated.  So, I can completely understand the urge to study at the coffeehouse or write at the coffeehouse.

I can image people with other professions and projects might feel a similar way about working at coffeehouses.