Review: The Common, Squamish’s Coworking Space

The vast majority of the time, I work from my home office.

But every so often, I need to find a mobile work space to get my work done. On a few recent occasions that involved some outrageously expensive car repairs (ouch, ouch, ouch), I found myself stuck downtown Squamish in desperate need of a desk.

In the past, I’d have headed to the library. Now, I love the Squamish Public Library – but it is not the best place to get work done. The internet is a little spotty, the work spaces are functional but not necessarily comfortable, and things can get a bit noisy – particularly during the day when it becomes a toddler hot spot. It works, but it’s not ideal.

I’m also not one for setting up shop at Starbucks. I’ve done it in the past, but I don’t love it. I can swing it if it’s only for an hour or two, but if I’m parking there all day, I feel like I have to keep buying stuff every hour and the hustle and bustle is just too distracting for me.

Photo from The Common’s Facebook Page

Thankfully, Squamish has developed a perfect alternative: The Common.

The Common is a recently opened shared coworking space. I didn’t know much about it when I sent in an email to find out about the rates and availability, but I was hoping for a quiet, clean space where I could get my work done while I waited on my car/money pit to be ready.

My expectations were exceeded in a big way. I walked into the space – on the main downtown drag (Cleveland Ave) – on a drizzly, grey day. It was super cozy and inviting. I kind of expected it to be on par with the offices I’ve worked at in the past (functional but somewhat institutional), but it was way better. The decor was super modern – I’ve never worked at a cool start up or tech firm, but I imagine it would look something like this.

I had my pick of desk types (they even have standing desks – cool!), so I set up shop and got to work. The Common has everything you need, and more – think fancy coffee machine (and even a fancy kettle that heats up your water depending on the kind of tea you’re having – whoa), a few printers, private rooms for phone calls and Skype sessions, and a boardroom upstairs that you can rent out.

On one of my days there, there was just me and another person in the space. On another, it was fairly busy, with half a dozen or so people and more trickling in and out throughout the day. Both times, I found it easy to get into the zone and work my way through my to do list. The central location offers plenty of lunch options (I opted for Zephyr) and is super convenient if you’ve got other appointments or errands to run.

The price is most definitely right: the $30 a day drop in rate is very reasonable. Plus, if you’re a contractor or run your own business, you can most likely write off the expense. There are plans if you intend to become a regular – the more days you work there, the cheaper it gets on a per-day basis.

Yup – that’s an air hockey table

I can’t think of many cons, except that it might get a little lively or distracting if all of the work spaces were filled – although I imagine that most contractor types are pretty respectful of other people at work. To be honest, the social aspect might be kind of nice for those of us who typically spend our days holed up alone at home.

This wasn’t a paid advertisement (or even a non-paid advertisement) – this a bona fide awesome resource for the mobile workers of Squamish. If you’re curious, I recommend checking it out.