Settling In: Co-working Space

A week has passed since my arrival in Chiangmai last Thursday night. Now I feel that I have mostly settled in. I purchased a Simcard at the airport upon arrival, signed up for a co-working space and a fitness center, and have started to make connections at the two main mosques I had planned to visit.  

I'm devoting this post to the co-working space. The primary goal for the first weekend in Chiangmai was to settle in as fast as possible: get used to the neighborhood, and find a semi-permanent place to get work done.

Given unpredictability of my schedule and the absolute need to get a chunk of writing done, at least work space needed to have some resemblance of stability. After some exploration, we settled for Punspace, one of the very first co-working spaces in Chiangmai geared towards mobile entrepreneurs, software developers, designers and writers who have flocked to the city for the past decade or so. One month membership (3,899 baht) offers unlimited access to three branches in Nimman Haemin and the old city, 24 hours a day.

My favorite of the three thus far has been the serene and spacious Wiang Kaew branch within the old city. Punspace Wiang Kaew opened fairly recently in early 2018, I was told. The one in Nimman, the smallest of the three but still cozy and peaceful, was the first office to open in 2013. Accessibility to all three branches well suits my needs, as I can hop between one to the other according to my daily mood and meetings.

I also find myself going frequently to the Tha Phae gate branch when I am visiting the Ban Ho or Attaqwa mosques, and also the Nimman branch due to its proximity to my lodging. (The AirBnB apartment for the month is located in between Nimman Haemin and Chiangmai University, northwest of Chiangmai's city walls.) I do love exploring new cafes for work, but when immediate, anxiety-provoking tasks await you, it is also reassuring to have set places to turn to!