SUBURBAN COWORKING
Imagine walking outside your home and your office is five minutes away. Imagine taking an hour break from work where you can pick up your child from school, go to the gym, and go grocery shopping. Imagine not having to take a long subway commute to work ever again.
This is the reality for those who cowork at The Austin Space.
Unlike a traditional office space, coworking spaces consist of individuals from different industries and are working on different projects. Coworking is the use of a working environment to share ideas, space, and knowledge. The Austin Space is one of the few coworking spaces in New York City that is part of the suburban coworking movement.
Difference of Suburban Coworking Versus Typical Coworking
Suburban coworking is gaining ground in various cities across the nation such as Philly and Chicago. In the past few months, we have noticed a few trends with suburban coworking versus urban coworking:
Mostly freelancers, solo business owners, or remote workers are interested in coworking in a suburban neighborhood.
Most members do not require the space for the entire month - usually, they need a nice, quiet space for a few days per month. In addition, they want the flexibility to choose when they want to cowork.
Most have never coworked before. A majority of our members rather work from home than commute to a coworking space in Manhattan, if they are not required to commute. The Austin Space is usually the first time they have a dedicated workspace outside of their home.
THE DEMAND - "Work from home professionals"
According to the Center for an Urban Future, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, and Rego Park have one of the highest percentage of residents working from home in the borough of Queens.
In Queens, Kew Gardens and Woodhaven (tied with Rockaways) come in first with the highest percentage of employed residents who work from home (4.5%).
In Queens, Forest Hills and Rego Park follows closely in second place with 4.4% of employed residents who work from home.
The average percentage of residents who work from home in New York City is 3.9%.
According to DNAInfo, the estimated number of residents who work from home in Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, and Rego Park is 2,600.
These numbers are staggering as we do not usually think of Forest Hills or Kew Gardens as the "work from home" neighborhoods in Queens. These two neighborhoods are family friendly known for the safe streets, great schools, and parks.