I’m permanently based in Eindhoven these days. We tried to make nomad life work, but decided not to pursue this lifestyle any longer. I’m able to work remotely and still do, but:
- kid needs a stable school and circle of friends around him
- wife can’t sit straight for hours at a computer, so she needs a job that doesn’t require that
I’m OK with staying put, but biggest thing I miss about “digital nomads” is a cheerful and supportive community of laptop workers that support each other in their work and life.
Local coworking spaces are not about community and don’t look that cheerful either. They are more like offices. That’s not an issue with Eindhoven, but the Netherlands per se. It might be even a wider issue in Europe, because I haven’t found anything like what I experienced in Asia’s coworking spaces anywhere else here.
So this is my attempt to bring a cheerful and encouraging coworking vibe to Eindhoven. Now there is a small Telegram group with 24 members as of date. It so happened that the first active members spoke Russian, so the main language of communication is Russian, but everyone can easily switch to English. So if you’re living here or passing by, no matter who you are - feel free to join.
We have explored a lot of places in Eindhoven where one can work with a laptop and have a decent cup of coffee in the process. And here is a list of places that our community approves.
Lucifer Coffee
This place comes with decent coffee, separate laptop tables equipped with power sockets and a great atmosphere. My personal favorite is their “daily soups”, I’m a big fan of soups and they often have really decent ones.
There are two of them in the city:
- One next to the central station - this one is the biggest and has a lot of space. By far my favorite spot to work at, there are also a lot of food choices within walking distance.
- Another one in the heart of city - a bit dark and you are only allowed to work on one big table. But a decent option nevertheless.
Zwartwit Koffie
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yRdrzL2Mr4ztryHb6
Coffee place that started it all. This is where I met first group members and most of my first friends in town. By far the friendliest place in town – visitors are happy to have a chit-chat, even staff stick around longer to ask how you are doing.
Unfortunately, this place has switched owners and coffee quality varies these days. They switch recipes and beans a lot, sometimes it’s great, sometimes not at all.
Hubble Community Café
https://maps.app.goo.gl/oxkcorPRa6d5GXnb6
This is a university coffee place, but it’s open to the general public. One thing about universities is that they usually have the cheapest food on premises. It doesn’t get any cheaper than here.
Coffee is decent and cheap as well.
Eindhoven Public Library
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1M3Pbj8wUbMMQLhQ9
Eindhoven has a fantastic library, works really late too (until 19:00). So if all the coffee places are closed and you don’t feel like going home - this is a fantastic place.
Usually it’s really quiet here, so it’s a perfect place to take a call. Not the case when there is a school break - it gets overrun by kids.
Seats2meet
I’ve been bad mouthing coworking places, but this one is the closest to social coworking places I’ve found in Europe. If you pre-register, they will most likely have a free spot for you and free coffee. Even though the coffee is free, quality is pretty decent.
Douwe Egberts Café
https://maps.app.goo.gl/cboG4K6CW98q1dx37
My least favorite coffee place, because I absolutely don’t like their coffee, my wife loves it though. Everyone’s tastes are different, so you might like it. I usually compensate with their smoothies or tea, those are great. Also decent selection of snacks.
But the biggest advantage here is two huge floors with a lot of sitting places. When every other place is full, you can always find a spot here.
If you know of any other spaces that we should check out – let me know. Otherwise will be happy to see you join our small group.