OK, I know I may be asking folks to give up their precious secrets here, but if you’re willing to share, let us know your favorite spots to work “remotely” away from your office and/or home around Decatur. Heck, favorite place in all of the Atlanta metro if you’d like.
If you have a secret place and you don’t want to reveal it to the Decatur online world, then don’t! Or just say “I’m not telling!”. 
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I don’t “work” there, but I get a lot of novel-writing done at Cakes & Ale Bakery, particularly on Saturday mornings. My goal is to get there for breakfast and then write until they start bringing out big trays of yummy sugary things, at which point I stop writing and get a big box of stuff to take home.
I also work at Bean, of course, though I can’t figure out their ever-shifting hours. I read on a posted sign there that they might be taken over by a parents’ cooperative…I hope that works out!
The UJ during March Madness.
Java Monkey, hands down! I can easily work there for 8 hours straight. In addition to a plethora of caffeine options, they have actual food (not just pastries), so I don’t have to pack up my stuff to get lunch elsewhere.
Just make sure you tip throughout the day, and not just when you close out your tab at the end of the day! Otherwise the morning workers will get stiffed. (And as responsible Decaturites, we must support our beloved baristas!)
Pin Ups. It really clears my head and gives my creativity a boost.
Urban Grounds in Avondale works for me. Unless there’s a prayer meeting or a very distracting counseling session going on at the next table. (Both of which happened last week.)
Approximately once a week I rack up my pile-of-10-minute-tasks-on-the-laptop so I can hide in a local business and knock out 2 hours of boring-but-necessary work. I also use such time when I need to do some focused editing and writing – my office is too distracting (darn coworkers). Typical times are 8-10am or late afternoon, say 5-7pm.
Atmosphere and ergonomics (how I’m sitting) matter for a lot. For example, I can only get work done at Dancing Goats if I’m sitting at the bar, and those stool are often full. And the atmosphere there is too social for my liking most of the time. Too many moms with kids sitting on the floor talking (nothing against them! Just incompatible with my work focus)
My favorites:
Urban Grounds in Avondale is hands down my favorite place to get work done. Too bad I have to drive there.
Java Monkey, in the back at the bar by the beer taps. Fewer people there, and the Wifi signal is stronger.
Late afternoon (say 5-7), on a non-busy day (Mon-Wed), I also like sitting at the bar both the Square Pub and Mac McGees. The thread did not say to constrain one to coffee shops.
Least favorite: The Library. I’ve tried. The seats are uncomfortable, and the Wifi stinks.
Decatur still needs an evening coffee shop open till 11. Java Money feels more like a bar the later the night gets. Especially when a band is playing.
I have been wondering where the wifi signal actually works at Java Monkey
Yeah, I wondered about that for a while too. It only works well if you’re in the back bar. It would be great if they invested in a second router for the front room, but considering how long it took them to get any wifi at all, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I used to enjoy reading at the bar at Brick Store on weekend afternoons, until I realized that some people equate sitting at a bar with being sociable. (The nerve!) A while back I was reading a book for work at BS, and another patron saw this as his opportunity to start a conversation — how’s the book? What’s it about? He was a nice guy, but I decided that bars probably aren’t the best place for concentrating on work. That, plus the alcohol. So now I do my TPS reports at the home office on weekends.
From May to September – Venetian Pool! There can be lots of noise from swimmers, but there is always a quiet corner and I’m outside with WiFi!
Java Monkey is my favorite place to work. Background/atmospheric noise is not too distracting and not too quiet. I agree with the great food, the new pastry chef rocks making your coffee snack a delight.
Anyone ever work at some of the co-working spaces around Atlanta, such as The Hub, Strongbox West, etc.?
Has anybody had any experience, good or bad, with Decatur’s new free wi-fi? I can detect the signal in our office building but I haven’t been able to connect.
It depends on what you are connecting with. Laptops do pretty well inside but weak little dinky phones and tablets work better near the front or outside. Also it works better at ground level.
i like the vibe of Twains, in the off-hours. fun and i can be quite productive and community-feeling. but i want to second the comment above: when any of us are doing so, i hope we remember to tip more than a buck or two for the iced tea we sip along the way. great question!
Too easily distracted these days to get much work done in public spaces. In college in the upper Midwest, though, a favorite place to study after breakfast was the tavern a block off-campus. Usually 1-2 students drinking coffee & studying, and half a dozen “old” guys just off the graveyard shift at the paper mill, doing shots and beers and playing bar dice. It was peaceful.
Java Monkey is my pick. I’ve found that on most days I can sit at the bar near the front door and pick up strong wifi from Yogurt Tap. It’s usually a little stronger than the actual JM wifi signal at the back bar. Plus, as someone mentioned before, it’s really nice to stay there all day and eat lunch, versus packing up and going somewhere else. I like Dancing Goats too, but usually WAY too crowded. I also like Choco Latte at N. Decatur and Clairmont. Good wifi, decent coffee, never too crowded to find a seat. On the west side of town, Octane is my fav. Really good coffee.
Octane Westside is my favorite near-work place. Plus if I’m there in the late afternoon, I can switch to decent beer without changing venues
And if I’m there on a Wednesday at 530p, Hop City runs a beer tasting hosted at Octane … someone in-town like Sherlocks or Greens FF (growlers in the back) or Ale Yeah needs to start doing that!