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Coworking spaces are more than just shared offices—they shape the way entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners interact, collaborate, and innovate.
Having spent years working in coworking spaces in St. Petersburg, Florida, and immersing myself in the vibrant coworking communities of Nice, France, I’ve come to realize that coworking culture isn’t just about workspace design—it’s about community, mindset, and shared values.
Lucence: In my research, I discovered how coworking spaces effectively foster creativity and innovation by creating environments that emphasize belonging, openness, and diverse collaboration, as highlighted in the article Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces.
I’d love to hear whether your experiences in Nice confirmed this emphasis on belonging in unexpected ways, Jim—did it feel like an immediate cultural contrast to St. Pete?
Jim: Good question, Lucence. It took me a few weeks of reflection before I began to gain some understanding of the nuanced cultural differences of the St. Pete and Nice coworking environments and communities.
In future updates to this article, we'll dive further into the differences and the associated benefits that each coworking experience has to offer.
My three-year coworking experience at Saint Petersburg, Florida’s Rising Tide Innovation Center (RITC) and Expansive Coworking introduced me to collaborative communities.
Downtown St. Petersburg coworking facilities provide private, semi-private and shared open spaces, including well-equipped community kitchens and event spaces. Members seeking networking and collaboration opportunities can take advantage of the open community space and scheduled monthly activities.
Community members include corporate employees, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs, engaged in a wide range of industries providing a broad range of products and services.
Lucence: From the insights I gathered in my research, I found that coworking spaces designed with flexible layouts significantly boost productivity by addressing various professional needs and working styles, as detailed in How Coworking Spaces Can Improve the Member Experience.
Jim, would you say that St. Pete’s layout flexibility directly supported your productivity in the way these studies suggest, or were there any limitations you encountered that surprised you?
Jim: St. Pete coworking facilities layout and flexibility directly supported my needs and provided a space where I could be both creative and productive.
Some St. Pete coworking facilities have exceptional desks that provide a large workspace and are height adjustable, with comfortable chairs that provide several adjustments that support good posture and comfortable seating.
Other facilities provided uncomfortable chairs with fixed-height desks, which I judged would be uncomfortable for extended periods of seated work.
Some community spaces felt crowded with too little desk space and seating between workspaces.
The sharp contrast between coworking space facilities surprised me.
Perhaps diversity is best to meet the needs and expectations of a broad range of coworkers, since no one solution will fit everyone's needs and expections.
With weekend, holiday and 24x7x365 access, community members have access to coworking resources whenever needed. This is especially important for members with international clients, who observe different holidays and operate in different time zones.
Having round-the-clock access to your business workspace, especially on weekends and holidays, can be important, when looming deadlines or other emergency situations can be mitigated by putting in additional hours outside of the normal Monday - Friday workweek and 9am to 5pm workday.
Coworking facilities provide members with secure access to facilities, with most resources available except for those that require engaging the regular operating hours staff.
Lucence: In How Coworking Spaces Can Improve the Member Experience, I found that continuous and flexible access to coworking spaces strongly supports global business operations, making it easier for entrepreneurs to swiftly address market demands and international client needs.
I'm curious—did you find this kind of accessibility shaped your business continuity planning in any tangible way, Jim?"
Jim: Absolutely. For example, round-the-clock access to a coworking facility is a must-have for me, when the place that I am staying does not provide an adequate alternative space where I can be productive.
This is the primary reason I choose to stay at aparthotels that cater to business professionals, like Les Statezias in Antibes, when coworking facility access does not provide unlimited facility access.
When privacy and a quiet workspace is needed, the option to secure a private or semi-private office space with a door can be significant. There have been times when the usually quite common workspace gets noisy, or the constant drone of background music piped into the space can be distracting.
Additionally, if you tend to talk loudly, a semi-private office with a door and good soundproofing may be your best and only option, so as not to disturb other community members working in a common space.
Lucence: Jim, this emphasis on workspace privacy really aligns with the demand for personalized professional environments that I came across in the research.
According to How Coworking Spaces Can Improve the Member Experience, having private and semi-private options doesn’t just improve focus—it plays a major role in reducing stress and enhancing long-term member satisfaction.
How often did you find yourself choosing these quieter work areas, and were they essential to your productivity over the long haul?
Jim: There are times during the week when I choose to work in my shared dedicated office space with the door closed, to provide quiet and privacy. Other times, like when my office space colleague needs privacy for a phone call, I’ll grab my laptop and work in the community open space for a while.
I would say the ideal scenario is to have a coworking facility that provides shared office spaces with reserved desks, which saves significant time getting setup each morning for the day's work ahead.
Being able to access and large and spacious community common workspace, in addition to sound-proof phone booths and conference rooms, also has significant benefits for long-term coworkers.
Working in a soundproof booth is a nice option to have, but. These workspaces, however, are designed for phone and video (laptop) conference calls, not extended work. Most coworking spaces have conference rooms available for additional charge and are subject to availability.
All-in-all, my investment in a shared workspace was a wise choice, looking back at the times when I needed privacy for a call or a quiet workspace free of distractions.
Most everything you need to work, live, and kick back and relax is within a 15-20-minute walk of downtown St. Pete.
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) provides reliable and inexpensive bus service with routes that serve downtown Saint Petersburg and Pinellas County.
Uber and Lyft personal transportation services provide a variety of vehicles for city dwellers and digital nomads sans automobile, and visitors who opt to not rent a car for short stays in the city. Both services offer the option of vans and SUVs, when catching a flight via Tampa International Airport.
Expansive Coworking provides private, semi-private and shared community work spaces, including well-equipped community kitchens and event spaces.
Members appreciate the 24x7x365 secure access, additional storage facility, and refrigerators/freezers for personal meals and beverages, and maintenance and housekeeping staff that keep everything clean, neat and organized and in good working order.
Community Manager and Event Planner Carolyn Mercurio Dove, provides monthly business social events, supporting business networking among the mix of entrepreneurs, small business owners and collocated corporate employees.
Carolyn, along with the Expansive team, including Jocelyn Shook, works to meet the ever- changing needs of this collective community, helping to ensure a positive ongoing experience for all community members.
I visited several coworking communities in the metro Nice downtown area, including Le Labo and Les Satellites These two communities stood out from those I visited during the first two weeks of my Nice extended stay.
Private and shared office space is noticeably limited or completely absent from the Nice coworking spaces that I've experienced during my four-week encounters with several coworking spaces. At first glance, this may appear to be a negative; as it turned out, this can be a positive attribute associated with alternative cultural and coworking community norms.
In Nice, personal relationships among coworkers are valued, evident by shared daily meals and weekly non work related activities that occur after hours and over weekends.
Breakfast and lunch times are valued times when coworking community members gather with one another to enjoy Nice’s freshly baked breads and pastries and fine cuisine, provided by Nice’s many fine restaurants and boulangeries.
For those of us that love the work that we do, work can easily extend into after hours, weekends and even holidays. I appreciate coworking centers in Nice that help members preserve personal and family time, by maintaining regular business hours from Monday through Friday, closed on weekends and holidays.
There is so much to experience in Nice, France, with all of Europe to explore via a bus, tram/train or a short flight. Coworking from Nice provides me with more personal and family time to enjoy all that life and living in Nice has to offer.
The Nice coworking community is diverse and provides a rich experience. I love engaging with coworking colleagues who support my continuing education by sharing their knowledge, experience and perspective on a variety of topics.
Coworking in Nice provides ample opportunities to make new friends that share your business interests. Diversity also applies the variety, ways and means that you can socially engage with your Nice-based coworking colleagues. It’s more fun to explore all that Nice has to offer with a friend, n’est pas?
In a word– Wow. Thanks to Nice’s Lignes D’Azur interconnected Tram/Train and bus service, traveling in and around Nice is easy and inexpensive. You can visit all of the beautiful cities and towns in the Cote D’Azur, like Antibes, Cannes, and Menton, via France’s modern and comfortable electric rail system.
A trip to Nice Cote D’Azur International Airport from most popular locations consists of a 10-15-minute walk to one of Nice’s three Tram lines. Once aboard the T1 or T2 tram, it's a 15-minute ride to the airport.
I am grateful to Geraldine Zermati, Founder of Le LABO Coworking, for providing me with a tour of her facility and an introduction to Nice’s vibrant coworking community. Impressed by my first experience and newly gained knowledge, I pressed on to discover other local coworking communities.
Walking into Les Satellites the next day, I was greeted by Marie Clair, a community member. She gave me a quick tour of the Les Sats facility and explained some of the membership options and benefits.
Later in the week, I returned to Les Sat and met Community Manager Mélodie Becquet, who answered all of my questions and provided me with a 1 day free trial opportunity to experience Les Sats coworking.
Near the end of my positive trial coworking day experience, I decided that the Les Sat facility and coworking community would meet my coworking needs for my extended stay in Nice.
I chose the 3-day per week Les Sats coworking plan that would provide me with an opportunity to experience coworking as a member of the Le Sat community.
Les Sats is a well-equipped and maintained community work space, providing members with private booths, conference rooms, and semi-private work spaces.
External monitors and keyboards are provided free of charge, which is a huge plus for those of us who need multiple monitors for added productivity.
I had read of Les Sats Founder Nicolas BERGÉ and community manager Mélodie Becquet shared commitment and contributions to community collaboration and partnering, which has been instrumental in shaping this coworking space’s ongoing success.
Their dedication to developing and sustaining this vibrant workspace was evident during my 10-week stay.
At Les Sat, a community meal is not just about eating– it’s about forging genuine connections, exchanging ideas, and nurturing a spirit of collaboration.
Community members—sometimes 10 or more—share meals, laughter, birthday celebrations, and good conversation during weekly petit dejeuners and lunchtime meals. Monthly events, like beach outings, mountain hikes, and indoor rock climbing, fill the calendar.
In Nice, public schools are closed on Wednesdays. Les Sats members can bring their children to work, where they have an opportunity to work alongside their parents.
Children benefit by spending quality time at work with their parents, in a place that demonstrates learning, collaboration and other positive group dynamics.
Coworking in St. Pete has been a positive experience for me, both personally and professionally. Though the structure and feeling of the workspace and community is corporate and can feel isolating, the open community space, managed by dedicated community managers provides ample opportunities for entrepreneurs to network and connect with other members.
I appreciate the monthly planned business and social events that are held in the large community space. These events have fostered growth of both business and personal relationships, which I and other community members value.
My Nice coworking experience demonstrated that community members are rooted in and committed to collaborative engagement. Supported by a facility design that encourages community interaction, community managers strive to engage members in shared learning experiences, group meals, and non-work related activities, like community hiking and ski trips and beach events taking advantage of all that Nice has to offer.
This community cultural nuance offers more than just personal enrichment—it hints at a vibrant, dynamic environment where professional relationships can flourish naturally. Community members represent large, diverse entrepreneurial communities and possess rich, varied knowledge and experience.
Studies suggest encounters that happen spontaneously—over meals, games, or casual chats—tend to spark innovative solutions and interdisciplinary ventures. This is crucial in fast-evolving sectors like AI and VR, where real-time exchanges of insights are beneficial.
Over the years, I’ve experienced that working amidst people engaged in a variety of professional roles can make one's own work identity stronger, especially when the community fosters and celebrates the knowledge, skills, and capabilities of its members.
That all depends on your needs and expectations, both business and personal. It’s important to realize that you likely will be spending the majority of your time in a coworking space.
I believe that the best coworking spaces nurture business, professional and personal needs, like welcoming visits from family and providing opportunities to make new friends and engage in new experiences.
If you are seeking common working spaces led by community leaders invested in leveraging collective community knowledge, you'll likely benefit from Nice's Le Sat and Le Labo coworking experience.
If you prefer a coworking space encouraging community collaboration supported by an open workspace, and providing private and semi-private office space, then an RITC or Expansive coworking experience may meet your needs and expectations.
I’m looking forward to expanding the rich blend of personal experiences and professional insights. My Nice coworking experience provided a fresh perspective on the future of community collaboration, continuing education and social interaction.
Collaborative coworking represents the future of creative workspaces for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, digital nomads and collocated corporate employees. The creativity, community spirit and social interactions all set the stage for entrepreneurial growth, cross-cultural partnerships that support business and technological growth and innovation.
In upcoming articles, we'll explore actionable insights on:
[1] Harvard Business Review – Spreitzer, G., Bacevice, P., & Garrett, L. (2015, May). Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces. Harvard Business Review.
[2] Deskmag – Sanziana Bona (2024, October) How Coworking Spaces Can Improve the Member Experience. Deskmag.
[3] MIT Sloan Management Review – Cross, R., Rebele, R., & Grant, A. (2016, January). Collaborative Overload. MIT Sloan Management Review.
[4] Sophia Antipolis Official Website. About Sophia Antipolis – Europe’s Leading Technology Park. Sophia Antipolis.
[5] HolonIQ (2024). Emerging Technologies in European Entrepreneurship. HolonIQ.
