Freelancing at The TIDE

I have been freelancing for the past six years. At the start, it was more of a part-time thing rather than being my main source of income. However, in the last few months, I started to work as a full-time freelancer, getting all of my income from projects I do for my clients.

My income from freelance work is much higher than the salary I used to receive when I was still working as a full-time teacher. Aside from a higher income, I also have the option when and where to work. I used to work on my projects out of coffee shops around the city. In fact, I tell my friends that my office has five branches, based on the location of the coffee shop I work out of. While I could have worked at home, just like what a good number of freelancers do, I cannot seem to work at home due to the huge urge to simply go back to bed and sleep.

The only drawback in working out of a coffee shop is the cost. I normally stay the whole day in the coffee shop and spend around P500 each day. This takes a huge bite out of my income. Then I heard about co-working spaces in the city.

I was initially introduced to the idea of co-working zones when I came across an article I read on the internet. I cannot recall anymore where the article was posted, but it definitely piqued my interest. I knew that there was a co-working space located somewhere within Metro Cebu. However, its location was not quite freelancer-friendly.  It was within an industrial zone, which means it did not have the usual establishments that cater to the needs and wants of freelancers. Another downside about the place was the fact that it was expensive. I think the daily rate of this co-working zone was around P500, which is basically the same amount I spend when I work in a coffee shop. This made me think twice in working here.

Good thing I was able to find another co-working space somewhere in the IT Park, The TIDE. I visited the place sometime in February. The place offers a high-speed internet connection and free cold/hot water to its residents. There are also several establishments around the area offering a number of food choices, albeit I could not find one that offers salads and sandwiches.

The Tide - image grabbed from The TIDE Cebu

The TIDE does offer competitive rates when you think about the number of hours they are open. The regular schedule is from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM from Monday to Friday. However, there are some people who stay at the place there up to 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM. You can actually visit The TIDE anytime during that schedule.  The internet connection at The Tide was upgraded their Internet connection to 50 mbps. However, there are still some issues with their service provider that causes some interruptions in the connection.

The Tide - image grabbed from The TIDE Cebu

Overall, the place is good enough for me since it basically provides everything I need to finish all my work for the day. Another thing to take note of is the free trial offer of The TIDE.