For the longest time, I haven’t posted anything on the blog.
Well, life happened and I had to live it. During the whole time I was out of
circulation, a lot of things happened that may bore you guys. But there is one
bit of news you may want to know. It’s a co-working space I discovered
recently:
OpenMind CoWorking Space.
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| OpenMind Co-Working Cebu (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
It was a cold, dark evening nary a star in the sky . . .
oops. Wrong introduction. It was one of those nights where a deadline is
looming above you. The internet connection at home was uber slow so I had to
look for a coffee shop with a good internet connection to finish an article I
had to turn in the next morning. Living near Cebu IT Park meant that my first
option would be a coffee shop at the IT Park. I initially went to my favorite
coffee shop in the area, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, but the place was packed. It
was understandable since it was already close to the finals of the first semester
of college, so students from different universities in the city would stay at
the place to study. I went to another coffee shop, Coffee Bay, and
unsurprisingly it was also full. My last option was Bo’s Coffee. Similar to the
two other coffee shops in the area, it was packed with students and their
books. I was about to go to another place far from the IT Park when I remember
an article I read earlier about a co-working place close to The Walk.
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| Comfy enough for you? (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
So I checked it out and lo and behold, it only had a few people
working the night shift. The place only opened recently since the building it
was located in was also new. It was probably less than a year old, so I guess
it was not well-known within the freelancing community.
OpenMind was quite nice when compared to some co-working
zones I tried in the past. In fact, I found it rather homey. The chairs were also
quite comfy. It is a far cry from what I used when I started freelancing around
a decade ago. They were similar to the ones you find in the office of a CEO, so
you can imagine how comfy they are. Since I stayed inside one of their offices
and not in the common area, my introvert self was gloating. The
air-conditioning was also set at the right temperature. Not too cold nor too
hot. While I can stand the cold better than some people I know, it is quite
disconcerting when the air-conditioning is set to full blast and you have to
visit the bathroom every now and then. You may even find yourself involuntarily
shivering from the cold.
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| Meeting room with a view (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
The hominess of the place is also noticeable among the
people working at the place. The nice lady at the reception area was quite
polite and is ready to answer any questions you may have (I did not have many questions
since I had a deadline to meet). And another plus for the place is they are
open 24/7, but the rates for the day and night shift are different (I’ll deal
with this later).
Co-working zones normally boast of fast internet connection,
and OpenMind does not disappoint. While I only checked the speed once, it did
show a download speed of 49.43 mbps and an upload speed of 43.65 mbps. While
there were only a few people at the place, I’m guessing this speed would still
be suitable for the needs of many freelancers.
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| Look at that Internet Connection |
When it comes to the number of outlets, co-working zones
also provide as many as they can. It is usually equal to the number of seats
they have available at the place. For OpenMind, I was accommodated in an office
of sorts. And it did have a good number of connections on an extension cord on
the table. Judging from the size of the table and the number of outlets, it can
accommodate everyone seated on the table. In addition, there were also several
outlets in the common area of the place.
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| Outlets for everyone (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
Location
OpenMind CoWorking Space is located on the ninth floor of
the Mabuhay IT Tower. If you have no idea where the Mabuhay IT Tower is
located, it’s the new building across Kentucky Fried Chicken at the Cebu IT
Park. It’s the building where the new BPI branch close to The Walk is located. And
if you are unsure on which floor OpenMind is located, you can ask the guard
stationed at the lobby. The guard at that time was quite helpful and polite. While
the place does not have a sign on the door, it is quite easy to find it on the
ninth floor since there are only two other companies on the same floor. Or you
can simply turn right after you step off the elevator.
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| OpenMind Co-Working Cebu (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
The rates at OpenMind are quite reasonable since you get
fast internet, great ambiance, and a couple of freebies. The rates at OpenMind
CoWorking Space are as follows:
Private Room (Good for eight) – PhP80,000 per month
- Inclusions: 24/7 access, 200 free pages of printing per month, locker, free coffee, water, and tea.
Designated Desk – PhP9,000 per month
- Inclusions: 24/7 access, 200 free pages of printing per month, locker, free coffee, water, and tea.
Day Shift Membership (8:00 AM to 10:00 PM) –PhP500
- Inclusions: locker, free coffee, water, and tea.
Night Shift Membership (10:00 PM to 8:00 AM) –PhP400
- Inclusions: locker, free coffee, water, and tea.
Similar to all co-working zones I visited, the lady at the
reception area was quite nice and appeared ready to answer any questions I had.
In fact, when I was inside the room where I was working, she would knock on the
door before entering, which is a practice that seems lost to some people these
days.
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| OpenMind Co-Working Cebu (Image: OpenMind Co-Working Cebu Facebook Page) |
All in all, my experience at OpenMind CoWorking Space was
quite pleasant and it is now on the top of my list of places to go when I have a
deadline to meet in the middle of the night. I’ll probably visit the place in
the morning shift to check out the place when people would come in for work.
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| Open Your Mind to OpenMind CoWorking Space |
While I was not able to ask, I think the place is open all
the time as shown on their Facebook Page. So, if you have something to work on
and you have no place to go, OpenMind CoWorking Space is a good option if you
are in the Cebu IT Park area.
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