A good friend asked me this last week: “heading into the city on Thursday, need somewhere decent to hot desk for the day, any recommendations?” If you’re a freelancer, solo operator, or running a startup, you know the problem. You don’t need a lease, you just need a chair, wifi, good coffee and somewhere that won’t charge you fifty bucks for the privilege. Here’s where I send people.
Hub Southern Cross (Level 2 Cafe)
Literally across the road from Southern Cross Station. Buy a coffee, grab a table on level 2, and settle in. Nobody bats an eye if you’re there for four hours with a laptop. View on Google Maps
(Featured image is a photo of the cafe, courtesy of Hub Australia)
State Library Victoria
Completely free and hard to beat for atmosphere. Plenty of power points, a proper library hush, and one of the best backdrops in the city if you need somewhere central. If you’re an early-stage founder, it’s also worth knowing about StartSpace, the library’s dedicated hub for new businesses in its Ideas Quarter, which offers free memberships, advisory programs, and its own coworking space. View on Google Maps
City Library (near Flinders Street Station)
Same deal as State Library on a smaller scale. Quieter, less touristy, and easy to duck into between meetings if you’re bouncing around the CBD. View on Google Maps
Stone & Chalk (near Southern Cross Station)
Good option if you’re after a startup-hub feel without straying too far from Southern Cross Station. View on Google Maps
If You Want to Connect With Scaleups and More Established Businesses
The spots above are solid for heads-down work. If you’re trying to be around scaleups and more established businesses instead, it’s worth the trip further out to East Melbourne and Richmond. The following spaces have been recommended to me by startup founders and operators.
These are all positioned as premium spaces, so contact them directly to ask about day passes, trials and membership.
Cremorne Digital Hub
Popular with the digital and startup innovation crowd, and well placed if scaleups are who you’re trying to be around. View on Google Maps
Creative Cubes, East Melbourne
Not quite Richmond, but close. The building is owned by a family office, and apparently, you can get access to the whole building, including a private members’ rooftop. View on Google Maps
Sanders Place, East Richmond
Sanders Place is an award-winning, architecturally designed hub for businesses and individuals driving social and environmental impact. View on Google Maps
Hub Church Street, Richmond
Another Hub Australia location, further out than the Southern Cross one. Good option if Richmond suits you better than the CBD. View on Google Maps
Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship
Not a traditional daily coworking space, but worth knowing about if you’re building something. Wade Institute is based at Ormond College, University of Melbourne, and runs community coworking pop-ups alongside startup programs and an Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative. Best for founders after connection and support rather than just a desk. View on Google Maps
Final thoughts on remote working in Melbourne
My rule of thumb: in and out for a few hours, a cafe or library covers it. Planted for a full day or keen to meet other people doing the same thing, ask one of the coworking spaces for a trial day.
Got your own go-to? I’d genuinely like to hear it. Always building this list.