How do you socialize when you work remote?https://www.getcroissant.com/

Georgette·Mar 04, 2020

Hi all! I just moved to a new city and work remote. I've been going to coworking spaces, coffee shops, and scouring meetup or FB for remote work meetups to get to know the city and hopefully find some regular friends to cowork with.I was wondering: how do you socialize or find "coworkers" when you work remote?

katerinabc·Mar 04, 2020

For socializing, exactly like you do. I joined a Muay Thai club. If you have kids or pets (that need to be taken out for a walk) that helps to connect with others. Important is to keep being pro-active. Have you talked with your neighbors?To find other remote workers, my story is a bit different. I'm working in a blended/hybrid environment. I don't have to show up in the office I'm working in a self-assembled teams and the guys with whom I share an office work on a different project. I created a co-working meetup to work with other people every 2 weeks. I'm also part of Grow Remote, to promote remote work. Being proactive is key. You need to make your way from the outside of the network into the center or at least away from the outside/periphery.

justirma·Mar 04, 2020

It can definitely be a struggle! I've mainly started to reach out locally to folks I'm connected to on LinkedIn and have asked for a coffee or lunch chat and that sometimes has turned into a recurring chat or co-working sesh together. Locally in Indianapolis, I started a remote work lunch club. Totally recommend doing this if there's not one already in your city. I post an event about every 2 weeks and a couple folks and I meet for 1 hour for coffee or lunch.Most recently, I started working on Cafecito (https://meetcafecito.com) which helps match remote workers to grab lunch or coffee. I'm going to be opening it up to remote coffee or lunches to help any newcomers to working from home due to the coronavirus.

LucyN·Mar 05, 2020

I moved from NYC to a small town in the mountains (4K year-round population) and I work remotely. We don't have kids, so it was pretty isolating at first (I feel like with kids you have an automatic social network, whether you like it or not lol). At the time, remote work was not a huge thing here, so there weren't any meetups or co-working spaces yet. I made it a point to volunteer with several organizations over the course of several months, both as a way to meet people and to feel part of the community. I also took up several new hobbies, one of which paved the way for me to join the board of a local non-profit and meet people that became close friends. It sounds like you're doing all the right things. It just takes time to get settled and meet new people, make connections. Good luck!

LizaMashLevin·Mar 06, 2020

Hi,I can completely relate to what you said. this is why I've been working on a startup called Gable - www.gable.toOur goal is to connect remote workers, help them build their personal and professional connections based on their interests - working in small groups that can also increase their productivity and finally - if you want to host others, you can actually get some passive income.If you are interested, please register to be an early adapter here - www.gable.to

gabyfernndezscala·Mar 09, 2020

Ah, totally relate to this. I've been working remotely (on and off) for the last six years. Each time I go to a new place I make sure I attend some meetups, work from a coworking space at least a few times. But I also make sure I actually work "in" the city I'm in. This means I do some kind of activity that gives back to the local community (it can be anything from joining an environment-friendly activity to sharing my skills). This allows me to feel I'm grounded and connected with others so I can avoid falling in a 'socialising-only and meeting a lot of random people' loop.I also use groups and tools to get to know other women in the same city or at least women that are working remotely too (I use facebook groups, lean in circles). I work in Asia with Letsguild.com that connects women via a matchmaking tool and that definitely helped me to meet others.

tracy·Mar 09, 2020

If you live in a city where Lunchclub (https://lunchclub.ai/) is available, I've met some pretty interesting folks through that. The service matches you with people 1:1 based on your interests and you meet up IRL (for lunch, coffee, etc.). It feels less frantic than group networking and hopefully you can actually make a good connection in a 1:1 setting.

buildwithcycy·Mar 17, 2020

Hey @tracy! Thanks for sharing :) Do you have an invite code for lunchclub.ai?

corinnpope·Mar 09, 2020

The loneliness and isolation of remote work is SO real. I think just getting out of the house is important, even if it's only for a walk around the block.In my last role, we had a virtual happy hour every friday afternoon where we would just chat about non-work stuff for ~30 minutes. Now that I'm no longer in that role, I really miss it, so I put together this site to find others who are looking for the same thing. I'm still in the process of trying to validate it. If you'd want a free invite, just DM me :-) https://remotehh.com