You’re a travel blogger, a remote or location independent worker. You’re coming to Athens, Greece for a short or mid-period of time and whilst you may’ve rented a great AirBNB apartment to base yourself, and it comes with Wi-Fi, because you’ll be around for a while, you don’t want to fall into the trap of isolating yourself in a new city and just stay at home all day, working. Where can you go? This is where Impact Hub comes in.
What is Impact Hub?
I’ve recently fallen into the category of remote worker and am having to be really strict with myself to not think
Ohh! I can laze in bed ’till about 11am
The problem with this is that I quickly become lazy. I need a different routine for myself. And so I started to investigate the idea of actually leaving my house to go and work, like leaving for an office. A reason to get dressed and not sit in my pyjamas typing my latest blog post! (I am sure there are those remote workers out there who are nodding along – I hope so anyway, otherwise it means I’m totally alone in this!) This is where Impact Hub came in.
Co-working space
Just minutes from the centre of touristy Athens – Monastiraki or Thissio station being the nearest metro stops – in the small district of Psirri lies Impact Hub.
It’s a beautiful two story town house, lovingly restored into a co-working / meeting space. Perfect for the person who wants to pop in and spend a few hours or the whole day immersed in their work, but also surrounded by other like minded people.
Opening hours and prices of co-working space at Impact Hub Athens
09:00 – 21:00 (9am – 9pm) so if you wanted to, you could come for a whole day. Check here for their prices (part of the section of this site in Greek, scroll down for English package prices) AND NOTE: the prices are excluding VAT which currently seems to keep changing on a daily basis, I’m not kidding.
The great thing about Impact Hub’s location is how central it is, and it’s literally across the road from Little KooK themed cafe. So if a change of scenery is required, then why not pop in for a cake/dessert at this fairytale location?
Tip
If you’re staying for any great length of time in the city, you can negotiate with the staff a special package that is different from these stated prices. As with most things in Greece, negotiation is the key.
On the day I went, I spent most of the day there and paid €10 (Euros). This included use of the premises and helped myself to tea/coffee and water.
Impact Hub as a Community
If you find yourself in Athens for any great length of time, check with the staff as to community and networking events that it’s possible to attend. Hell, you might even want to suggest an event or presentation! They’re very open to ideas and getting people together and encourage it.
You can also rent the space for any event and rent meeting rooms, of which there are a selection (scroll down the link to see the idea of size and selection of meeting rooms to rent).
My conclusion of Impact Hub Athens
OK, in all honesty it is not somewhere I feel I could afford to go on a weekly basis. I’m not the sort of person who can work in a coffee shop, and unfortunately Greece (Athens, at least) is not accommodating on public library spaces with internet facilities (unless anyone can correct me? I’ve looked, really, I have!) so I use Impact Hub as a treat, not as a ‘normal’ daily working space. I think that way, it gives me:
- Something to look forward to
- A reason to get out of my pyjamas!
Info
Impact Hub operates in 49 countries:
- 11 locations in Africa and the Middle East
- 9 locations in Asia
- 41 locations in Europe
- 13 locations in Latin America and the Caribbean
- 16 locations in America (note: None in Canada as yet! Who wants to get the ball rolling and set one up in, Toronto, Vancouver, etc??)
- None in Australia or New Zealand or Canada (see above).
Hello Rebecca,
Thank you sharing this experience at Impact hub Athens!! I was about to contact them, as I will be working from Athens from time to time in the coming months, so your view from the inside is very useful.
As for public library spaces in Athens, I tried the National Library’s lecture room for 1 week last year, and it was really great: good wifi, nice and welcoming people, good atmosphere for working… The only thing is that as absolute silence is required (normal, we are in a library), you can not have remote skype meetings of phone calls, and this is not always work-compatible…
That’s really good to know, thanks Blandine. And actually, I prefer complete and utter silence when I work.