Choosing between a cheap apartment in Berlin and a pricier one with a dedicated office

I moved to Berlin six months ago and had to pick between a 700 euro flat with no separate room and a 950 euro place with a small office. I went with the cheaper option, thinking I could work from the kitchen table. It was a mistake. My productivity tanked within a month because I couldn't separate my work and living space. Has anyone else faced a similar budget vs. proper workspace dilemma when moving for freelance work?

4 comments

4 Comments

kai8391mo ago

You mentioned your productivity tanked without that separation. I wonder if it's also about the mental cue of a dedicated spot. Even a cheap room divider or a specific chair my brain links to "work mode" made a huge difference for me when I couldn't afford an extra room.

the_faith1mo ago

But is a separate room really that big of a deal? People work from coffee shops all the time.

abbyhall1mo ago

Coffee shops have that background hum of strangers, which is way different than your partner asking what's for dinner mid-meeting. The "big deal" is the kind of interruptions, not just noise.

faithpatel4d ago

my friend ben went through the exact same thing. he picked the cheap studio in zurich thinking he could just work from the couch. after two weeks he was finding any excuse to leave the apartment. ended up spending 50 bucks a week on coffee just to sit in a busy starbucks with his laptop. the noise was actually fine but he couldn't spread his papers out anywhere. moved within six months to a place with a separate room. says it saved his freelance career literally.