Where is your third place?

Emily Torres from The Good Trade wrote a really thought-provoking article, “What Is A Third Place? (And Here’s Why You Should Have One).” I suggest you read it for yourself. It was so relevant to my headspace that I wanted to document a few of the key points here.

A third place is a familiar spot where you connect with others over a shared interest. It is a safe space to be a bit anonymous or to be fully known. And this place is not your home or your work – it’s a third, different place. It could be a coffee shop, a library, a state park, a friend’s backyard, a place of worship… I think of it as a place where I can be a little removed from the immediate demands of work or home.

I don’t feel very grounded in a city until I find a third place. (And sometimes a fourth or fifth place makes the list, too.) During my undergrad, my third place was the SPEA Library, which was far more social than studious. When I moved to Chicago, my third places were Heritage Coffee Shop and my friends’ Bissell St. apartment where we ate pizza every Thursday night when we returned from our various work travel. In Denver, my third places were Park Church and Black Eye LoHi Coffee, which often went together.

I’m still figuring out my third place in Evanston. But I did walk into a new coffee shop on Saturday and immediately loved the cozy energy. So, we’ll see if that becomes my Evanston third place.

How about you? Where is your third place?