Workin’ it

Dallas suburb plugs into No. 1 spot in ranking of best cities for remote workers

Gotta love that WFH life.

Photo by Maskot/Getty

If you’re a remote worker living in Frisco, you might just want to stay put. A new ranking puts Frisco atop the list of the best cities in the U.S. for remote workers.

But it isn’t the only North Texas city to make the cut. Three other local places show up in the ranking: Dallas (No. 3), Arlington (No. 4), and Plano (No. 8).

DFW’s showing on the list stands in contrast to a recent report ranking Dallas as the U.S. city with the unhappiest workers and Texas as the state with the unhappiest workers. (Maybe more employers should allow people to work from home?)

For its remote-work ranking, Austin-based outdoor services provider LawnStarter examined data for 194 of the biggest U.S. cities covering 20 factors, including remote job opportunities, internet connectivity, cost of living, and availability of personal workspace.

Frisco scores particularly well in the workspace (No. 1), opportunity (No. 7), and safety (No. 7) categories.

Earlier this year, Frisco grabbed the No. 3 spot on SmartAsset’s list of the best cities to work from home, with Austin at No. 9.

Jeff Herman, editor in chief at LawnStarter, tells CultureMap that Plano benefits from a first-place tie for the best broadband coverage, while Plano clinches the No. 1 ranking for the lowest crime rate.

Overall, the state’s lack of an income tax and solid quality of life boosted all of the Texas cities in the top 20, he says.

Herman, who lives in Dallas, says that “some of the best cities for working remotely are just a short drive away from me. I just hope the power stays on if there is a deep freeze this winter. You need lights, heat, and internet to work remotely, and that wasn’t the case for days across much of Texas last winter.”

Here are LawnStarter’s 20 best cities for remote workers:

Frisco
Naperville, Illinois
Dallas
Arlington
Atlanta
Austin
Tampa, Florida
Plano
Raleigh, North Carolina
Cincinnati
Houston
Nashville
Cary, North Carolina
Chicago
Denver
Salt Lake City
Charlotte, North Carolina
San Antonio
Arlington, Virginia
Seattle

Outside Dallas-Fort Worth, LawnStarter’s top-ranked Texas city for remote workers is Austin. It lands at No. 12 in the connectivity category and No. 14 in the convenience category.

Last year, Austin earned the top spot on a list of the world’s best cities for freelancers, many of whom work remotely. In June, Apartment List ranked Austin the sixth best U.S city for remote workers; no other Texas city appeared in the top 10.

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Coworking News

New coworking space to open in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood

Office Evolution

A coworking space is opening in Dallas in a central location: Office Evolution, a Louisville-based coworking chain, will open what a release says is a "state-of-the-art coworking space" at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. #360 in Dallas at the southeast corner of Lemmon Avenue.

No details on what makes it state-of-the-art, but construction is ongoing and an opening is anticipated in mid-October.

Office Evolution was founded in 2003 as a shared workspace-coworking environment, cultivated on the principles of "Ohana," the Hawaiian tradition that references family working toward a common goal. (The founder was from Hawaii.)

The company started out in Boulder, Colorado, then relocated its headquarters to Louisville. It's an affiliated brand of United Franchise Group, and is part of The Vast Coworking Group, which specializes in franchising within the coworking industry. All of their locations are franchised.

The Dallas location is owned by franchisee Michael Pickering, a Dallas native who runs a family-owned indoor soccer facility in Dallas. (There are two other Office Evolution locations in the DFW area in McKinney and Southlake, owned by different franchisees.)

They're describing the Dallas location at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. as "Turtle Creek," although its location at Oak Lawn and Lemmon really puts it at the epicenter of Oak Lawn. (To further complicate matters, the building previously and incorrectly described its address as "Uptown.")

It's a seven-story building in which the majority of tenants are doctor and medical offices.

Office Evolution rates include a coworking day pass for $25, plus "flex" office options starting at $200 a month for 20 hours, up to $550 a month for 80 hours.

Amenities of the building that are also accessible to Office Evolution customers include a front desk; a 1,000-square-foot fitness center; covered parking; and on-site security six days a week.

According to a spokesperson, Pickering and his team put $1.2 million into the renovation to transform the space, which occupies most of the fourth floor where it will span 9,240 square feet of space with 41 total offices — one of which is earmarked as an "on-demand office" for the professional on the go.

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