At The Living Room (fondly abbreviated to TLR), we often talk about our coworking space in Málaga as being so much more than just a place to work. In reality, it’s a bustling, vibrant, thriving community where friendships are formed, skills are shared, and stories are told.
One of the best examples of this can be found in two of our most beloved returning members, Kathi and Nils.
Originally hailing from Austria and Germany respectively, but now living (mostly) in Vienna, Kathi and Nils spend a few months of the year – every year – here in the south of Spain.
Like migratory birds escaping the cold, the couple annually exchanges the harsh Viennese winters for warm sunshine, sandy beaches, and the productivity-boosting environment of TLR.
Their most recent visit, from January to April of this year, marked their fifth return.
Given this boomerang-like pattern, you’d be forgiven for thinking Málaga was love at first sight for Kathi and Nils. But you’d be very, very wrong.
Out of the Furnace and Into the Fire
Nils and Kathi’s epic love story first began a whopping 14 years ago on the coast of Spain.
Nils had been studying in Germany while Kathi had been studying in Austria. Serendipitously, they both made the exact same decision – travelling to Valencia to study as part of the Erasmus study abroad programme.
It was in Valencia that they met and fell in love and, at the end of their semester abroad, took a road trip through southern Spain. A journey that involved a stopover in Málaga.
It’s safe to say their first impressions of the city were less than favourable. It was the height of summer, being outside was like breathing the air from a hairdryer, cockroach carcasses littered the sidewalks, everyone was in a bad mood from being overheated, and Malagueta beach was in no way comparable to the beaches they had become accustomed to – the long, soft, pristine beaches of Valencia.
They were firmly in agreement – this was a place they absolutely hated and would never return to.
Their road trip coming to an end, Kathi and Nils returned to their home universities in Germany and Austria but continued their cross-border, long-distance romance. Later they moved to Vienna together. Nils went into UX/UI design and Kathi went into motion design. Life was good… Then the year 2020 rolled around, and coronavirus reared its ugly, spike-ridden head.
When Life Gives You Lockdowns…
Suddenly, Kathi and Nils found themselves stuck indoors, at the mercy of strict restrictions, and they had to do all their work online. After a few months, they started making plans to get out of Austria for a little while, and began researching alternative locations.
Horror-struck, they eventually realised the only destination that checked all their boxes was none other than that sweltering city they couldn’t wait to get out of ten years previously.
The double checked the data, but there was no mistake – Málaga was the sunniest and warmest place in Europe in winter, cost of living didn’t break the bank, and it was in the right time zone for their Austrian clients.
Against all odds, they were returning to the Costa del Sol.
Málaga: The Sequel – This Time, It’s Personal
Nils was doubtful, yet resigned. The couple packed their bags and flew back to Málaga, bracing themselves for potential disappointment.
What they found instead was a city entirely changed. The centre had been completely pedestrianised, the chic Muelle Uno area had sprung up as if from a mirage, and the weather was sunny but nowhere near the unbearable heat they had experienced on their summer road trip all those years ago.
With new hope in their hearts, Kathi and Nils started laying down roots. One of the most important first tasks? Finding the perfect coworking space in Málaga.
Getting the Porridge Just Right
Their temporary move to Spain was exactly that – a move. It wasn’t a holiday. With Nils being a UX/UI designer and Kathi being a motion designer and both having clients with ongoing projects, they needed to quickly find a space to work from.
Their initial search took them to spaces which had some aspects they liked, but not others. Nils explains that one space had chairs fit for a restaurant but not for long days at the office, while others were either too noisy or way too dead.
TLR, on the other hand, fit firmly in their Goldilocks Zone – ergonomic chairs, reliable screens, and a community of hard-working, motivated individuals to bounce ideas off or go for coffee with.
According to them, other businesses offering a coworking space in Málaga couldn’t compare – either devoid of the right equipment or lacking an environment conducive to real focus.
Ergonomic Chairs and Good Vibes Only
Is this what keeps Kathi and Nils coming back every year? Decent equipment and free coffee? Absolutely not.
While they both realise the importance of having a productive space to focus and get work done, they also realise that life isn’t all about being chained to a desk – regardless of how ergonomic said desk is.
After five years of unwavering loyalty, both Kathi and Nils credit the community aspect of TLR as being the key to their steadfast return to the coworking space in Málaga each year.
Every time their feet hit Andalucian soil, Kathi and Nils know they’ve come to a home away from home. They slot right back into their life here, returning to familiar places and faces while also discovering new people and paths. Theirs is the best of both worlds – not only the comfort of the familiar, but also the excitement of the new.
Conquering Stage Fright (and Living to Tell the Tale)
This time around, the visit was especially memorable for Nils who pushed himself out of his comfort zone and gave a public talk at TLR.
Our monthly Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) talk series is a chance for our members to share their passions, experiences, and stories – anything from creative endeavors to life-changing lessons.
Nils, who had been thinking about giving a talk for the last year or so, finally took the plunge. His talk, ‘Navigating Corporate Madness: What 3 Failed Projects Taught Me’, delved into three different projects he was part of that, for one reason or another, didn’t go as planned.
With honesty, humour, and a touch of vulnerability, Nils shared the hard-won lessons he learned from these challenging experiences, stressing the importance of health, open communication, and truly understanding a client’s vision. His insights resonated with the crowd, sparking lively discussions that lingered long after the presentation.
While Nils admitted he had been nervous before the talk, he said he eased into it after the first terrifying few minutes. At first, it was an item to tick off his bucket list. Now he wants to expand and improve the talk for an event series in Vienna in front of other UX/UI designers.
It’s Hasta Luego, But Never Goodbye
Much like the seasonal departure of fork-tailed swallows signals the start of winter, saying farewell to Kathi and Nils has become a marker of summer’s arrival here in Málaga. By now, it’s a rhythm we can almost set our watches to – a feeling that brings the strange yet familiar comfort found in rituals and tradition.
The goodbyes are always bittersweet – we’re sad to see them go, but we also know it’s never a true goodbye, always merely a “see you later”.
Vienna may be their home for the rest of the year but Málaga and TLR reside in their hearts – until winter rolls around once more.
* What will the next TGIF event bring? TLR Family members will find out very soon! If you would like to join the next TLR event, check out our various subscription offerings here: https://tlr-coworking.com/subscriptions/. Our ‘Friend’ subscription, for example, is only €50/month and includes access to all TLR events and social gatherings, including the monthly TGIF!
