Third Place Concept

The cluster discusses the sociological idea of 'third places'—informal social spaces like cafes, bars, pubs, coffee shops, and clubs that exist outside home and work—for casual socializing and community building, with many referencing its Wikipedia page and lamenting its scarcity in places like the US.

➡️ Stable 0.6x Politics & Society
2,377
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#2880
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Keywords

PNW US theartofcharm.com OP HN HackerSpace en.m UK CrossFit wikipedia.org coffee place places clubs social bars hang shops home classes

Sample Comments

kodz4 Jun 6, 2019 View on HN

A cafe or a bar is nothing but a "third space". Something outside of home and work. So don't take it literally. It can be the gym/dance/music/sports clubs/gardening/church/volunteering/fishing/libraries etc etc. Look for that "third space" which aligns with your interests, needs and values and keep visiting.

hos234 Dec 29, 2019 View on HN

Sounds like a 'Third Place' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

allears Nov 6, 2025 View on HN

I'm an old man, unfamiliar with modern culture, but back in the day we used to go to bars or taverns for this kind of socializing. Maybe it's coffeehouses now?

foxdev Sep 2, 2020 View on HN

You might be interested in the concept of the third place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

debesyla May 10, 2024 View on HN

I think OP meant social gathering places?

scarejunba May 15, 2019 View on HN

That's a space Cafés Philosophiques fill in secular society in some places, but I don't want to go to one in America. It'll probably be full of weirdos. "Third places" like this need to be absent of tension.Anyway, I fixed that by having a key set of friends who always hang out, usually at a specific friend's home. We play board games guaranteed every two weeks, are on a shared Slack instance, and hang out practically every week. Feels good.Back in the UK, it

smsm42 Jan 13, 2017 View on HN

People usually don't lurk in those places anyway, I think. Usually there are coffee shops etc. that are much more open to that kind of thing.

tokioyoyo Dec 23, 2024 View on HN

Yeah, I wasn't talking about a "meetup group". I was talking about a spot where I could go on any given day, sit down, have a drink and just chat with whoever is sitting nearby, with the chances that they also live somewhere nearby. Think of British pub culture, but imported to PNW. In my area, we have exactly 0 of those spots, despite having a decent amount of bars and restaurants in the area.As it was mentioned in the comments, it usually boils down to regulation and financia

1337biz May 17, 2015 View on HN

I wish that were the case in the places I am having lunch at - do you actually mean by bar some past 9pm location etc? But I am frequently at coffee shops and met so many really interesting people. Definitely a great way to connect with people outside ones established social circle.

vel0city Oct 12, 2023 View on HN

The Wikipedia article here includes places with financial implications like bookstores and cafes. I don't see why these have to be excluded, for a long time a nearby pub was my "third place", I knew a lot of the people there and would share life with a lot of them for several years.