The Last (And Maybe Best) Of the Third Places

Question: Where, in 2025, does a person go to relax, recharge, and generally exist that isn’t work/school or home? What’s accessible and appealing that doesn’t require us to pay to be there? What does our choice of third place (if we get a choice at all) say about us, both as individuals and as communities?

I’ve been thinking about third places, at least the physical definition of them, a lot lately. There are coffee shops, gyms, museums and the like, but you can’t just wander into these spots. There’s usually a time limit on them, and you’ll have to put down some cash in order to get in or be allowed to stay. You’re welcome without a fee at the library, or at a community centre, but only during regular hours. The park is free too, but again, probably only while it’s light out and the weather cooperates. Libraries, community centres, and parks have the additional challenge of maintaining funding and support. If you’re looking for “somewhere else” to be, you could just go for a walk, which is economical, environmentally friendly and good cardio, but there isn’t really anywhere to stop and hang out that isn’t private property. If you’re lucky, you live somewhere with public art or the occasional free outdoor event or performance, but even if you don’t have to pay to participate, someone along the line will have (because artists and musicians deserve to earn a living too).

These are the perils of living in capitalism, right? We’re not supposed to want to “just be”, we’re supposed to want to consume, to produce, to buy and sell. In this sort of reality, there’s a cost assigned to taking up space, a hierarchy of who does and doesn’t get access. Why would we need a plethora of free, accessible, inclusive spaces that don’t require us to prove that we’re worthy enough to occupy them?

Unless you’re a billionaire (in which case, please go read something else), this lack of adequate third spaces is probably troubling. First, we need to disentangle ourselves from the nagging, deeply ingrained feeling that we should be either working or spending, that we deserve something more. If we’re able to turn that off for a minute or two (I find this difficult) will there be third places like this available to us?

This I know: when things get nonsensical, as they are right now, human beings tend to get overwhelmed and forget what it means to be human beings. In pursuit of trying to survive “interesting times” like these, we put thinking aside. Quiet contemplation gives way to seeking basic necessities like food, shelter and safety, and the time we might spend pondering the universe, marvelling at its mysteries, and seeing the wonderfulness of ourselves, kind of fizzles away. We’re so relieved to have a first and second place, we forget about anything beyond that. We forget how to just be, and in turn, we forget when and where to just be too.

I’d like to propose a new third place. It’s not an actual physical space, but rather a theoretical one, and although I’d prefer we have both physical and theoretical spaces in great supply, well, here we are. In case no one else has extended an initiation to you, I’d like to welcome you into the cramped, but cozy bubble of philosophy. It is, by nature, inclusive of a wide variety of life experience and world views. It’s open all hours of the day, there is no admission charge, it has no age restrictions, and you can pop in and out as you please. You can enjoy this space while in your pajamas, bleary-eyed, with a bedhead. You can (and should) bring guests with you. There’s no prep required before visiting, nor is there clean-up to be done before leaving. Philosophy, when it’s done right, builds community, and simultaneously leaves individuals better off. It’s bottomless, and functions on exploration and inquiry. It’s a place with a history, one that has been visited and utilized by every culture that has ever existed.

Visiting this space, even setting up camp there, really, really helps, just as much as any physical third space. In a time and place that tells you not to think, not to create, not to collaborate, it’s not only still your right, but your job as a brain walking around in a skin suit to grab a seat there. It’s how you stay human, how you stay yourself. No one can prevent you from going there, even in times when it isn’t deemed proper to talk about your visit.

I’d never discourage any thinker from grabbing a table on a café patio, finding solace in a library book stack, relaxing at a community centre, perusing a museum, or the like. Go to these very important locations as often as you can, and soak them in. But if they’re too expensive, too far away, or perish the thought, they’re just not there anymore, please know that you still have a mind space with an open door.