pt. 3

The speaker talks about their experience with cafes in the Tampa area, where they find it difficult to access free Wi-Fi and have limited seating. They contrast this with their experience in Korea, where cafes have a nice ambiance, free Wi-Fi, and ample space to work or socialize. They also mention that the prices in Korea are cheaper. The speaker wishes that the US had more "third spaces," which are social spaces outside of home and work. They mention the lack of fun and whimsical cafes in the US and express excitement about experiencing a different cafe culture in Korea. They also mention that Starbucks now requires customers to purchase something to use their amenities. The speaker concludes by saying that they are excited to explore more in Korea and expect a different experience compared to the US. Hey, welcome back from a short break. Now I'll be talking about traffic clustering in Korea and streaming up to here in America. Okay, so I think as far as cafes, I have enough experience. I'm a big coffee drinker, I like matcha, I love baking, and I love seeing all the different entrees. But something I've noticed while, like, exploring different cafes in the Tampa area, though, while they don't have free Wi-Fi, or if they do, it's kind of hard to ask. Like, it's not very accessible. Yeah, I have to go around, go back in line, wait like 10 minutes, and be like, oh, can we use Wi-Fi? And it's like, it's terrible quality, it doesn't really work out that well. Or they have very limited seating, like, they'll have a couple of couches, or they'll have an outlet. It's hard to do work there. Like, they really don't want me to hang out here. Like, they're ready for me to go, like, get my coffee and get out. It's a very fast camera, right? When I was in Korea, I could see myself being there for, like, hours. It looks small on the outside, it's super big on the inside. It has, like, a nice ambience. Everything's accessible there, like, Wi-Fi, everything. It was super easy to work there. And there's, like, there's people just talking very casually. It was, I don't know, it's not like they wanted you there. It was like, they carved out this small little pocket of the community for you to have either, like, solo stays, maybe you're going on a first date there, a couple of holders for your date there. Or you could casually meet with friends. Also, the prices were great. Even though I'm not, like, looking at conversion rate, it was just, like, so much more cheaper. Because, like, what is it? Like, a little coffee, a little Canelo cream. It should not be, like, $3. Everything here is extremely expensive. $7 for a little treat. Yeah. But there, like, a coffee or a tea, which takes, like, $2 to make, costs, like, $4. It's, like, half the price. Even without the conversion rate, I just think it's a lot more common for you to be able to find a space where you can, like, take yourself out. That is so good, yeah. Because I've seen people talk online about how there's a lack of third spaces in the U.S. now. So we should really do what Korea's doing. It sounds so nice. They have cheap, big spaces that people can hang out in. I think it's also popular among younger people now. And it's great that younger people have a space to socialize in with all these talks internationally about spreading isolation and loneliness. Yeah, so take the mental health of the guys. And so just, like, rewind back for a second. The phrase third space is an abuse. A third space is a space that's different from your home or your work. It's kind of like, like I said earlier, it's like a little pocket in a social space where you can either kind of blend in with the background or you can kind of spark new conversations. It's very lively. It's very dynamic. It's always different. It's an ebb and flow between people and conversations. And that's why it's so unique and very socially revitalizing because you get to feel the energy around you of other people without being alone. So you're not exactly having to give to the environment. You can just simply exist in it. I wish we had, like, more of those here because, like, growing up, like, the only place that I could really go to to, like, kind of socialize but, like, still have, like, a nice workspace and stuff was just, like, Panera. Like, yeah, that's the only place I could really go. I can't really think of any other, like, real cafes that people would go to, like, hang out or just, like, do work or socialize. I'm not a pop star in LA. Yeah, exactly. So, like, I mean, I do think that we should adopt some Korean, like, culture or something that, like, can allow us to actually, like, hang out with friends or study or a place where free Wi-Fi. You don't have to pay for stuff. Like, something like that. Like, a place where that's actually, like, suits people. And also, there's cafes there. They commit to the bit. There's themes. Like, I watched this one. It was a salt theme. They have giant, like, snowy mountains. Like, it was, like, a theme kind of like, you know those boxes, like, diaphragms? But it was, like, all salt. And I got a coffee. It was, like, a salt rim on it. And it was inside a little box of salt. Everything had, like, salt-flavored stuff. It was a salt-flavored place. But, like, the way they just kind of commit, it makes you feel like you're literally stepping into a different world, which I think is very unique to here. There's, like, a lot of coffee shops here. They have a little sterile. They're all, like, harsh lighting. Oh, yeah. Animalism. Yes. I hate that. It's so boring. Where's the personality? Everything's so boxy now. There's no fun restaurants anymore. There's not fun and whimsy anymore. That's true. It looks like you want to say even more in Korea now. Yeah. I feel like growing up, like, the only places I had to socialize with friends were either, like, at the library, which is really far away from my house, or just at school where I would have to be in an after-school club or a sport or something just to talk to other people. Yeah. And I feel like going back to non-accessibility and cafe culture kind of comparing here in America with Starbucks, they just changed their policies. So now if we're to be considered a customer to, like, use their restroom or their amenities or Wi-Fi, you have to buy something or even buy water now. They charge for water, so. That's crazy. They charge for water. Yeah. Like, Starbucks does. $0.65 for a cup of water. What do you mean $0.65 for? Like, see? It's so real. Just give me a cup of water. Yeah, exactly. Also, it's interesting that you mentioned that it's really far from you. I feel like people don't have, like, at least in our area, it's not walkable at all. For there, like, there's an area, I think, Iksun-dong? I don't know. Probably, but during that. Like, I just walk from cafe to cafe, go cafe hopping here. I want to go to a cafe 20 minutes down the road, 30 minutes down the road. Like, I have to make it a whole trip. And that's going to cost money to drive. It's going to take time. It's not just a simple, oh, let me go to the place next door. You definitely have a driving culture here in America. I'm sure there's time, effort, money, everything you have to put so much into it. You can't just, like, walk over the street, go to a cafe, spend time, hang out. I'm excited for more in Korea, though. I mean, I feel like, at least in the meantime, we're not seeing a lot about America. Maybe we need to explore more. But I definitely think that in Korea, we're going to experience things totally different from here. All right. Well, I think that wraps up our first episode today, our Soul Eater episode. Thank you for joining us today, and we'll see you next time. All right. Bye.