I don't really like coffee. Once upon a time I would pass by a coffee shop and wonder how people could sit inside for hours. Don't they have better places to go? Then I had a conversion of sorts. I was living at the time in a Jesuit community just outside Toronto, but most days I traveled by commuter trains for work commitments in the city. I found myself a nomad in the city.

My commitments took me to various offices, Jesuit and otherwise. But there was no one office or community I could call my own. I was certainly welcome at any Jesuit place but I had a slight sense of invading on others' territory and I was reluctant to get too immersed in their daily issues.

Starbucks became a regular destination. I chose a couple of locations that were close to my work commitments. There was reliable wireless, friendly staff, warmth in the winter and dry during a rainstorm. I would enjoy a latte or cappuccino, mainly because it tasted less like straight coffee. Or, I'd have tea.

But the major thing I found there was creative space. The noises and movements might distract some. But I found that ambience conducive to creativity. If I needed quiet, I could always go somewhere and find it, someplace such as a public library. For the most part, I found that coffee shops met my needs.

Some of my more creative blog posts have been composed on my iPad at Starbucks. Likewise for other projects that require creative ideas! Inevitably, if I am stuck for a starting point for my blog post, the idea comes to me and the words flow. If they don't, I check out a few websites that stir my imagination. It works!

        The Economist had a piece several years ago (April 12, 2008) on our nomadic future, thanks mainly to wireless communications. The writer points out that more and more is happening on the move. "The emerging class of digital nomads wander, but they take virtually nothing with them; wherever they go, they can easily reach people and information.”

It’s a few years later now. Even though I live in the heart of the city and have a comfortable community and an office at Regis College, a stone's throw from Queen's Park, I have discovered that some of my most creative writing is done at coffee shops.

I have two favourite locations of Starbucks that I frequent. I've discovered that a man who is often at "my" Starbucks location is actually a columnist for a local newspaper. He seems to also compose his pieces on his iPad. I take comfort in that. I have a difficult time sitting in a quiet office for too many hours. So, I sometimes grab my iPad and whatever I'm working on and walk the five minutes to my Starbucks.

What do I like about living a nomadic existence in the city? There is something neat about being able to work and connect with people from virtually anywhere. I think I find coffee shops creative because of the diversity of people who wander in and out of the place, the other regulars who spend time there or walk in to get their beverage, and the background ambience. The fact that there is wireless means that I can check out sites for creative ideas or I can read the news if I have a few extra minutes. Now I wonder what I missed by not frequenting coffee shops years ago.