Warsaw Hackerspace Moving Experiences

Warsaw Hackerspace moving in 2015

Warsaw Hackerspace (link) is the biggest 'Space in Poland, consisting of about 80 people (30 of whom were active members) at the time of moving in 2015. It is run by a Board consisting of 3-4 people, elected by the majority of members. At the time it wasn't using the consensus mechanism. The main source of income were membership fees, ~$15 for students and ~$30 for regular members a month.

After about 3 years of leasing a basement from a local research agency the building was acquired by the University of Warsaw, which decided to renovate it and create archives / storerooms in the areas used by the hackers. We were given several months to find a new place and move. The task was tricky: our old location was less than 100 meters from a subway station, next to several restaurants and with quite a low rent. Few other places offered such a good mix.

I (alxd) was the 'Space member for over 2 years and a newly-appointed Board member. I quit my programming job in order to dedicate myself to the space-hunting fulltime.

Here's what I learned: