SALT LAKE CITY — What do Utahns consider their third places? You know, those places where people spend time between home and work.
“It’s nice to talk to someone other than your coworkers or your family," said Utahn Maikolo Tuiasoa. "I feel like that’s a social interaction that we all need as human beings.”
Tuiasoa works two jobs and says he no longer has time to go to his favorite third spaces, like a gaming store or local coffee shop.
According to the Brookings Institution, a third place can be a park, library, coffee shops, or even a neighborhood barbershop.
Heidi Duran’s third place is the Marmalade Library.
“I like taking a break from everyday life,” she explained. “Even just a library, getting to go and roam, having a place where you’re not obligated to spend a bunch of money means a lot.”
The National Library of Medicine says third places enrich social interaction, a sense of community, and help people feel less alone and stressed.
But why are third places disappearing?
Here’s what Isaac Atencio had to say.
“The loss of third spaces with the cost of living, I don’t think that it’s unfair to say there’s not a correlation there," said Salt Lake Barber Company owner Isaac Atencio. “It’s a tough business to be in and a lot of places have had to cut hours. You know, especially post-COVID.
"Where you may still have those spaces like a coffee shop, you may not have it open until midnight like you did pre-COVID."
Atencio said it's the same thing with bars and restaurants with communities losing late-night options because it’s not economically viable for the business.
For Tuiasoa, he allows his imagination to wander at the gaming store that he considers his third place.
“Sometimes people are having awful days and something as simple as saying, 'Oh, I like your shirt. Oh, my god, I have those same earrings!' I think it helps remind people there’s more to life than just work.”
