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Working from home can be great, unless the only place you have to work is actually your house or apartment. While it might work out for awhile to be getting things done in pajamas from your living room, after awhile, it can start to feel a bit grating. Add an under or unemployed spouse or live-in partner to the mix, and then it starts to feel downright claustrophobic. After all, most people need a bit more space, and if you’re having to share with someone who is less than career-oriented, you might find your own work ethic starting to slip.

For young professionals, aspiring business heads, and anyone who has jumped into the remote work game thanks to the influx of companies that understand wireless internet means working from home is easy, there are plenty of reasons to take a job where you are your own office. And in cities like Chicago, where more and more twenty-somethings are actually making ends meet freelancing in this fashion, there are starting to be various different work spaces set up in cafe environments, as well as countless other establishments boasting numerous Wi-Fi networks or places to plug in.

In a bustling city like Chicago, having a place to go and work means more than just escaping from your apartment. It also means finding a spot that is quiet enough to actually get some work done. After all, if you’re simply fleeing the distractions of your own apartment but walk into a loud and stressful pub, you aren’t going to be any better off. And at the same time, there’s something to be said about the fact that a cafe with free Wi-Fi sometimes isn’t the best choice for anyone with serious work to be done. When a ton of different people are trying to use the same signal, or a cafe doesn’t password-protect its network, the speed of data transfer can slow to an unmanageable crawl.

One solution is to simply stay home, or to rent a work or office space with friends so that you can have a dedicated spot to work. And while this might be a must-do step for some people, most aren’t ready to throw that kind of money down on a second rent, essentially. There is always the option of just going with places where you can plug in, but these are often copy-style places, and aren’t the best working environments. However, if you decide to consider switching your net connection rather than your location, you’ll quickly find that the options present themselves a whole lot sooner.

With WiMax, you do not have to worry about whether or not where you are going has a Wi-Fi network, because your signal literally can be connected to from anywhere. This means that you could be in a bustling cafe where everyone else is fighting over the same connection, but you will be sitting contentedly, surfing the web on something that is fast and reliable. This is because towers and not routers are in charge of how you are able to get online, and this means that your signal area is not a few feet, but dozens and dozens of miles. And for someone who takes working outside of the home seriously, this is a major step in the right direction for productivity and flexibility alike.

As one of the oldest big cities in all of the United States, Chicago has long been on the forefront of innovation, albeit more quietly than other cities like San Francisco and New York. As a major seat of public art, forward-thinking universities, fabulous architecture, and big politics, Chicago is perhaps the most cosmopolitan spot in the midwest. It’s no wonder, then, that tourists and new residents alike are flocking to the city in growing numbers. Whether it’s to enjoy the big-city wonders of the loop, the chance to stroll on a lakeside beach just steps away from a bustling financial district, or to tuck into one of the incredible restaurants or world-class boutiques, Chicago definitely has everything from old-world delights to new-school touches like wireless internet around the city and speedy public transportation.

For those exploring Chicago who are more attune to things like checking one’s email on the go and taking laptops into coffeeshops  to get a little bit of web surfing or freelancing done, rest assured that you are in good company. Whether it’s a growing population of twenty-something freelancers who spend their days wearing carefully distressed jeans and scowling over their MacBook Pros or the 30-something well-coiffed yuppies who take their lunch breaks in downtown restaurants, enjoying salad while recapping the morning’s deals and transactions, laptops are a big part of life in the windiest of cities.

One of the reasons that so many people are wired is because the city has definitely been forward-thinking when it comes to things like wireless internet. Many of the public buildings have been wired longer than other spots around the country, and Wi-Fi is practically ubiquitous. However, everyone is aware of the shortcomings of Wi-Fi connections. Sometimes, the password doesn’t work, even though the barista swears she gave you the right one. Other times, your favorite table at a restaurant is too far away from the router, meaning that your connection is lagging. And of course, if every broke college student living in Wrigleyville is poaching your wireless internet connection, it’s going to move as slow as molasses.

However, since Chicago is so forward-thinking when it comes to technology, it’s no surprise that it is one of the first cities in the United States to really get on board with WiMax. Unlike Wi-Fi, which depends on a router that basically magnifies a regular broadband connection to cover a couple of feet, this version of wireless is known for sending its signals via towers. The towers can actually provide a solid amount of coverage to numerous people for an area of over 30 miles, and towers can bounce signals from one to the other. This means that it would be possible for you to get all the way from the heart of Chicago’s south side to the leafy suburbs of the north side and not have to worry about dropping your internet connection once along the way.

With WiMax, it’s possible to be truly wireless while exploring Chicago. And in a city with so much to do, and so much thought towards technology, there’s never been a better spot to get along, knowing full well that your wireless connection will be there with you no matter where you choose to head next.