Top 5 Places to Work & Study in Mississauga

So, you’re in summer school. It’s probably because you’re extra studious and want fast-track your Sheridan or UTM graduation. Or maybe you just like attending summer school. Or, in many cases, it’s a necessary evil to make up for lost time or re-do something that didn’t go quite so well during the academic year. Regardless, summer school is a reality for many and with good weather comes a few choice opportunities to work and study in the open air with the breeze on your face and the sun obscuring important documents on your computer screen.

Here’s a list of five fun places to work or study this summer. 

5) Celebration Square

This seems a little counterintuitive because it is, but hear me out! Although the square tends to be noisy and crowded, it has more serene moments during off-hours and offers free Wi-Fi. “But I can get free Wi-Fi literally anywhere else,” you say. “What if I get hit in the back of the head with an errant soccer ball while writing an essay?” Those are totally valid points, but the Square — centrally located and very close to a library — offers inspiration. If you’re a creative or professional writing or visual arts major, you have ample opportunity to people watch. You can see cultural celebrations, family interactions, musical performances and fitness classes. You can reflect upon people’s love of creative food cooked in the back of the truck. You can also leave your laptop with a trusty but tired mother of four as you walk to C Café or Starbucks for an academic alertness espresso.

4) Port Credit Parks

If you want scenery and serenity while you read profound English literature, head to one of the many parks lining the Lakeshore in Port Credit. The Mississauga section of the Waterfront Trail encompasses a whopping 22 parks, so maybe ride your bike (because you’re a student, biking should be an integral part of your youthful exploration of the world) to Richard’s Memorial Park or Lakefront Promenade Park, take a seat at a picnic table, crack open a book and get some vitamin D/knowledge.

3) Mississauga Central Library

A few years ago, a good friend told me she borrowed a book from the library and I quizzically asked if libraries are still around outside of schools and if people still borrow fiction from them in this age of eBooks. They are and they do. I also have a good friend who studied for her bar exam at the Central Library on the regular, so you know it contains vast resources and is conducive to superior concentration. It also has printers, because who has one of those cumbersome goliaths in their dorm or shared one bedroom apartment?

2) A Restaurant

A restaurant is actually a great place to grab some complimentary Wi-Fi and get ‘er done. It’s a little less typical than a café, but it offers better food options (generally speaking, anyways) and a little change of scenery. Some local restos that offer free Wi-Fi include Streetsville’s chic Cagney’s, The Wilcox Gastropub (where you can pair writing or studying with a delicious $16 lobster poutine) and Port 229 Artisan Bistro (where you can treat yourself to some PEI mussels for $12.95). If you decide to work at The Wilcox during the 5 pm to 7 pm Wilcox Hour, you can grab a $5 craft pint to make studying less painful and writing more fluid (be sure to proofread carefully the next morning).

1) A Café

Tried and true, I spent many of hours of my precious student life at various GTA cafes and I have pangs of nostalgia every time I get a strong whiff of expresso or bite into a moist breakfast wrap filled with egg, cheese and tomatoes. Cafes — and there are many of them in the city, ranging from indies like Studio 89 to sandwich and dessert spots like Aroma, Coffee Culture and Panera to big chains like Starbucks and Second Cup — typically offer complimentary Wi-Fi and cheaper food and beverages. We might all want to study over a $30 charcuterie board, but we can’t all be magnificent ballers with a taste for fine honey-drizzled ricotta and flavourful Elmwood sausage. If you’re coming from Sheridan, you can hit up the Starbucks on Confederation Pkwy in the PSV condos, the Second Cup in the Capital condos on Living Arts Drive, The Cold Pressery on Rathburn and even Wholefoods or the Aroma in Square One. If you’re at UTM, you have less off-campus options within walking distance, but you can bike, drive or take a bus to the spacious, serene Starbucks in the Sherwood Forrest Village plaza. If you want to try something a little swankier in the same plaza, you can get some reading done at the Apricot Tree Café while enjoying a wild mushroom panini ($10.75).