Hackerspaces, in my experience, run the gamut from tricked-out garage to fully-fledged burgeoning, autonomous technology hub. I frequented Noisebridge during my years in San Francisco, where bookshelves of precariously stacked tomes hoard the forgotten wisdom of the very first pioneers of computation, cybernetics, and technics, alongside refurbished and remixed robots, arcade machines, elaborately sparkling furniture, and twenty-thousand-dollar prototypes of secret and dubiously legal hardware.

The funny part is that most other hackerspaces seem to have all that stuff, too, in greater and lesser degrees. Bloominglabs fits the same description to a T. Its prototypes may cost hundreds of dollars rather than tens of thousands of dollars, but the atmosphere, the energy in the wild and eager eyes of the membership, and the welcomeness are practically identical. Both locations - owned by a collective of nonprofit organizations - bear the same fundamental philosophy: "Be excellent to each other". You can find the exact same excellence at the biggest most famous hackerspace as you can find at any old place down the road. Montreal boasts a number of its own spaces, and of the handful I visited, each - although unique, and specialized towards one or another domain - still shone with that same spark of ingenious creative fire.

By now, I'd be surprised if you weren't itching to find your own local hackerspace and tear it up with a close-knit cadre of your future friends. Members are in these spaces to work on their passion projects, it's true, but everyone is always happy to greet a new face and give them the tour of the premises - this is another cultural constant I have observed across the continent. Everyone's so friendly and helpful. You can really walk up and talk to just about anyone, given they aren't operating dangerous machinery (and even then…). If you're now sold on finding one, it's easy. Head over to the Hackerspaces Wiki and search for a space nearby, or do a web search for "[your town] hackerspace." There may be several - try them all until one feels right.

What if there isn't one nearby? Well, you're in luck, because you might get to start your own. And how rare an opportunity that is.