Learning Something New From Home

Working and socializing from home is the new normal. But what do you do with all the downtime? The Long Island City condos for sale at Skyline Tower offer a wealth of amenity spaces at your literal doorstep to keep you busy or help you relax. Take advantage of the massive, stylish Residential Lounge on the third floor, where you can use the business center for a change of scenery while working from home. Afterward, you can unwind with the latest binge-worthy Netflix series or a round of billiards. Head up to the second resident lounge on the fifth floor and make dinner in the integrated kitchen and enjoy it with a well-deserved cocktail on the terrace.

A popular — and practical — option for after-work hours is devoting time to self-improvement. Online courses on nearly every imaginable subject are available on Coursera and Class Central to help you meet your personal goals. Whether you opt to fill in gaps from your college days, learn a new skill for work, or enhance your repertoire of wellness activities, you can find an extensive list of classes and knowledgeable experts to guide you through your at-home learning process. We’ll share some of our favorites.

Curl up on one of the plush sofas in the Skyline Tower Residential Lounge and take one of Coursera’s most popular courses: The Science of Well-Being. Taught by cognitive scientist and Yale University psychology professor Laurie Santos, this free-access course applies recent advances in psychological science to the pursuit of overall happiness. Topics include how to identify and overcome misconceptions about happiness, ways to boost well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ideas on building healthier, more productive habits. More than one-third of students report “tangible career benefit” from taking the course, among other effusive praise. You can watch video lectures and complete assignments at your own pace, so there’s no excuse not to get happy.

If you need more options for your next course, head to Class Central. This online course aggregator makes it easy to search among 15,000 online courses, covering a dizzying array of subjects, from more than 900 universities around the world. You can enroll in ever-popular courses such as Introduction to Computer Science, Contract Law, or Data Science from Harvard University, learn Korean from Yonsei University, or get a primer on Modern Art from Museum of Modern Art instructors. The possibilities are (almost) endless. The Class Central site provides detailed student reviews of classes, as well as a Best Online Course list each year, if you’re in need of some added inspiration in your search

Whatever you end up studying during your semester at home, the LIC condos at Skyline Tower can be both classroom and retreat.