What makes a gym?

It's a thing I'm often asked. To be honest, I think the answer is really subjective depending on the person's goals. The breakdown below is based only my personal experience and journey. Feel free to contribute your own opinions in the comments area, it might benefit someone who is in the process of shopping for their very first gym!

Basic Concerns
These are general concerns to apply to all gyms:

• Cleanliness (you really don't want a dirty gym)
• Proximity (to work, home, wherever your spend the bulk of your time)
• Availability (do you travel often? Are they open when you're not working?)
• Parking (not sufficient amount of parking is irritating)
• Space (nothing irks me more than trying to work out and getting wacked in the head by someone doing flyes on either side of me) 

Goal: Exercise
This applies if you're a person who is just getting started. In this situation, you're just looking to get some exercise in. Generally, if this is your goal your gym should have:

• A variety cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals, etc).
• Some free weights (I would believe a cap of around 75-100 lbs for dumbbells would be acceptable).
• Basic free weight equipment that should be there: squat rack/power rack, barbell bench & incline press, back extension machine. 
• A variety of machines for weight lifting (they are generally grouped by primary muscle used).

Goal: Training
Here, you're looking to lift 5-6 days a week, of you're lifting beyond the cap of 75-100lbs dumbbells. Please use this list in consideration with your own personal preferences. I find the more you train the pickier you get about your equipment. Generally, your gym should have:

• A variety of cardio machines.
• Two sets of dumbbells that go up to a heavy weight, another 1 or 2 sets of lighter weights. Here you're aiming for at least 4 sets of dumbbells.
• More than one power rack/squat rack, barbell benches, and back extension machines.
• Preferably more than one set of cable machines.
• A good number of plates. You don't want to wait for someone else to finish so you can start.
• Preloaded barbells (one straight, one ez) 
• A variety of machines for weight lifting (they are generally grouped by primary muscle used)

Goal: Classes
Here, you mainly like group cardio classes. Like step classes, cardio kickboxing, etc. This does not apply to boxing:

• Mirrored walls. (You want to know what's going on right?)
• Well-lit (You want to see your instructor)
• Friendly staff and well-spoken experienced instructors (note here experience isn't even as big of a deal as how comfortable you are with the instructor).
• Here, space is one of the most important things. You don't want to pick a place with a very small student space.

Misc.: Specialty
Once you get to specialties like boxing gyms, martial arts studios, etc. it's a totally different ball game. For situations like this it's best to go with an avid enthusiast, and pick their brain. For instance, I can tell you what to look for in a kickboxing studio or a ballet studio, but I'm totally useless in a boxing gym. It's better to go with an enthusiast than a whole group of people that don't know what to look for. Good luck!