diff --git a/airbyte/_executors/python.py b/airbyte/_executors/python.py
index f3adcaac..37d57779 100644
--- a/airbyte/_executors/python.py
+++ b/airbyte/_executors/python.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 from airbyte._util.meta import is_windows
 from airbyte._util.telemetry import EventState, log_install_state
 from airbyte._util.venv_util import get_bin_dir
-from airbyte.constants import NO_UV
+from airbyte.constants import DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR, NO_UV
 
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -65,7 +65,9 @@ def __init__(
             if metadata and metadata.pypi_package_name
             else f"airbyte-{self.name}"
         )
-        self.install_root = install_root or Path.cwd()
+        self.install_root = install_root or DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR or Path.cwd()
+        with suppress(Exception):
+            self.install_root.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         self.use_python = use_python
 
     def _get_venv_name(self) -> str:
diff --git a/airbyte/_executors/util.py b/airbyte/_executors/util.py
index e33a9c05..6741d3fb 100644
--- a/airbyte/_executors/util.py
+++ b/airbyte/_executors/util.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 from airbyte._executors.python import VenvExecutor
 from airbyte._util.meta import which
 from airbyte._util.telemetry import EventState, log_install_state  # Non-public API
-from airbyte.constants import AIRBYTE_OFFLINE_MODE, TEMP_DIR_OVERRIDE
+from airbyte.constants import AIRBYTE_OFFLINE_MODE, DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR, TEMP_DIR_OVERRIDE
 from airbyte.sources.registry import ConnectorMetadata, InstallType, get_connector_metadata
 from airbyte.version import get_version
 
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ def get_connector_executor(  # noqa: PLR0912, PLR0913, PLR0914, PLR0915, C901 #
         host_temp_dir = TEMP_DIR_OVERRIDE or Path(tempfile.gettempdir())
         container_temp_dir = DEFAULT_AIRBYTE_CONTAINER_TEMP_DIR
 
-        local_mount_dir = Path().absolute() / name
+        local_mount_dir = DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR / name
         local_mount_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
 
         volumes = {
diff --git a/airbyte/caches/util.py b/airbyte/caches/util.py
index 1d192406..0a4d108f 100644
--- a/airbyte/caches/util.py
+++ b/airbyte/caches/util.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 from airbyte import exceptions as exc
 from airbyte.caches.duckdb import DuckDBCache
+from airbyte.constants import DEFAULT_GOOGLE_DRIVE_MOUNT_PATH, DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR
 
 
 # Google drive constants:
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@
 _MY_DRIVE = "MyDrive"
 """The default name of the user's personal Google Drive."""
 
-_GOOGLE_DRIVE_DEFAULT_MOUNT_PATH = "/content/drive"
+_GOOGLE_DRIVE_DEFAULT_MOUNT_PATH = DEFAULT_GOOGLE_DRIVE_MOUNT_PATH
 """The recommended path to mount Google Drive to."""
 
 
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ def get_default_cache() -> DuckDBCache:
     Cache files are stored in the `.cache` directory, relative to the current
     working directory.
     """
-    cache_dir = Path("./.cache/default_cache")
+    cache_dir = DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR / "cache" / "default_cache"
     return DuckDBCache(
         db_path=cache_dir / "default_cache.duckdb",
         cache_dir=cache_dir,
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ def new_local_cache(
             )
 
     cache_name = cache_name or str(ulid.ULID())
-    cache_dir = cache_dir or Path(f"./.cache/{cache_name}")
+    cache_dir = cache_dir or (DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR / "cache" / cache_name)
     if not isinstance(cache_dir, Path):
         cache_dir = Path(cache_dir)
 
diff --git a/airbyte/constants.py b/airbyte/constants.py
index 3ab531ec..e0eeccaf 100644
--- a/airbyte/constants.py
+++ b/airbyte/constants.py
@@ -56,6 +56,32 @@
 your mounted Google Drive by setting this to a path like `/content/drive/MyDrive/Airbyte/cache`.
 """
 
+DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR: Path = (
+    Path(os.getenv("AIRBYTE_PROJECT_DIR", "") or Path.cwd()).expanduser().absolute()
+)
+"""Default project directory.
+
+Can be overridden by setting the `AIRBYTE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable.
+
+If not set, defaults to the current working directory.
+
+This serves as the parent directory for both cache and install directories when not explicitly
+configured.
+"""
+
+DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR: Path = (
+    Path(os.getenv("AIRBYTE_INSTALL_DIR", "") or DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR).expanduser().absolute()
+)
+"""Default install directory for connectors.
+
+If not set, defaults to `DEFAULT_PROJECT_DIR` (`AIRBYTE_PROJECT_DIR` env var) or the current
+working directory if neither is set.
+"""
+
+
+DEFAULT_GOOGLE_DRIVE_MOUNT_PATH = "/content/drive"
+"""Default path to mount Google Drive in Google Colab environments."""
+
 DEFAULT_ARROW_MAX_CHUNK_SIZE = 100_000
 """The default number of records to include in each batch of an Arrow dataset."""