   GDC Overpriced?
  I've been planning my savings for the last several months so I could take trip down to the GDC! yay!Rather than bitch and moan, I'll attempt a last ditch effort to balance this out, if not, I'll fly down to Costa Rica and bring back some nice pictures and a tan for everyone.So:Travel: $130Food:   $130Hotel:  $268Pass:   $550------------Total: $1078Exchange Rate Coversion-----------------------GRAND TOTAL: $1,418.59 CAD   Thoughts? Is it hard on your budget? If yes why.  If you don't plan to go, what will you spend the money you saved by not going on?EDIT: Updated for new hotel cost.EDIT: I can skim on the food if I can do without a carry-on bag, I'll just fill it with food. I figure I can save about 70 bucks.[edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 7:11:06 AM]
  one option i can suggest is try to find others who are going who would want to share a hotel room.  nevertheless, conferences are expensive.  And they really are geared for professionals, who have the budget to attend.  If I hadn''t lived in cupertino(20 min from san jose), I wouldn''t have gone the times that I had. ;  uhm...what do you expect? That the GDC reimbursed you on your travel and hotel expenses? As conferences go $550 is in no way expensive.   Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.William James (1842 - 1910);quote:Original post by rohde   uhm...what do you expect? That the GDC reimbursed you on your travel and hotel expenses? As conferences go $550 is in no way expensive.   Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.William James (1842 - 1910)   Considering the ammount of money I've payed for local conferences geared towards Network Administration and Support staff (CANNET Internet Services Conference - Invitation Only - 2001,2002,2003) which I was asked to attened as a part of my job for 3 consecutive years, I was suprised at the $550 pricetag. - It was paid for by my company, but I took a peek at the bill afterwards, which came to 200 bucks including the formal evening dinners.Again, I was just a bit taken considering the ammount of time I put into making sure I was prepared for the big pricetag.   [edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 5:29:12 AM];  You suck at spending money. Here''s a tip:GO FOR THE LOWEST BIDDER.Hotel? Fine, you don''t need cable/colour TV, a minibar or a world class lounge.HOTLERS! CHAEP! T1 LIENS!Travel? Drive. I can''t tell you how much money I save going cross country when I drive instead of fly.Food? Well, since America is "customs crazy" you''ll have to buy there. So thats kind of a given.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island) ;quote:Original post by black_mage_s   You suck at spending money. Here's a tip:GO FOR THE LOWEST BIDDER.Hotel? Fine, you don't need cable/colour TV, a minibar or a world class lounge.HOTLERS! CHAEP! T1 LIENS!Travel? Drive. I can't tell you how much money I save going cross country when I drive instead of fly.Food? Well, since America is "customs crazy" you'll have to buy there. So thats kind of a given.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island)   I was going by the link the GDC provided.Hotel cost is now 268 bucks. It's a start.   [edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 7:04:05 AM];quote:Original post by Raymondo  I was going by the link the GDC provided.Hotel cost is now 268 bucks. It''s a start.   [edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 7:04:05 AM]Good. Now drive. This should save you quite a bit. Its roughly 2433.85 though, so you''ll want to start early, and on a full tank of gas.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island) ;quote:Original post by black_mage_s  quote:Original post by Raymondo   I was going by the link the GDC provided.Hotel cost is now 268 bucks. It''s a start.   [edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 7:04:05 AM]Good. Now drive. This should save you quite a bit. Its roughly 2433.85 though, so you''ll want to start early, and on a full tank of gas.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island)   You say you drive long distances frequently? How much time should I allow for assuming I chose to drive? ;quote:Original post by Raymondo  quote:Original post by black_mage_s   quote:Original post by Raymondo    I was going by the link the GDC provided.Hotel cost is now 268 bucks. It''s a start.   [edited by - raymondo on February 13, 2004 7:04:05 AM]Good. Now drive. This should save you quite a bit. Its roughly 2433.85 though, so you''ll want to start early, and on a full tank of gas.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island)   You say you drive long distances frequently? How much time should I allow for assuming I chose to drive?   Well... its 1512.65 miles from Calgary, so bring a pee buckets   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island) ;  1500 miles? You can do that in about 25 hours of driving IF you can manage to average 60mph. In my experience, it is only possible to average 50mph without majorly speeding on the highways (making 30 hours). Yeah, that's retarded. Driving that long exponentially increases your chances of getting in an accident.Let's run the numbers for my car, a 2000 Honda Accord Sedan. 1512 miles at 28miles per gallon = 54 gallons of gasoline * $1.60 per gallon = $86.40 + tax (~0.20 per gallon, depending on where you are) = $97.20 + motel for one night ($70) = $167.20 + 4 meals at McJoint (~$5 each) = $187.20 * 2 (gotta get back home) = $374.40convert to canadian = $491.20Travelling by car is one of the most dangerous forms of travel (the most dangerous being by donkey). Also, if you are travelling that far, generally you are going to stop at a motel, and eat meals, which all add up to more cash. In the end, the difference between driving that far and flying is nominal, and the reduced risk of flying over driving more than makes up for it.My parents drove 30 hours straight through from Florida to Colorado once. They vowed never to do it again. We drive 15 hours from Pennsylvania to Florida only now because we have three drivers (soon to be four), breaking it into manageable chunks.The other thing is, you drive that long you are going to be so tired by the time you arrive that you won't be able to enjoy anything.Fly, it's faster, safer, not really that much more money, and you won't feel as tired when you arrive.As for the expense of the GDC, they have to rent very large conference halls to run these things. The cost of that rental has to be covered. And it's not just the convention floor itself, it's also the numerous conference rooms that are used for the various seminars. Finally, it also acts as a deterant to non-industry professionals. If you have a legitimate reason to be there, then get your company to cover the cost. If it's your own company and you don't have any money, I don't know what to tell you. If you are just a hobbyist that wants to go make some business contacts to try to get a job, the GDC is not open for you.   [edited by - capn_midnight on February 13, 2004 9:02:51 AM]