I would like to attend South By Southwest and I’m trying to figure out whether I can afford to go. SXSW Interactive runs from March 7 - 11 and I was initially thinking that I could go down for just a few of those days, to save money. However, there’re speakers I’d like to see on either end (Richard M Stallman on Fri March 7, and Ben & Mena Trott on Tue March 11).
In order to make an informed decision, I figured on calculating a cost-estimate and comparing that to my funds (it sounds so simple…). Here’s what I’ve come up with (on the assumption, so far, that I would drive down Friday afternoon and return Tuesday night), but let me know if I’ve forgotten anything:
- SXSW Fees: $120
- Hotel for Friday night through Monday night, assuming I can find someone with which to share a room: $40 x 4 = $160
- Breakfasts for Saturday through Tuesday morning: $5 x 4 = $20
- Lunches for Friday through Tuesday: $10 x 5 = $50
- Dinners for Friday through Tuesday:$20 x 5 = $100
- Additional Beverages for Friday through Tuesday evenings: $10 x 5 = $50
- Gas, one tank in each direction, but figuring on three tanks just to be sure: $15 x 3 = $45
So, that comes to about $545. Did I miss anything?
The hotel Karen and I are staying at (The Wellesley Inn – Town Lake) has a complimentary breakfast. Additionally, the room has a kitchen in it, so a person could conceivably take snacks. You could save some money that way. A lot of SXSW’s conversational highpoints do revolve around lunch and dinner, though.