[pkshiu]

Moved from the old thread:

I'll off a free location -- my office at South St near South Station. Can fit probably 10 - 15 setups. Sat or Sunday. It's a pretty large open loft space.

Best for public transportation all MTBA lines and commuter rails also.

If you drive paid parking will be in the $15-$20 range, and you can make a city day out of it.

Dates TBD by anyone interested.

P.K.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Count me in.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Sadly, the thread has died already...

 

[n_maher]

Pretty tough time of year to have a meet, especially one on short notice. I know I wouldn't be available until late January at the earliest. Also, just a personal preference, the idea of lugging ~100lbs of gear into metro Boston does not appeal at all. If you notice even the NYC crew typically holds their meets in the outlying areas where parking can be had free and access via car is easy.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Maybe something in March may be much better. It'll offer more time to find a neutral location, give people enough notice to plan attending, put less stress on people by not happening during crazy holiday times, and the chance of trudging through snow will also be reduced.

I'm certain there are hotels which are T accessible in the outer lying communities.

If more people do want to attend in the city, then maybe parking rates can be negotiated with host facilities. I know parking at the Prudential mall can be had for as little as $9.00 for three hours with validated parking. I've purchased something for $5.00, and got my parking validated. So, parking worked out to be $14.00. Prudential is crazy busy are though and I'm just using it as an example.

 

[kdaq]

I might be interested in coming if this materialized, but would bring only minimal gear. Methinks that the usual stacks of beautiful gear that we've seen folks bring to past Marlborough meets would be rather cumbersome to haul around on the T

On the other hand, having available locations and folks to drive the charge is half the battle - so thanks for that! I'll also echo the sentiment that March is a good aim.

 

[pkshiu]

March is a good time.

There is really no reason to do downtown Boston unless it is free. We went thru this last time. I found some nice places, but it will be $1000+. Marlboro is nice because it's going to be $400-$500. But it is still a commitment. I personally would like to try a city meet just to see, esp since it is free. But if you are thinking about attending a city meet, either

1) use the T, or
2) drive and pay $20 for parking next block down.

Doing anything in between trying to save a few bucks is not worth the time nor the effort. Think of it -- normally you may donate $10/$20 to the meet because there were cost with the rental room. Now it's free, so you put that towards your own parking, and donate maybe a very small amount for snacks or something.

I go thru this decision all the time -- either I walk to the office which is the norm, or if I think I really need my car during the day, I pay the $20-$30 parking. No way around it!

P.K.

 

[n_maher]

March is a fine time to think about.

Riding the T with as much gear as I normally bring to meets is laughable so I'm with kdaq, I'd be really limited in what I could bring.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Well then, I'll start looking at places which are T accessible and feature complimentary parking, and are hopefully easily accessible from a highway. I can imagine dragging 100+ lbs of equipment on the T being a total pain.

Is there a stat anywhere on how many Head-fi members live in the city? I'm one, I know there is also pkshiu, but who else? Are there a lot of us carless city dwellers? Maybe a poll will be best in finding this out?

Next, the question of financing the operation.

 

[pkshiu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Riding the T with as much gear as I normally bring to meets is laughable so I'm with kdaq, I'd be really limited in what I could bring.

Much in aggreement -- it will be a differ kinda of meet with smaller/less gear. Although we all would love to see all the cool builts that Nate has ! Hope you can make it with a small set.

 

[pkshiu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltaydeltax /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well then, I'll start looking at places which are T accessible and feature complimentary parking, and are hopefully easily accessible from a highway. I can imagine dragging 100+ lbs of equipment on the T being a total pain. Is there a stat anywhere on how many Head-fi members live in the city? I'm one, I know there is also pkshiu, but who else? Are there a lot of us carless city dwellers? Maybe a poll will be best in finding this out? Next, the question of financing the operation.

I think we need to do either extreme, but not something in the middle. There is no free lunch so to speak. The fact that my office happened to be free and have lots' of space is just a lucky conicidece. Any city location is going to cost $$$.

If not city, we should just go back to the same Marlboro location that had the last two (three?) Massachusetts meet. Its super cheap ($400?), people knows it, etc. It's a matter of picking a date, signing up and placing a deposit, and go for it !

P.K.

 

[Towert7]

In all honesty, I will always try and attend a full blown MA meet which is easy to access and not in the city.

Getting to the city on the other hand is a pain for me, both with driving there, finding parking, and bringing equipment. So, there is a very good chance I would not make it. Still, I keep saying I think there are enough people in the metro boston region to have a small mini meet. It would be mainly for the boston people, and those in the outlying areas. Perhaps a portable / small office setup type meet.

Free is free is free is free, so it's worth a shot pkshiu! If it were me, I would target it as a Boston regional mini meet, for people to bring their small office / home setups and portable rigs (or larger setups if they want).
Mini meets are cool, because you actually get to fully audition the equipment instead of being in a cramped room with everyone yelling.

I have access to free space at UMass, so I too was *thinking* of hosting a small mini meet. Sadly, I don't have the funds to reserve a full blown NE meet, even if I wanted to.

Anyways, keep us posted on what you decide.

 

[andrew jc]

I would love to go to a meet. However, I do concur with what others have said about the city being a PITA getting in and out of.

 

[deltaydeltax]

I've been processing this thread for quite some time.

I feel as though the suggestion of having an innner city "mini meet" may serve many of us quite well, as we don't own cars. At the same time, we'll be keeping other great members from attending due to the pure inconvenience they'll face with traveling into the city.

Then, there is the meeting spot in Marlboro which many car owning members seemed to greatly enjoy. While, at the same time, many of us carless individuals will be shut out, unless we get there some other way, MBTA doesn't seem to be an option.

The cities furthest from Boston which the commuter rail reaches are Plymouth/Kingston (train stops at Kingston far more than Plymouth), Middleborough/Lakeville, Stoughton, Providence RI, Forge Park-495 (?), Worcester, Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, Newburyport, and Rockport.

Are any of the above locations places people might be willing to travel? I can continue to check on them and see if any have facilities nearby which can be used for a meeting spot. From what I remember, the Lowell station doesn't have many hotels with function rooms nearby at all, it's also a bit of a scary area.

It will really be nice to find a spot were all, both carless, and car-abled, can meet. We can't make everyone happy, but it doesn't mean we can't try to.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltaydeltax /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I remember, the Lowell station doesn't have many hotels with function rooms nearby at all, it's also a bit of a scary area.

Well, if the city folks did want to proceed with a mini meet, I don't think it would be a good idea to consider places like hotels with function rooms. They will cost too much for the small amount of people (meaning there is a good chance the donations would not cover the cost of the room). Mini meets are usually done at free locations.

Quote:

It will really be nice to find a spot were all, both carless, and car-abled, can meet. We can't make everyone happy, but it doesn't mean we can't try to.

That would be very good!
I'm sick of this whole city meet vs. full fledged meet thing. Should just have multiple to accommodate both crowds or a location that works good for both.

Either way, I'm going to see how busy I am this semester. If it's do'able, I might request space at my college on a Saturday. It's a very big room, with a lot of tables and power. Perfect for a mini meet, and could actually hold a full fledged meet judging from the size of the past Marlborough meets (roughly same size room).
Hm, We shall see.