It’s no secret that I’m going back to NaNoWriMo’s Night of Writing Dangerously this year. This will be my second time attending the fundraiser write-a-thon featuring writing, Wrimos from all over the country and a few other countries, food, writing-themed drinks, and candy; my first was in 2011.
A common concern I hear from Wrimos, especially those not local to San Francisco, is the cost. And it’s an understandable one. There’s the $250 admission cost ($350 if you want to bring a guest), and while you can fundraise to support the cost, a lot of folks use some of their own money for admission. Tack on the costs specific to out-of-towners: travel and lodging and food and any touristy stuff for the weekend in San Francisco, and the trip can get expensive.
I was very broke when I attended the first time in 2011, and honestly, I probably shouldn’t have gone with how little money I had. But I told myself in 2010 that I was going to go for my tenth NaNo, and then everything lined up nicely.
But the trip still cost money. How much?
My estimate is around $600.
Whoa, that’s not right, you may say.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Flight: $329 (I got lucky here and got a really cheap direct flight, ATL-SFO)
Lodging: $81 (three nights. hostels FTW)
Everything else: … Okay, I don’t have a real number for this since I don’t have that statement. But this would include food, transportation, and everything else for those days I was in San Francisco. Considering I didn’t buy any souvenirs, I took BART only to/from the airport and walked almost everywhere else, and my hostel had free breakfast, I’d say $200 for everything else is reasonable here.
I should note here that this does not include the costs of my outfit for the Night of Writing Dangerously, which cost around $30.
Who says weekend trips are really expensive? I may have to pull this off some other time.
I’ll probably spend more than that for this trip thanks to staying in the Bay Area longer. If I’m lucky I can pull off a combination of couchsurfing and hostelling to keep the costs down for a longer stay, but there’s no getting around the fact that a longer stay will cost more money.
I can’t wait! Anyone else going?
P.S. Wanna donate to my 2013 Night of Writing Dangerously page and make me cut my hair? Here you go!