Joy’s first dispatch from Austin is about having fun without spending all of your money.<\/p>\n
You have probably just read the title of this piece and laughed out loud. You’re right: there are many ways to empty your checking account at South By Southwest. But with a little creativity, the experience doesn’t have to end with tears and debt. Here is my list of tips on how to attend this festival as inexpensively as possible.<\/p>\n
1. Book in advance.<\/strong> Better still, know someone who knows someone in town who will put you up for free. If you don’t know anyone in Austin, go there some time that is not SXSW and start making friends.<\/p>\n 2. Make every meal a picnic.<\/strong><\/p>\n As a general rule, grocery stores are always less expensive than restaurants. Basically every restaurant and food truck in Austin is awesome, but so are the grocery stores. Grab some low-priced gourmet baked goods, a hunk of cheese, and even a bottle of inexpensive wine; believe it or not, the original Whole Foods store on N. Lamar is a great place to get all three for under $20 (less than that if you’re thrifty and\/or don’t mind $6 wine). Supplement with items of produce, et voila: a picnic meal that, depending on the number of people you’re feeding, may last all day. Just don’t try to take any liquids into a venue: I lost a can of V8 that way yesterday.<\/p>\n 3. Public transportation is your friend.<\/strong> Some dude's camelbak just squirted water on me on the bus & I initially thought I was being urinated\/vomited upon. #sxsw<\/a><\/p>\n — paleotrees (@paleotrees) March 13, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nDon’t be that person who gets stuck sleeping on someone’s floor for $50 a night while cursing those who booked better accommodations ahead. Be the person who gets cursed at. One can find really reasonable prices on decent places to stay through AirBnB<\/a> — I saw a renovated Airstream in a good location, basically a hotel room, offered for $35 a night. But you must do your searching and make your arrangements at least a month in advance, if not in January. Otherwise you will be S.O.L.<\/p>\n
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