NYC Meet Up Input Requested

With all of the snow that I'm currently dealing with (30 inches, give or take), I'm looking forward to spring now more than ever.  And what better way to do that than to start thinking about a spring Philofaxy meet up in New York City?

We have had four very successful meet ups thus far (see one, two, three and four).  However, the last attempt at a meet up showed that interest is waning just a little (in the end, we ended up canceling it), especially since the numbers have been dropping a bit since the first meet up back in 2011.

We have a strong core group of people (maybe five or so), but in the interest of gaining newcomers, I am looking for feedback on planning the next meet up.  In the past, I have tried a few different ways of putting it together: I had all interested parties email me, and together we chose a date, venue, and time; I chose a date, venue, and time myself (in order to save us all from several back and forth email discussions), announced them and whoever could come could attend; and I also tried announcing the date first, with sign up starting at a later date so that people had time to rearrange plans if needed.

I don't know if the changes in procedure have anything to do with the decrease in numbers or if it was just a matter of bad timing.  Or maybe the issue is our choice of restaurant and/or retail store.  I don't know what the answer is, so I am open to any suggestions for this spring's meet up.

Here are some things to consider:

  • Should I leave the date open to discussion (keep in mind this could create chaos, as no one date will be good for everyone)?
  • Should I choose three dates and leave it up to majority rules of those who are interested?
  • Should I choose one date and whoever can attend will attend?
  • How far in advance should I give notice?  (I try to leave at least a month or so, but maybe that's not enough time, or is it too much time?)
  • I have always chosen a Saturday, but is Sunday better?  (Some people travel quite a distance, so a change in day may not be doable, but I'd like to hear what people think.)
  • Is one particular month better than another?  (Typically I stay away from the holiday season since it's so busy anyway and the winter months for weather reasons -- I myself travel almost two hours by train to attend and do not want to attempt it in heavy snow.)
  • Should we stick with shopping at Sam Flax and lunch/dinner at Le Pain Quotidien or try for some place new?  (Since retail shops are limited, we should choose a retailer first, followed by a restaurant in walking distance.)
  • I'd love to hear any other ideas you may have that I'm not addressing here.

If you'd like to offer any insight into a future meet up, you can leave a comment here or email me at kanalt17 at Gmail dot com.  I will take everyone's suggestions into consideration but I cannot promise to accommodate everyone's wishes for obvious reasons -- there are just too many variables.

Once I've gotten a good amount of feedback, I will report back on any decisions and/or meet up information.

Thank you!

Comments

  1. I would love to attend another meetup! I'm not free on Saturdays until late May due to work schedule. Sundays are fine though. I think setting a date fairly well in advance and then letting people fit that into their schedule is probably easier than trying to arrange with a group. I also travel about 2-3 hours by bus to get there. I can't recall exactly what was going on when the last one was proposed, I recall I was frantically busy and couldn't make it, but not specifically what was going on.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback, josh! Yes, I think the choosing a date well in advance would be good. I just didn't want to leave out any other options. I'm thinking may or June for the next meet up, but I also have several things to plan around (already, if you can believe it). I hope to get more feedback soon.

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  2. Any further developments on this? My Saturdays are still full until the end of the semester (i.e. mid-May) but I would love to go to another meetup!

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    1. I've only heard from other person. But I have to switch around my June Saturday for work, which may impact my may schedule. I plan to do that come April (I don't like to do that too far in advance because ive found that other people don't like to commit too far in advance). But once I have that figured out, i can choose a date and I will post it here. I'm aiming for may or June, but June is pretty full already, so we shall see.

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    2. Well, hoping I am able to attend and that other people can come too! The last one was lots of fun! Thanks, as always, for doing the grunt work of organizing it.

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    3. Thank you! I enjoy planning the meet up. I'm just trying to get a feel for what people want, but from the looks of it, they're good with just about anything. Looking quickly at my calendar, I *should* be able to do it late May or late June (depending on which Saturday I end up working -- I have a few things planned for the beginning of the month). In the past, Memorial Day weekend has not been good for people, but I'm usually up for that weekend.

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