Boston/New England Area Meet-Up

[Aurethious]

Based on the chat last night, there seemed to be at least a few of us in and around Boston and the idea of a meet-up was sort of thrown out there. I had been thinking that a pre-Prime (a couple of weeks or so before) get together would be a nice idea to meet people before going out there or re-connect with people you may have met at East. But, why wait that long? Who knows, if it goes well, it could even become a somewhat regular occurrence, maybe even once a month or two.

Basically, the general idea is to get together, get to know each other better, practice battling, trade, just have a good time. It'll also help us get better acquainted with each other in case anyone is looking for someone to travel to Prime with. So, I wanted to throw this out there to see what the interest level is. If we need to find a venue for whatever reason, it's possible that I could host at my house (in Brockton, MA, about 30 minutes-ish south of Boston). Obviously, this wouldn't be limited to people in or near Boston, as the thread title suggests. Anyone would be welcome. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

UPDATE of the UPDATE (3/31/2011): For anyone just checking this thread out, we have this set up for Saturday April 2nd at noon. Meeting place is in the bench area by the Barnes and Noble at the Shops at Prudential Center.

[Maylene]

I would absolutely love to attend a Boston meet-up!

I have so many baby Pokemon that need good homes and the idea of being able to trade with you guys on a regular basis makes my spirit soar! Plus, being able to try out new teams [iyck]before[/iyck] next PAX would be a godsend.

I think it would be better to pick something public to do rather than to meet up at someone's house, though, at least at first. We could meet up at a restaurant or something in Boston and battle/trade over food and drinks. Maybe if we get enough people, we can get a private booth (if people are worried about the public-ness of it all). Maybe once we all get to know each other better, we could move the meet-ups to houses.

I don't know if I speak for a lot of us or only a few, but I know some people in Boston don't have cars, so any meet-up locations would have to be accessible via the T. If we keep that in mind while planning, I'm sure we could pick a place that everyone can come to! And maybe, if this goes well, we can make this a regular thing~!

[Aurethious]

I see where you're coming from as far as the initial public aspect and transportation issues go. I just figured I'd throw the option to host out there if for some reason we were unable to find a place to do it. Once we get a feel for where everyone is, we can try and find some sort of central location that everyone would be able to get to. If anyone has any suggestions for venue, feel free to post them. I'll readily admit my knowledge of Boston and other locations based on proximity to the T is sketchy at best.

[Maylene]

[Aurethious]

Like I said, I'm about a half hour south of Boston, but I have my own transportation, so if parking is available wherever we go, I'm fine. Otherwise, I'd just need a tour guide to guide me from a train station.

[PeasantDave]

Before PAX East 2010 we had a couple meetups at restaurants that were pretty fun. If we do late lunch it gives people far away time to get there. Then it was always a "play it by ear" sort of thing.

Since I am a maybe at best, due to proximity, I won't weigh in on a day.

[Shade]

I like the idea of meeting up with other PPL players (even though I won't be making it to prime), I've only got a handful of friends that [ia2u]own[/ia2u] DSs, nevermind pokemon. Since this would potentially be held in a month or so, the weather might permit an outside meeting? Maybe the Common? And there's plenty of eateries nearby. As for other public places to meet, theres also the BPL courtyards.

I can make anywhere the T goes (I don't mind taking the commuter rail either-I take it everytime I go to my favorite hobby store in Abington).

[Aurethious]

[Shade]

Battlegrounds yes! I usually make it there for every magic release/prerelease event (Pandaemonium is....sloppy with its events). I'd say derek wouldn't have a problem if we met there, but it's usually busy and the back room wouldn't hold more than a handful of us.

[Aurethious]

Yeah, I've been there a few times for Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments and the place would be pretty packed. And you're right about that back room. It's certainly an idea though. How far from the commuter rail is it?