Early Retirement Extreme Forums

1) Take the initiative and name a place and a date. Then start a thread here with the place, time, and date here.
If you sit around waiting for someone else, it will never happen.
2) Collect names and numbers.
3) A few days before the meetup, confirm whether it's a go or a no-go based on whether a sufficient number of people have RSVP'ed.
Tips:
You can hold a meetup without me. There have been meetups in Seattle, Chicago, and New York City without me.
It is helpful to provide instructions for how to get there in case it's complicated.
If it's a busy place, it helps to bring a sign that says ERE or something. You could also bring the ERE book and wave it around.
Most people tend to bring potluck snacks.
A meetup is a good chance to downsize your book collection...and other collections.
If you have any questions, it's good to write them down in advance. Otherwise, you'll forget to ask them.

What do you talk about when you get together? (I mean aside from the general talk about how everyone else spends too much, blah blah blah) I'd like to attend a meet, but I have to admit that I'm not that good in social situations with people I don't know well. And even though I'm comfortable talking about my financial situation on the board, I think I might feel uncomfortable talking about it in person. Is it just nice to spend time with people who see the world the same way?
Maybe I've just shut down socially because I don't really have anything in common with my neighbors here in Stepford. I think I've trained myself to respond with the politically correct answers for a Stepford wife in social situations. I don't really engage people in real conversations anymore because eventually they end up looking at me like I have two heads. Maybe I wouldn't be as uncomfortable as I think with people who are like-minded.

I can certainly identify with what jennypenny is saying... My desire to go stems mostly from wanting to meet these interesting people whose ideas I admire.
I'd probably have 1 beer and forgot anything practical I had in mind. Also, I generally learn, organize, plan best alone, oft in front of monitor, book or notepad. But even I should retain some useful stuff. Potluck/book/item exchange alone will probably stimulate enough interesting knowledge exchange to justify...
I'm treating it mostly as an agendaless fun outing with unique people, not going to put any pressure on it to help me reach ERE nirvana.

What I find interesting about the meetups is not so much what we talk about which can be anything (although it's usually dominated by the idiosyncracy of the loudest individuals), but how we talk.
In no other place have I had the experienced of being instantly understood and instantly understanding others in terms of communication as at the meetups. You don't have to explain yourself. People think in the same ways about the same things.

Yeah, seems like a "potentially like-minded people" thing or "putting names to faces" thing than an ERE-specific thing. Especially since everyone is at different stages.

just curious - why not do a monthly google hangout meeting? use the power of the online tools?

@jennypenny: maybe a meeting could revolve around something, learning a skill or discussing a strategy? That way, you would either be an instructor or a student. I can imagine meetings about cooking, car maintenance, house maintenance, investing, tax preparation, err...

I would move towards an investing strategy (what has worked and hasn't worked) although there seem to be several posts here about it. Also, maybe, what folks plan to do with their time once achieving ERE....and maybe a guide to all the acronyms here lol

I'd go one further and suggest we start an ERE hedge fund.

Apparently the periodic IRC chats (redundant?) were pretty successful. If you want to try a google hangout, I'd suggest following the steps in Jacobs post at the top

Yeah, I'd be mostly interested in putting names to faces and hanging out with people with similar mindsets and personalities.
I think some of the potential awkwardness involved in getting a bunch of introverts together can be alleviated by involving some type of (frugal) activity as well. Museum visits, movie screenings, etc.

i am good with irc for now ; moving forward i may set a date/time and try to put a google hangout together.

need some brains to show up...tho. i am not one

jacob wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:41 pm

1) Take the initiative and name a place and a date. Then start a thread here with the place, time, and date here.
If you sit around waiting for someone else, it will never happen.
2) Collect names and numbers.
3) A few days before the meetup, confirm whether it's a go or a no-go based on whether a sufficient number of people have RSVP'ed.
Tips:
You can hold a meetup without me. There have been meetups in Seattle, Chicago, and New York City without me.
It is helpful to provide instructions for how to get there in case it's complicated.
If it's a busy place, it helps to bring a sign that says ERE or something. You could also bring the ERE book and wave it around.
Most people tend to bring potluck snacks.
A meetup is a good chance to downsize your book collection...and other collections.
If you have any questions, it's good to write them down in advance. Otherwise, you'll forget to ask them.

Great advice !!!! Hustle it up !!!!!

Discovered Billie Eilish.

reepicheep wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 08, 2019 8:48 pm

Discovered Billie Eilish.

Really? Only yesterday?

It's OK she's not the greatest, she's just pretty good.

I basically live in the 60's.

reepicheep wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:40 am

I basically live in the 60's.

If you and I go up to Portland again for one of these we could meet in Monmouth or Rickreal (Highway 99W) and carpool up from there unless one of us has plans for that night. I would pay for your dinner and drinks to not have to drive home in the dark and the rain.

Enigma, we must coordinate.

I agree.

enigmaT120 wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:08 am

I would pay for your dinner and drinks to not have to drive home in the dark and the rain.

Ugh, Tuesday night was worst drive in awhile. We'd been at father-in-law's near Canby and Portland traffic got clogged in the rain, so it was dark already by the time we reached Hillsboro... mountains were patchy fog and rain plus the dark. Near the last summit, there was a barely seen deer trotting along the highway shoulder which I'm thankful didn't unexpectedly turn into the highway.

Anyway, yes, coordinating travel for meetups should work well for those who can take advantage.