first: i live within 90 miles of nyc, and will be taking public transportation (train) into the city.Quote from slowdown:
I've never gone-- is it worth it?
it all depends on your level.
if you're a beginner, maybe one of the idea clicks and really helps you later on.
a couple book vendors are there and have a wide variety of books which you can check out and see if you'd like to purchase them. a few years ago, at least, there were books which were only available to 'browse' at the former mcgraw-hill bookstore on 49th st (because they were targeted to a very small niche of people).
if you've done ok, and are looking to meet up with people you've talked with online / vendors you deal with, it's good.
there are a large number of free seminars covering a variety of topics. i may go to one of the forex (or commodity, if they have any) seminars, as i'm not strong in that area and would like to learn it for future use. the big problem with the seminars is there's no 'minimum' level of knowledge, so some of the more advanced seminars might have people unsure what support and resistance are, and thus it holds up the entire 'class'.
this will be my 3rd or 4th time going, i forget which.
why am i going? a bunch of reasons:
-> i want to see penson (clearing firm) and a few of the brokerages which are there, so that i can get another broker which fits some very specific needs. face is usually more helpful than phone or email.
-> forex/commodity seminar if available, as i mentioned above.
-> while i'm there..."thank you, ib, realtick and ET!" and as i did a few years ago, "don bright, you're extremely helpful on the ET boards".
-> if anyone i correspond with decides to come in, i'll meet them face.
-> a bunch of friends of mine live in nyc or hoboken, and i'll be hooking up with some of them at some point during the day for lunch and/or dinner. i should really start checking who's available this week; i know 2 aren't because of the long weekend/nba all star game. queens and lower east side aren't that far away...