Registration for the annual Second Life Community Convention is now open, and this year, it's happening mid-August in Oakland. That's good news for the many who've complained when previous SLCCs were set in much pricier San Francisco (or for that matter, Boston, Chicago, and New York.) Hotels in Oakland are about $50-75 per night cheaper than San Francisco, but SF is still a 15 minute BART ride away. (And Linden Lab is right near the first San Francisco stop, Embarcadero.) Some travel tips from a local:
- Oakland Airport is an unqualified pain the ass - it's quite far from the actual downtown area, has less routes, and public transportation to the SLCC area is seriously inconvenient. (You have to drag your bags onto a shuttle bus, pay $3, and then again drag your bags into the BART station.) SFO has way more routes, and the BART station is actually connected to the airport.
- Arizmendi Bakery (a short cab ride from the hotel) has the best California-style pizza in the state, and quite arguably makes the best pizza in the world. (Yes, New Yorkers, I went there.)
- Unfortunately, Oakland has many areas with quite a lot of crime. You should be fine near the hotel/downtown area and traveling via cabs, but I wouldn't recommend randomly wandering too far away, especially solo and at night.
Hope to see you there (if I go)!