Europe meet-up. Would you be interested?

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Actually I think that the opposite will happen. As the idea gains solidity more people will become interested.

As I said, perhaps someone who actually lives in the UK and wants a UK meet up could do that. I don't have free phone calls to the UK from France.

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What would France be like for a meetup coming to think of it. It might actually be cheaper for us to get there than some places in the UK tbh.

There is of course already a large Autism and Aspergers event organised for the UK in August; Autscape.

It is being held in a retreat centre near London, over 4 days from Tuesday 18 - Friday 21 August. The cost of shared bedroom, ( for three nights ), plus full board for the whole event is £185, ( £155 for low incomes ).

There are a limited number of single bedrooms available for a supplement of £20.

Ken G's thread about it is at:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt88958.html

and the Autscape site is at:

http://www.autscape.org/

Perhaps we should simply support that and go there instead.

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I assume Autscape would be very different to a group of Aspies meeting up and actually having a holiday / social occasion. It seems more like a conference than anything else.

There are plenty of things that put me off, for example they don't even seem to have managed to supply alcohol. The social environment does not strike me as one that I would enjoy.

I think that the lectures/presentations/discussion groups etc serve more as a form of structure, for those who want/need that, ( and the info says that many AS do ), aswell as providing a common subject for conversation, rather than school-like obligations. Free-style/open-ended socialising can get pretty exhausting after an hour or so.


They invite people to bring their own drinks; like a party in someone's house.

The only thing which puts me off, and put me off last year too, is the risk that I would not have a room to myself. Apparently numbers vary between about 60 and 70. And to house so many, while keeping the price within reasonable limits, they have to double most people up.

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Oh I wasn't aware there was an event planned in the UK. Maybe we should meet there. I'm going to check the link and the thread. ouinon, I've no words to express my appreciation for all your wonderful help. I thought you were in the UK!

I stayed at the univerity of nottingham last summer too for my OU residential school and it was awful! Please dont go there! I was bitten all over by giant mosquitoes and the food was terrible. It costs loads for the train to get there aswell.

I think we should meet on the continent and I think if we got a house and split the cost it would probably be cheaper than a B&B anyway.

^I agree, the North West region of France could be an option, imo. Someone from the UK, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Swiss and of course France could travel there, relatively seen it's in the centre.

For example, I found an old farm, a holliday house in the Champagne region in (N-W) France. In a village surrounded with beautiful nature. It's for 12 persons and it's +/- E200 for a weekend. Downside maybe, it has only 5 bedrooms. Here's a link but it's in Dutch. But there are other big houses as well, on other sites.

But hey, it's only a suggestion. Tents (like suggested earlier) or trackers cabins sounds ok too.

I have nothing against them having activities, though a parade of people lining up to fuel their narcissism really does not appeal to me as a form of entertainment. A city with a load of things to do would be a lot more fun - especially if it has pubs or something. Has anyone looked into Eastern Europe?

Sounds like a great atmosphere for drinking - some lame public school out of school time.

If they didnt insist on their being loads of rooms with more than 2 people in then they could get a better venue.

I think the logical thing would be to meet at Autscape and do our own thing if we want to and when we want to. We could stay over too, or come earlier. And if it turns out we are too few, there's always the rest of the people at the convention. The down side (for me) is that it's for Autism rather than Asperger's or NLD, so there's a whole range of people I have very little in common with. It costs 100US$ a day, which is not much for everything included. Just 30$US more than a room at a university with breakfast. It's shared of course, but I don't mind that part.

Northwest France sounds wonderful and it's the most centric place we have between Scandinavia, Italy and the UK, so it's the most logical location for a European meet-up. Bretagne is to die for, especially if you like oyster and wine breakfasts for almost no money.

I wouldn't attend if it was at a house. I don't go into a house with people from the internet that I don't know. Only public places.

What do others say?

LOL! I was there in July! I didn't want to be too harsh, but, there were shower-cleanliness issues, one woman's room flooded, and every time I flushed the loo in my room the plumbing made a terrible racket and would wake people up. The food was, well, after a day or so I stuck to a piece of fruit and coffee. There were some overcooked mystery dishes I didn't want to try.

Being from the States, I was, however, impressed by the bar in the commons area. If I drank enough I didn't notice some of the other details!

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Why on earth would any of us want to pay the extra for Autreat though - when we would get nothing out of it. Personally I object to spending a load of money funding a public school anyway.

Sounds like a plan, I would be well up for it if it were for a time and cost I could make.

Houses should not neccesarily be verboten.

I think I agree with Greentea.

Although a houseparty sounds absolutely wonderful, as LotusBlossom and Erminea said, especially in the Dordogne or Brittany, where there are some large and beautiful houses in gorgeous countryside, it would necessarily be a far more personal thing.

Even the biggest houses, and I've been looking at some, wouldn't sleep more than 20-25, even with people sharing, sometimes four to a room in family rooms. And even if they work out cheaper for sleeping accomodation than B&Bs, around £100 each for 5-7 nights, food would add a lot onto that.

Also there would not be anyone in charge to go to if there were problems about cooking or sleeping arrangements. What if we didn't get on?

I was initially a bit taken aback by Greentea saying she wouldn't attend if it was in a house, but although I would not be worried for my personal security I think there could be simple personal comfort issues with people I didn't know in such an unstructured situation/environment, ( remembering some house-shares I have participated in ).

I would love to do that sometime with people from WP that I had already met once or twice, but I think that I would actually be more able to relax in the structured environment offered by Autscape, which nevertheless allows a lot of personal freedom while respecting everybody's needs.

I remember having a lot of fun on college and university field trips where the basics, regular food and peaceful sleeping accommodation, were assured, but where outside of course activities we were free to do anything we wanted.

I too felt put off by the Autism slant to Autscape, but the info says that it is for people anywhere on the spectrum; what is to stop us contributing to/creating a Wrong Planet atmosphere there? I might even be ok with a shared room. And the price is very reasonable, as Greentea points out, seeing as all food is included.

I don't think that it would be anything like school, for one thing nothing is obligatory except respect for others. ( I don't understand why you think we would be "funding a public school" Kangoogle. )

I'm on for meeting other WPers at Autscape, and look forward to it immensely.

Here is the link to the site again:

http://www.autscape.org/

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Last edited by ouinon on 07 Feb 2009, 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If you don't snore and you'll have me, you got yourself a room mate, ouinon. I don't smoke in the room, don't snore, don't cause any trouble, but need silence to sleep (I can put up with light).

Accepted with pleasure.

I don't snore, can't sleep if someone else snores. Light is ok'ish, but prefer not.

Great!

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Another advantage of Autscape is that people can attend on a day only basis, so people who don't want/can't afford to stay the night can still enjoy the event/meet other AS.

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