# Off to NY in August



## mattie (Apr 4, 2008)

I've just had a paper accepted for a conference in New York.  Back of the fucking net.

That is all.


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## rachamim18 (Apr 4, 2008)

Well, I am in the States now, in the South Bronx, and can honestly tell you that you are not missing anything. Still, enjoy your trip.


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## editor (Apr 5, 2008)

mattie said:


> I've just had a paper accepted for a conference in New York.  Back of the fucking net.
> 
> That is all.


Lucky fucker! Have a top time!


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## mattie (Apr 6, 2008)

editor said:


> Lucky fucker! Have a top time!



Cheers, I intend to do just that.  The old boy has gone shares in a small place somewhere in Florida which he's letting us use for a week or so, and we're going to drive down there after NY - through the Carolinas I think - and I can't bloody wait.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

Quick question - I want to fly into NY but return from Florida (not sure which airport as yet), is this easy to do? Are the 'fly-drive' deals worth looking at?

Any advice, or recommendations for websites or carriers, would be much appreciated.

Cheers


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 14, 2008)

You can fly from La Guardia to Miami International one way for around £120 fairly easily.

Obviously be cheaper to drive but it's a fair hike from NY to Florida. I'd say it'd take two days in fact. Don't know what the train would be like though - might be worth investigating.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

skyscraper101 said:


> You can fly from La Guardia to Miami International one way for around £120 fairly easily.
> 
> Obviously be cheaper to drive but it's a fair hike from NY to Florida. I'd say it'd take two days in fact. Don't know what the train would be like though - might be worth investigating.



Cheers buddy.

I'm planning on hiring a car and taking a few days to get down to Florida - my old boy has gone quids-in with an ex-colleague in a small condominium somewhere down there, so if I can get down there I can have the place for free.

The only problem is the flights, as open-jaw tickets seem to be extortionate in the rare case that I can find them (admittedly, this is through STA who seem to b eone of the few sites who allow open-jaw bookings).


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## trashpony (Apr 14, 2008)

mattie said:


> I've just had a paper accepted for a conference in New York.  Back of the fucking net.
> 
> That is all.



congratulations  What's the paper?


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## trashpony (Apr 14, 2008)

mattie said:


> Cheers buddy.
> 
> I'm planning on hiring a car and taking a few days to get down to Florida - my old boy has gone quids-in with an ex-colleague in a small condominium somewhere down there, so if I can get down there I can have the place for free.
> 
> The only problem is the flights, as open-jaw tickets seem to be extortionate in the rare case that I can find them (admittedly, this is through STA who seem to b eone of the few sites who allow open-jaw bookings).



You might be better off booking two singles


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

trashpony said:


> You might be better off booking two singles




very pricey, unfortunately.

My colleague flew to Las Vegas last year, and returned from San Francisco as part of an open-jaw - just over £300.  I can't find anything remotely similar.  I think it depends if your two Us airports are served by the same airline or alliance.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

trashpony said:


> congratulations  What's the paper?



An unbelievably dull engineering design one - it's going to the ASME DETC, the heavy use of acronyms should indicate quite how bad it's going to be.

It's my last academic conference before I go into industry, so the only parts I'll be there for are my own presentation and the evening piss-ups.  It is going to fucking rock.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

Feck it, I think it's just expensive at that time - over £500 per person just to get to NY.

New question - any cheap deals for new york for first week in August?


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## D (Apr 14, 2008)

mattie said:


> Quick question - I want to fly into NY but return from Florida (not sure which airport as yet), is this easy to do? Are the 'fly-drive' deals worth looking at?
> 
> Any advice, or recommendations for websites or carriers, would be much appreciated.
> 
> Cheers



Where in Florida will you be?

Look to fly to/from West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale if you'll be in the south - they're often cheaper than Miami.

I would also recommend doing your transatlantic flying from NY, not Florida.  Just drive down and fly back up or fly both ways, but don't bother with trying to fly back to the UK from Florida.


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## D (Apr 14, 2008)

mattie said:


> Feck it, I think it's just expensive at that time - over £500 per person just to get to NY.
> 
> New question - any cheap deals for new york for first week in August?



Well, I *might* be subletting my place as I will be in the UK.  I'll keep you posted.  And, anyway, first I have to find a place...and it might make more sense for me to wait until I get back from Europe.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

D said:


> Well, I *might* be subletting my place as I will be in the UK.  I'll keep you posted.  And, anyway, first I have to find a place...and it might make more sense for me to wait until I get back from Europe.



sorry, slightly crossed wires - I'm OK for accommodation, it's just getting me and the missus across for less than a grand is proving problematic.

Cheers for thought, however.


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## mattie (Apr 14, 2008)

D said:


> Where in Florida will you be?
> 
> Look to fly to/from West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale if you'll be in the south - they're often cheaper than Miami.
> 
> I would also recommend doing your transatlantic flying from NY, not Florida.  Just drive down and fly back up or fly both ways, but don't bother with trying to fly back to the UK from Florida.



yep, getting a direct flight from Florida looks a bit tricky.


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## D (Apr 14, 2008)

Also, Miami in August is like NY in August...only worse in terms of humidity, but then at least you've got the beach and swimming pools all around you.


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## Gavin Bl (Apr 25, 2008)

I went to NY for the first time in August, and the humidity is incredible - I recommend lots of cold beer.


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## rennie (Apr 25, 2008)

It's gonna be hot hot hot.


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## mattie (Apr 25, 2008)

A/C in venue, please let there be A/C in the venue...


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## spring-peeper (Apr 25, 2008)

mattie said:


> A/C in venue, please let there be A/C in the venue...



Most places have air conditioning these days, so no worries there.

I'm glad you are planning to drive to Florida.  It will give you a chance to get off the beaten track and see some of the less touristy areas.

Have fun - for the most part, it is a beautiful country.


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## mattie (Apr 25, 2008)

spring-peeper said:


> Most places have air conditioning these days, so no worries there.
> 
> I'm glad you are planning to drive to Florida.  It will give you a chance to get off the beaten track and see some of the less touristy areas.
> 
> Have fun - for the most part, it is a beautiful country.



Cheers buddy, looking forward to it.

A quick question, does anyone know what the requirements are for hiring a car?  I've got an SP30 from mid-2006, will this cause ructions?  I've also not got the photo license.

I may have to get the missus to drive, which will no doubt add a week onto our holiday.


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## D (Apr 26, 2008)

mattie said:


> Cheers buddy, looking forward to it.
> 
> A quick question, does anyone know what the requirements are for hiring a car?  I've got an SP30 from mid-2006, will this cause ructions?  I've also not got the photo license.
> 
> I may have to get the missus to drive, which will no doubt add a week onto our holiday.



I have no idea what an SP30 is (sunblock?) - presumably some sort of speeding violation.  It shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think you need to have a photo license or an international driver's license if you have a UK license (or other English-language license).  They will make you buy insurance if you don't have any already - it's required by law that drivers be insured.  You can take a chance; but I think it could get hairy if you were to have an accident or even just a minor scrape.  Lots of credit card companies and so forth do some amount of insurance (collision coverage but not personal liability or vice versa - I can't remember, really) as well...


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## D (Apr 26, 2008)

Oh, also know that you'll probably have to pay some inordinate fee to do a one-way drop off of the car (as opposed to returning it to the original rental location).


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## 1927 (Apr 26, 2008)

mattie said:


> Cheers buddy, looking forward to it.
> 
> A quick question, does anyone know what the requirements are for hiring a car?  I've got an SP30 from mid-2006, will this cause ructions?  I've also not got the photo license.
> 
> I may have to get the missus to drive, which will no doubt add a week onto our holiday.



Without a photo licence you wont be able to hire a car,and most places will want to see ya passport too. Good news is tho they dont wnat to see the paper part of ya licence anymore so wont know of any convictions.

One way rentals just aint worth considering unless its within California, Nevada etc as they will be spo expensive that flying will look cheap.


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## mattie (Apr 27, 2008)

Right, cheers all - I'll get on with sorting a photo driver's license.  Worth looking at international one?

I'm also close to ditching the open-jaw thing, flights expensive, indirect in many cases, and I'm not against driving up and down on two different routes.


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## D (Apr 27, 2008)

Savannah and Charleston are two places I'd definitely visit if I were doing that drive.  If you fancied a drive out of the way, western North Carolina is supposed to be gorgeous too.


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## 1927 (Apr 27, 2008)

mattie said:


> Right, cheers all - I'll get on with sorting a photo driver's license.  Worth looking at international one?
> 
> I'm also close to ditching the open-jaw thing, flights expensive, indirect in many cases, and I'm not against driving up and down on two different routes.



I may be wrong but I remember something about peopel with international licences having probs, better to stick with a Uk one.

Another tip. Book the car before you go on a .uk website as it is way way cheaper than a .com one. The other thing is if you book it thru someone like airline network there are less restrictions on you. Example being if you book a car direct with Dollar for instance, you cant hire with a DUI on your licence until it is spent for 7 years or so, book thru a booking agent and you can hire straight away!!
If you book with Dollar, they have always been cheaper for me, pay the extra few quid for the platinum thingy as you get free tank of gas and extra driver for free.


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## MightyAphrodite (Apr 28, 2008)

D said:


> Savannah and Charleston are two places I'd definitely visit if I were doing that drive.  If you fancied a drive out of the way, western North Carolina is supposed to be gorgeous too.



yeah those are great places, beautiful ^...if you want any info about n carolina (places to see etc...or s carolina too really, i can recommend you lots of things...)


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## D (Apr 28, 2008)

There's a tattoo artist based in Asheville I'm really eager to meet.  I'd love to have work done by her, but she's incredibly hard to track down!


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## mattie (May 30, 2008)

Right, tickets all booked now - Brizzle to New Jersey (I think) return.  Also got a room in the brooklyn bridge marriott waiting for me for the first few nights.  good ol' expense account.

I have around 19 days to go from NY to Naples, Florida and back again.  I reckon 3 days each way, sound about right?  Leaves us just under the fortnight in Florida.  

Savannah and Charlston on the map for one leg of the trip, cheers for that,  any recommendations for Florida?  Disneyworld (or is it disneyland?) is on the agenda, I'm afraid to say.


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## mhendo (May 31, 2008)

On the car rental thing: i've lived in the US for a few years now, and i still don't have a US driver's licence. My Aussie licence is still valid, and i've never had a problem renting a car with it. I've never been asked for my passport, either. As long as you have the licence and a valid credit card, you should be fine.

Here's a couple of stories that might be of interest to you:

Tips for Finding the Best Deal on a Rental Car

Six Secrets Car Rental Companies Don't Want You to Know

Also, if you're from the UK, you might be accustomed to driving a manual, but your chances of getting a stick-shift from a car rental agency here are almost zero. Basically everything they have is an automatic.

One thing that is not likely to be a problem, but is worth considering if you like to smoke a bit of weed:

The interstate between Florida and New York, I-95, is one of the most popular drug-running routes in the US (guns too, between Virginia and New York), and the cops are constantly on the lookout for drug runners, especially in the southern states.

I'd strongly advise you not to carry any illegal substances, even a small amount of pot, in the car with you, and don't smoke before you drive either, because the smell of marijuana smoke is sufficient "reasonable suspicion" for an officer to detain you and bring in the drug-sniffing dogs. I don't want to seem like an alarmist, but the drug war can get pretty over-the-top here at times, and some jurisdictions have forfeiture laws that allow the cops to seize your property (including the car) if you're arrested on a drug charge. Some police departments have been known to derive a considerable proportion of their revenue from forfeiture laws, so they have an incentive to go after people.


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## mattie (Jun 2, 2008)

mhendo said:


> On the car rental thing: i've lived in the US for a few years now, and i still don't have a US driver's licence. My Aussie licence is still valid, and i've never had a problem renting a car with it. I've never been asked for my passport, either. As long as you have the licence and a valid credit card, you should be fine.
> 
> Here's a couple of stories that might be of interest to you:
> 
> ...



Cheers, most useful.  Re dodgy substances, the missus is a nurse and is painfully paranoid about anything illegal to do with controlled substances, so it won't be an issue.


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## mattie (Jun 29, 2008)

1927 said:


> I may be wrong but I remember something about peopel with international licences having probs, better to stick with a Uk one.
> 
> Another tip. Book the car before you go on a .uk website as it is way way cheaper than a .com one. The other thing is if you book it thru someone like airline network there are less restrictions on you. Example being if you book a car direct with Dollar for instance, you cant hire with a DUI on your licence until it is spent for 7 years or so, book thru a booking agent and you can hire straight away!!
> If you book with Dollar, they have always been cheaper for me, pay the extra few quid for the platinum thingy as you get free tank of gas and extra driver for free.



Right, photo driver's license has arrived, car hire booking next on list.  Will try Dollar, is the damage waiver a good plan?  Not that I'm planning on wrecking it, but the missus will be a named driver and she takes a literal intepretation on what a bumper (fender is US English) is for.


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## D (Jun 29, 2008)

Fender is the front end, bumper is the back in these here parts



at least, I think - I'm a cyclist


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