6/12/10 at 3pm: Los Angeles (South Bay) area meetup

[jond2062]

Update: Meeting is set for June 12th at 3pm at the Starbucks on Hawthorne and Artesia in Torrance (17400 Hawthorne Boulevard, Torrance, CA). If you have time before then, try to read Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely before the meeting

I am trying to gauge the interest level for a meetup in the South Bay (and greater) area of Los Angeles. Although I wasn't able to make it to the last LA-area meeting (which was held in Cerritos), I'm hoping we might be able to get enough people committed to make another meeting worth everyone's while. I won't suggest a date/time/place unless we get sufficient response, but if we have a group of at least 4 or 5, I would be more than interested in having a meeting.

Given how large LA is, I mention the South Bay primarily because it may not be realistic for folks in Woodland Hills, Riverside, Torrance, etc. to all join at the same meeting. However, anyone who is willing to make the drive should definitely come. Long story short, please chime in if you would be interested in coming out to a meeting.

Edit: Please include your location so that we can figure out a meeting place that works best for everyone.

Jon

[Perpetual]

I'd be interested if it is held south of LA somewhere. LA County, Orange County, etc.

[yakers]

I could possible attend, depending on schedule. I'm in Pasadena and would prefer something closer but have gone that far for diehards meetings.

[gkaplan]

I live in Ventura. The South Bay is just too far for me to drive , plus one of my two mottoes in life is to avoid driving the 405 if at all possible.

[RootyToot]

I'd be interested in attending, depending on date/time.

[HermosaSurfer]

I'm in.

Hermosa Surfer

[jond2062]

Perpetual and RootyToot can you post where you are located? This way, after we have another handful of responses we can figure out a meeting place.

[Perpetual]

I live and work in Long Beach.

[smallcapvalue]

I'm in as well. Work in Torrance.

[RootyToot]

I'm live in Redondo Beach, work in Manhattan Beach.

[jond2062]

So it looks like we have 5 yeses, including myself, and one maybe. All of us are within a 10-15 mile radius (except yakers), so I don't think the drive should be too bad. We'll see if a couple other people reply, but does anyone have a date in mind? I am available the weekends of 5/22-5/23 and 5/29-5/30, and then also Saturday 6/12. If we did a weekday, my guess is it would need to be 7pm or later to allow for people to commute back to the South Bay from work.

Thoughts?

[peskim]

I am interested. I live in Orange County and work in downtown LA. The 2 May weekends would work for me.

[Perpetual]

5/22-5/23 and 5/29-5/30 do not work for me, as I'll be in San Diego visiting family.

I can however do any other weekend, as long as we schedule it several weeks in advance.

[RootyToot]

I can do any time on 5/29 and 5/30, but would prefer morning/afternoon; can do only morning/early afternoon of 6/12.

[smallcapvalue]

Weeknight would be better for me.

[HermosaSurfer]

Suggest that you pick a single venue (coffee shop, perhaps) and date/time. It will be impossible to satisfy everyone. We did a get together a year or so ago and even though only a few people showed up, it was a fun conversation.

Hermosa Surfer

[BigD53]

What do you guys talk about at those meetings?

"Hi, I'm Pete, and I own Total Stock Market and Intermediate-term tax exempt."

Ok, that took all of 2 seconds, now what? I see that most of you have very few posts... 7, 16, 24, etc., so obviously you don't have much to discuss.

I would like to go, but I'm selling hotdogs at the stadium on those days.

[HermosaSurfer]

If you were available, we'd talk about your hotdog selling business.

Last time, one of the attendees was thinking about switching from an actively managed broker account and we were able to talk about the whys as well as the hows of a Boglehead approach.

Hermosa Surfer (one post closer to BigD53's verbosity)

[jond2062]

Hermosa, agreed that satisfying everyone will be impossible. So, I'm thinking at this point we should plan for Saturday June 12.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a meeting place? I'd like to try to find somewhere that is big enough so that we don't take over the whole place. Here are a couple ideas:

- Starbucks in Torrance, on Hawthorne and Artesia (a big Starbucks if I remember correctly and close to the 405)

- Catalina Coffee Company, in Redondo Beach, on Catalina and Diamond

[HermosaSurfer]

I'm in if we can schedule it for 3pm. I'm watching my children in the morning and going to downtown LA for dinner that evening.

Suggest the Torrance Starbucks as it takes 20 minutes off the trip for folks not living in the South Bay.

Hermosa Surfer

[Perpetual]

Both Torrance and Redondo Beach locations work for me. So does June 12th.

Idea: should we all agree on a book to read by then so we can have some discussion material?

[HermosaSurfer]

I just finished "Predictable Irrationality" and am working on "The 4 Hour Workweek." Both are related to Boglehead philosophy, but not direct hits. The first describes scientific observation of behaviors that we all engage in that are irrational, but predictable; i.e. we all make the same irrational errors over and over again. For example, when something is "free" we have a visceral reaction to it that causes us to value it more. The second describes an unconventional work/life approach. I'm on page 41 and skeptical, but I find the author, Timothy Ferriss, to be an interesting person.

I'd be happy to read a different book more tightly coupled to the topic of investing. Any other thoughts?

Hermosa Surfer

[yakers]

I am half way thru "Predictably Irrational", really interesting. Met the author at Burning Man where (I think) he was researching non-financial motivation.

I really enjoyed VG Diehards meetings in LA in previous years. I got to see how Diehard principles were used by people of diverse incomes and financial situations. We had active & retired teachers, a young MD, an independent software writer, a fellow with rental real estate and a lot of variations. How each constructed an AA and addressed issues like taxes, emergency funds, desired estate size. Always something to learn. Never got everyone to read & discuss a particular book or issue ahead of time but that would be a good idea if it could be done.

[jond2062]

Hey all. The book idea could work out really well. Sorry I haven't responded in awhile. Got slammed with work and then was out of town for awhile. Anyways, I will update the main post to confirm June 12th. Should we shoot for 3pm since that time was already suggested? Also, what book do we want to settle on?

[HermosaSurfer]

Let's discuss "Predictably Irrational".

Hermosa Surfer

[jond2062]

I got lucky and was able to reserve Predictably Irrational at the library. It's next on my list after I finish The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood (which I highly recommend by the way). Looking forward to the meeting.

[jond2062]

Hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend. Looks like we're about 2 weeks out from the South Bay/LA meetup. I've got about 100 pages left to go in Predictably Irrational. Definitely an interesting read.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick reminder to those who were planning to come and also see if we can get a rough estimate on the number of people to expect. Based on the responses, it looks like we have:

Yes
myself
HermosaSurfer
yakers
Perpetual

Maybe
RootyToot?
smallcapvalue?
peskim?

[RootyToot]

I have another obligation at 5 pm. I think 3 pm will be cutting it too close.
Look forward to meeting all of you next time.

[jond2062]

RootyToot, thanks for chiming in to let me know. Hope to see you next time.

[peskim]

Sorry, I won't be able to make it that day. Hope to meet you next time.

[HermosaSurfer]

I'm still in.

Hermosa Surfer

[jond2062]

I'm obviously still in as well. What about yakers and Perpetual?

[yakers]

Long drive for Yakers (from Pasadena) but I expect to get there.

[HermosaSurfer]

Just wanted to write a quick note say that I enjoyed meeting you all on Saturday. It was a pleasure to make a connection with some local Bogleheads and share some perspectives on fun, life choices, and personal finance. I only regret that I had to leave early.

I look forward to the next get together. Lead us jond2062.

Hermosa Surfer

[sschullo]

Congrats. Hopefully I can join next time.
Steve

[jond2062]

There were just 4 of us (including myself) at the meeting, but I thought it worked out really well. A big thanks to yakers for coming down from Pasadena.

With regards to the meeting, although we didn't discuss the book all that much, it was nice to have something to work towards in advance of the meeting. Whether it's a book or something else, I think it would be good for our next meeting as well. Anyway, I enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to seeing you all again soon. I will start another thread for the next meeting. At this point, we are thinking either a Saturday or Sunday morning in October.

[bttn_2010]

Hey that Starbucks on Hawthorne/Artesia would work for me - are we going to have another meet-up anytime soon?