What to expect, what to prepare for, what to bring & more… –
SXSW can be a very hectic event to go to if you’re not prepared, sooooo…be prepared is what we suggest!
This is mainly for the noobs but this can also be a pretty helpful guide for the ongoing SXSW’sters.
Let’s start with the out of town’ers…
– I will only hope that you have got your plane tickets / traveling figured out. As well as your housing arrangements when your here. (I mean you’ll have to sleep at least one night out of the whole week of madness!)
Locals…
– We already know what to expect so we do know that we will only get a little bit of sleep so as long as your house is close by or you can just crash your friends place! They will understand, I mean it’s SXSW..come on.
Okay since we got that out the way lets talk about what really matters, being comfortable & fly at the same time!
– You’ll want to dress for comfort. That don’t mean you have to be boring but definitely think about what you’re going to wear. Shoes should be very comfortable. You need to take in consideration all of the standing and tons of walking. From conferences, to venues, to walking a couple blocks to the next events. SXSW is a work out on its own! Another thing is the weather…Austin is known for being winter time cold one day then desert hot the next. Be sure to check the weather for the day. Don’t worry you’ll see a wide variety of different outfits I’m sure whatever you wear will be just fine.
What should you bring?
– Water
– Backpack / purse ( To keep all the free goodies, and your money of course!)
– Your schedule
– Charger (Your phone will be the death of you if it dies, it happens! Theres plenty of spots with charge stations but don’t be that guy with the dead phone…he’s never cool.)
On to the next…
– Transportation! You can drive but if your new to Austin you wont know that we have traffic galore and since its SXSW even more! There’s only limited parking plus the parking. Plus the prices for parking is insane! Then due to all the street closings it will make it very difficult to get around. But, good thing! Theres plenty of different modes of transportation that you can use during SXSW.
Heres a list to look into:
– Pedi Cabs (The best! Some even have some pretty dope music to listen to on your ride!)
– Austin B- Cycle
– Bus & Rail Public Transportation
– Taxi
– Uber / Lyft (You could possible get locals who know where the GOOD spots are at, SCORE!)
– SXSW Festival Shuttles
Now, lets talk getting organized…
– You’ll want to make a schedule!
I mean of course things will change and you don’t have go exactly by your schedule but it will make a world of difference if you at least have your top favorites that you want to make it too! Because like I said before SXSW can be hectic. But being organized will keep you from stressing about what you shouldn’t and be able to enjoy your time! Make a schedule that will have who, when & where the events that you want to attend will be. It will save time to put where so you can automatically put it into your GPS to get there even sooner. You wont want to waste time trying to find where your going! You got things to do and people to see!
Last but not least…
CALM DOWN! Don’t waste all your energy the first day / night. You have a full week of crazy / memorable / fun & crazy times that you’ll want that energy for!
and ENJOY yourself.
SXSW is one of the funnest events of the year hands down.
You’ll want to make sure you have a really good time!
If you want to read the Guide to SXSW from the official SXSW take a look here
http://www.sxsw.com/attend/first-timers-guide
