Hi, I'm Tomecko and will be a first-time con goer! I'm pretty excited to go to Kumoricon in September, but the hotel rates are rather steep for a broke college kid like me. :?
As I'm local, I was thinking of maybe just driving into Portland for the three days and forgoing the hotel. Is that recommended? I don't want to miss out on all the fun, and I want to reserve a table in the artist's alley so I'm not sure if arriving a little later in the mornings will make a difference.
What's the deal? Is it better to stay at the hotel for the length of the con, even if it eats the pocketbook?