I’m planning a trip to North America this winter and I’ve just realised that not only will that mean I’m not very far from SXSW in March but I’ll be in Vancouver on the exact dates of Interaction’09 in February! My problem is that as I will be between jobs I would have to pay for these myself and at $425 and $699, respectively, they’re not cheap.

After hearing about all the SXSW craziness from various sources for the past few years I made it my resolution to try and go this coming year so it would be silly to be so close (well, ok, 1,800 miles isn’t that close) and misss out. I know a couple fo people who are going this year so it’s sure to be a lot of fun. I also had the idea of renting a car and driving down to Austin from San Francisco. I reckon I could probably find a couple of Valley types willing to join me for the road trip.

On the other hand Interaction’09 appears to be a more civilised affair. As the name suggests it’s all about interaction design which is what I’m really interested in. It’s rather more expensive but on the other hand I was planning on being in Vancouver on those dates anyway (on my way to Whistler to visit friends) so Iwould save on transport.

One solution would be to find a new employer willing to sponsor me to go to both! Any takers?