UK is too far for most of Europe. Berlin would've been a more optimal choice. UK has pretty poor/insane border policies, too, as we all know by now, and not too eager to visit it.
UK is much easier for a US based team to organize an event, especially remotely, IMO Without a solid person on the ground in Berlin, it's still really difficult for a US team to do anything there.
Berlin blows London away from a cost perspective (YC is ~rich, so the only relevant cost is hotel/etc for attendees who are non-local), and land-travel for a lot of people, but London probably has more local founders than Berlin, especially who know of and would be interested in YC/SS.
Not really. It's easier to get to London (30 min drive + 2 hr wait + 2 hr flight + 1 hr train) from Ljubljana than to Berlin (10 hr drive), and not much more expensive. I believe it's similar with many other European cities.
UK is not in the Schengen, that's true, but IMO compared to all the hassle of airport security, it's a joke, at least for EU nationals (if you're not from the EU, you'll have to pass the border coming to Berlin as well).
I'm guessing that this is largely meant to market YCombinator. Companies accepted to YCombinator are strongly encouraged to relocate to Silicon Valley. If you're not willing to travel to London, you may want to consider whether it makes sense to attend in person, or just wait for the videos to be posted online.
Ryanair and the other cheapo airlines have good links[1] between London and much of Europe. I can literally get a return flight between my home city and London for less than a taxi home from a night out on the town.
I get the impression that London would be a lot more expensive than many other European locations.
Is there a sensible price comparison website that compares costs of cities for things like eating out; drinks; renting apartments; hotel rooms; public transport; etc etc.
>> "I get the impression that London would be a lot more expensive than many other European locations"
Seeing as it's a 1 day event I don't think this is too big of a problem. If cost is an important factor in your decision to come (it would be for me) I'd suggest getting an early flight to London, attending the event, and flying home.
Yep. Germany is part of the Schengen accord, and most people from Europe can travel there without a visa (even if they are not part of the EU yet). While England requires visas for most countries.
Also, London is not really a tech center anyways. Poor choice.
Any citizen of an EU member state can enter the UK without a visa. Additionally, you don't require a visa if you're a citizen of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or any of over 50 countries on other continents. It's really pretty open, especially for Europeans.
> "Also, London is not really a tech center anyways. Poor choice."
A lot of tech companies have made London their base, including some prominent YC companies. London is so big that it's many things to many people so if you think it's 'not really a tech center', please elaborate why.
