in an earlier post i had mentioned that i was in the process of starting up an east bay CFUG. it's no secret that bay area traffic sucks hard and for those people living in areas like san ramon (that'd be me), livermore, dublin, etc, the drive into san francisco after putting in a full day at the office isn't a terribly appealing notion. i've thrown out the idea of starting a CFUG in the east bay and it's been met with some pretty positive feedback. sweet.

here's the fun part... finding a location. i remember going through this with the IECFUG. trying to find a location that will accommodate enough people, has internet access and a projector, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg is a challenging endeavor. i've contacted a few schools in the area. either they hold classes at night and don't offer rooms to external groups, or they want $50/hr per meeting or they require the group to have a non-profit tax ID number (which as far as i understand would entail filing paperwork and filing taxes each year... then the hassle of transferring ownership as management changes... hoping to not have to resort to that). the business park that my company is in has a facility, but they charge over $300 (and no tenant discount).

while i continue to scout out a location on my own, i figured i'd put this out there publicly. does anyone in the east bay know of a potential meeting site? would anyone's business be willing to "sponsor" the group by way of allowing a monthly meeting?

any thoughts and/or suggestions are appreciated