First off Steve, I completely agree with you about the new ruling for the 600 mile radius. Having SQL Saturdays in close proximity back-to-back allows many to attend who otherwise would not be able to. It would tend to force out some of the smaller, lower budget events which I think are fabulous such as Columbus, OH where I spoke recently.

You're also correct about the perspective of a speaker and the range that you're willing to travel. As a speaker, I've traveled from Indianapolis as far as Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas, Houston, Atlanta, and Cleveland while other locations such as Columbus and Louisville are relatively close (2-4 hour drives). As an attendee, I attended Las Vegas and Denver but I also had other reasons for being there as I'd probably not travel that far just to attend only.

In the past I flew to the farther locations, but now that my wife and I purchased a motorhome last year we make round trips for multiple events. As I work remotely, as long as I have internet I can do my day job, travel in the evening, and spend time with my wife who's happy to have the pets with us. If we have friends or family in a location, we'll plan a trip around a SQL Saturday to make the trip even more worth while (such as Tampa, Minneapolis or Dallas). This allows us to attend SQL Saturday events or visit places we ordinarily may not travel to or to stop at interesting locations on the way there or back. This new ruling could put the kibosh on these types of trips and prevent us from getting the most value from them.