WIPs (Works in Progress) and Writer Cons on My Mind Today

I haven’t gone dark again, I’ve really been busy with two important events-

WriteOnCon, and making headway on my new WIPs, and also fine tuning more posts for the coming days. 
(Those interested in WriteOnCon, go check it out!!)
I try to take the time to make the topics I cover have heart, and aren’t solely a rant on my part, which admittedly I have issues with at times. 
But sometimes a no-frills rant is a good way to spark discussion, and not just get my dander up, but things will progress as they’re meant to I guess.
Anyway, those of you who didn’t hear or took part in last year’s first WriteOnCon, there’s still time to get in on the action, and as someone who’s unable to travel to the big in-person events, this is the only way I get access to certain info and have the chance to network, though that’s still a weak skill of mine, it’s better than not getting the chance to use it at all.
But this leads perfectly into something I’ve wanted to talk about on T.A.A. for ages, how do you feel conferences, particularly the in-person events, helped better your emerging or eventual writing careers.
If you haven’t yet the chance to go, do you want to? Is it worth going? Why or why not?
Many people advised I go to conferences for advice and insight on aspects that still cripple me, and more often than not, those are the big (Expensive!) events in either NYC or California, often L.A., and as much as I may want to, I can’t afford the in-person events, and those are the ones that have the “One on One” workshops I need that add to the overall cost of registration, and the tiny local ones don’t have them at all, and never have speakers discussing what I need to learn more about. The topics are either things I already learned “The Hard Way” or things WAY beyond my reach at my current level of understanding.
WriteOnCon isn’t perfect, but it’s free, and the closest thing to the big live events I heard legends about, and it doesn’t require me to beg, borrow, or you know, to be part of something bigger than me, with the goal of making me a better informed writer for having done it, since live and in person events are few and far between for us Midwesterners. Did I mention expensive for those of us who don’t have a spare 5-10 Grand to register? That’s not even counting travel costs and hotel fees since they’re rarely included in the registration price, and that’s still not counting the extra costs getting into critique and pitch sessions, or the craft panels and workshops.
I know these events costs tons to put on and when you really think about it, the prices charged for these services isn’t unreasonable, I just wish there were ways to break it down so those of us with limited incomes aren’t left out in the cold.
What’s your take on this subject?
Are their writer events you’d attend if they weren’t cost prohibative? Do you think they’re really worth it as we often hear?
For those who’ve been to in-person events, did you learn anything worth the time and money it took to go there?
I know I’m not the only one on the fence about this kind of thing. So share your thoughts in the comments. The first three who reply (On topic, spammers are not eligible!) will each receive a mystery prize I’ll only reveal when three great on-topic replies are in the comments, and there’s still a prize from Monday’s giveaway that’s yet to be claimed!
Stay tuned tomorrow for new weekly polls and final tally results of this week’s polls.
I hope to get another post up today, but if not, 
May the Fantastic Fauna Be With You!
Until next time,
Taurean
P.S. I know I haven’t done as much genre-specific how-tos as I meant to, but since my own writer-centric focuses have changes drastically in recent months, I had to re-think some of my ideas, but I hope to balance the general with the genre-specific articles and features very soon.
P.P.S. I’ll update my future headlines to better flow with my new direction soon.