What really long lists can I put my name on now to thank myself later?

November 16, 2009 8:31 AM

Long Term Planning: I just submitted my name to the Packer season ticket waiting list, which is supposed to be 30 years long. I don't even live in Wisconsin, but life could take me anywhere in 30 years, and I like the feeling of knowing it might be an option one day. Are there any other lists or similar things I should do now?

Please no general health or exercising advice.

posted by 2legit2quit to sports, hobbies, & recreation (30 comments total)

Previously
posted by cider at 8:35 AM on November 16, 2009

Previously
posted by vacapinta at 8:36 AM on November 16, 2009

Those answers on that list are absolutely horrible. I don't want to buy ridiculous things like overpriced watches or country club memberships. I'm just looking for fun things where the demand greatly outstrips the market.
posted by 2legit2quit at 8:40 AM on November 16, 2009

Read it again and more closely, please. Then clarify what's missing.
posted by PercussivePaul at 8:42 AM on November 16, 2009

I don't want to buy ridiculous things like overpriced watches or country club memberships. I'm just looking for fun things where the demand greatly outstrips the market.

Things like expensive watches and country club memberships are generally considered items for which demand greatly outstrips the market.

I'm not sure what precisely you think is out there that is not expensive and which has a waiting list, aside from Packers' season tickets. The Packers' ownership structure makes it unique in this regard. You shouldn't infer that there are other reasonably priced things with very long waiting lists on the basis of the fact that the Packers' list for season tickets is very long.

Most things with long waiting lists are very expensive.
posted by dfriedman at 8:44 AM on November 16, 2009

Thank you for the response, dfriedman. I guess I have life delusions right now. At the bottom of the old list, someone recommended Colbert Tickets and lists for buying from a particular vineyard. I think I am thinking more along those veins. (get it?)
posted by 2legit2quit at 8:46 AM on November 16, 2009

Well, there are also public resources such as the 40-yr waiting list for allotments in the UK. I believe they're free.
posted by vacapinta at 8:47 AM on November 16, 2009

Also, looking at that previous question, I have to take issue with one of the best answers: El Bulli. There is no waiting list. Rather, X number of users apply for spots each year and they (randomly?) select who will eat there in the next year. Next year, you have to apply again.

It is no more a waiting list than any lottery is a waiting list.
posted by vacapinta at 8:53 AM on November 16, 2009

Thank you for the contribution, vacapinta!
posted by 2legit2quit at 8:53 AM on November 16, 2009

Here's a fun non waiting list. While touring the Sistine Chapel, the guide told my group that anyone can have a wedding there, but no one really does it because everyone assumes that the waiting list is decades long!
posted by 2legit2quit at 8:56 AM on November 16, 2009

Private launch dates for grand canyon raft trips have a long waiting list and can be hard to come by, though now it has shifted to a sort of improvised lottery system. Still takes a while though.

Also, if you're big game hunting in the mountain west, animal tags are allocated by a lottery system, but if you fail to draw a tag on a given year, you accumulate a preference point. Eventually, if you gain enough preference points for a particular area, you are guaranteed a tag. In some areas near Dinosaur National Monument, managed for trophy elk, you'll need to apply yearly for 10-12 years before you're likely to get a tag.

I believe the waiting list for a new Harley is about a year.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:58 AM on November 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

dfriedman,

I think what I am looking for is not merely extravagant for the sake of extravagance, but rather things that are worth the wait, and worth doing if I just plan well ahead.
posted by 2legit2quit at 8:59 AM on November 16, 2009

craven_morhead,

Although I am not a hunter, that is exactly the kind of stuff I am talking about. Thank you!
posted by 2legit2quit at 9:00 AM on November 16, 2009

It should take a while to get season tickets to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The most recent info I could find said the waiting list was something like 4000 people to get 8000 season ticket seats. They mentioned something like 95% renewal a year, so that means about 400 tickets come up a year. Assume everyone wants two tickets, and that means 200 people a year... or a 20 year wait :S

I think most Canadian NHL franchises have similar numbers, as well...
posted by cgg at 9:22 AM on November 16, 2009

The Masters golf tournament.

The waiting list is presently closed, but Augusta National has opened it twice since 1972. You can still get practice round tickets on a yearly lottery basis. I was able to go to a practice round in 2005... incredible experience.
posted by netbros at 9:32 AM on November 16, 2009

You can go line up for a H1N1 flu shot, there's a good list (line) to put your name in.
posted by PowerCat at 9:53 AM on November 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

I guess you have to wait until the next application opportunity comes round (looks like the current one closed last week) but owning a home on the Toronto Islands?

Also though not a waiting list, and I guess it doesn't apply to you, but the US green card lottery is something friends of mine apply for every year "for the hell of it" in the knowledge that they may never get one.
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:54 AM on November 16, 2009

The Canadian flags that fly on Parliament hill are given away each day when they are taken down. The current wait time is between 16 and 25 years depending on whether you'd like a Peace Tower flag or an East/West Tower flag. Only available to Canadian residents though.
posted by Mitheral at 9:57 AM on November 16, 2009

Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert
posted by ellenaim at 10:22 AM on November 16, 2009

Well, there are a lot of companies worldwide in the planning stages for commercial space travel/tourism. Some of them have more realistic plans than others. If you happen to be a millionaire (or thereabouts) and excited about the idea of going into space, I'm sure some of them have lists that you can put your name on. I'd guess 10-30 years is approximately the time-scale for millionaires (if you happen to be a billionaire, you can probably work something out with the Russians now). I would if I had that kind of cash!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 10:40 AM on November 16, 2009

In many communities, the Section 8 housing voucher list is incredibly long.

I don't think you can sign up if you're not currently eligible, and hope you wouldn't if you're not.
posted by elmer benson at 10:44 AM on November 16, 2009

There is a list for getting a slip in the municipal marina in Monterey CA. You have to pay $20 just to get on the list, and pay $10 each year to stay on the list. I have heard it can take decades.
posted by chocolatetiara at 10:54 AM on November 16, 2009

Just like the Packers, the New York Giants Season Ticket waiting list is over 60,000 people long. I have friends who have added their newborns in the hopes that by the time their kids are grown, they may get a chance at a pair.
posted by JaredSeth at 11:25 AM on November 16, 2009

A million bucks. Seriously.

Start socking away money every month while you're young, and, assuming an 8% return (I know, but it will be better in some years and worse in others) you can get to the head of the millionaire line.

If you've only got thirty years, it's going to take about seven hundred a month to stay on the list. If you can stretch your horizon to forty years, three hundred a month will do it. But don't let those numbers scare you away; start with whatever you can afford, and increase as your circumstances allow.

The beauty of this waiting list is that its small (only you), you control it, and you really do get the million bucks. And you'd be surprised to find out how easy it is to see a Packers game, dock your boat, or buy a new Harley if you've got a million bucks.
posted by dinger at 11:42 AM on November 16, 2009 [3 favorites]

Buy a case of good port, store it properly for 20 years, then enjoy. If you do this every year or every other year, in 20 years you'll have a treasure trove.
posted by theora55 at 11:44 AM on November 16, 2009

A custom built teraminx. Cheaper, but the list is much longer is the 1x2x3.
posted by yeti at 11:55 AM on November 16, 2009

The beauty of this waiting list is that its small (only you), you control it, and you really do get the million bucks.

The only downside there is inflation may pwn you in 30 years and one is gambling the dollar won't decline by much. If you worked over the past 30 years to save a million you'd see the purchasing power of that sum dwindle to what $295,000 would have bought when you started.
posted by crapmatic at 12:00 PM on November 16, 2009

Membership to Disneyland's Club 33 Restaurant.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:16 PM on November 16, 2009

These are all really great suggestions!
posted by 2legit2quit at 2:06 PM on November 16, 2009

If you're into Frank Lloyd Wright, you can stay at a cottage he designed in Wisconsin. Last time I checked, the waiting list (for a prime summer weekend, at least) was several years. Pricey, but it looks gorgeous.
posted by Bron at 5:32 PM on November 16, 2009