I would be sad if this was your last regular DC, but I certainly understand about the expense. But I will say, there is NO convention like DC. And part of that is because of the people. Though you can always make an attempt to get to know people who regularly attend other cons and make that community the same or similar, there's still just the atmosphere of DC, that is is a fan-first convention, and that is something that I just haven't found elsewhere.

Balancing between money and desire is a difficult thing. But I always advocate being fiscally responsible.