where to meet new people?

[meinemonkey]

ok, any suggestions on where I can go to meet new people around my own age (mid-twenties to early thirties) .....

I go to the gym but you don't interact with people there
I am in education but am surrounded by people a decade younger than me

I have looked and can't find anything for my age group in my area - all the social groups tend to be for middle aged people

I

[Defiance]

meetup.com

[Phool]

reading groups or walking groups?

[Blackheart Knight]

Originally Posted by Defiance

meetup.com

This.

It's where I've met most of my current-day friends/acquaintances. Try and meet people based on similar pursuits and hobbies. The best thing to do is to sit down and list at least 5 hobbies and interests you either currently possess or are interested in pursuing, then go ahead and find appropriate groups for the associated interests. You can also try Gumtree, under the 'Community' section I think. It also used to work for me, until the 'Friends' section became defunct.

I'm pretty sure I've replied to a similar thread on a different site somewhere before with a similar answer...oh, hey deja vu!

[Defiance]

ozadz.com is similar to gumtree and has dating/friends sections as well...

[meinemonkey]

I meant to put that in my original message, I have looked on meetup.com and there is nothing in my area that is suitable or im interested in. In fact there are hardly any groups near me!!!

[Bananas]

Originally Posted by meinemonkey

I go to the gym but you don't interact with people there

Do you go to any classes at the gym? ...generally people mingle before and after class(bit like at school), some even extend it to a coffee after, there is a surprisingly lot of interaction... my friend who is very reclusive ended up marrying his yoga teacher.

Similar to meetup, You also might want to check out your local council website, library notice boards, community centre, leisure centre etc... for other classes in things that might interest you.

Plus there is always google(sounds patronising I know) but I decided I wanted to join a re-enactment society and ended up going to the one run by the local university student union(its not always just for students).

[GoldFish]

i dont think its the interaction that is the issue for me at gyms, its the fact that all these fit bodies are around you and its just a very intimidating place to be ...its hard to switch that off ...i just think its an invasion of privacy to be covorting around your body parts and working out with so many fit strangers around you ..its sort of like people dancing around in sports gear and skimpy outfits, sounds great but you have to have a a decent amount of physical confidance to even walk into a gym, that's just how i see it.

[Bananas]

Originally Posted by GoldFish

i dont think its the interaction that is the issue for me at gyms, its the fact that all these fit bodies are around you and its just a very intimidating place to be ...its hard to switch that off ...i just think its an invasion of privacy to be covorting around your body parts and working out with so many fit strangers around you ..its sort of like people dancing around in sports gear and skimpy outfits, sounds great but you have to have a a decent amount of physical confidance to even walk into a gym, that's just how i see it.

The good thing about classes is they are often ability based, you go to the ones that suit your level and the only people in them will be people exactly like you.

Its also a bit of a false perception that gyms are beauty pageants, all those fit strangers dancing around in sports gear and skimpy outfits are usually all out of breath, smelly, sweaty and wearing clothes fit for purpose and not for their fashion prowess, the last thing they want to do is judge anybody.

[Andrew]

My life's stuck in a rut too and I'm looking for ways to meet new people... and new people I click with which I guess is much harder!

I've been considering evening classes - would you find those at somewhere like a local college? And how likely would you be to meet fellow twenty-somethings there? And what about voluntary work? Or does that attract a more middle-aged 'crowd'?

[borg1210]

I've gone to meetups but the people change everytime so end up doing same intro talk everytime.

Also hard to find lasting friendship but that's SA I guess.

So meeting is easy, forming bonds is harder