Bonus points: if that place/activity is friendly for disabled people with limited mobility.
Dungeons & Dragons is one, for the sufficiently geeky.
This one is interesting as don’t you need friends already to play?
Most game shops host some games that are open to people signing up.
At one of my local stores, they specifically have the “D&D Adventure League” once a week. It does have a $5 entry fee.
If you want to start an irl group, yeah. If you’re joining an existing group, no though. Fully online is obviously the easiest place to find groups looking for players, but you can also head down to your local gaming store. I’ve seen bulletin boards before with flyers looking for players, but can probably just ask the people working there if they know of any.
Could also check online forums for your local community, maybe even make a post asking if any gaming groups have openings for irl players.
there are actually lots of groups that attempt to rectify this exact problem.
Pathfinder is a tabletop RPG that has a large following and focuses on the ability to jump in and out of groups and games.
Find your nearest game store and see what hobbies show up there. There might be a Warhammer group, DnD, starwars miniatures, magic, or maybe just random board games.
Pursue your interests in life and people you’re going to hit it off with will be along the way.
Yeah unfortunately most of my interests are stuff that are done solo. Im also not sure if those interests became my interests because i have been solo most of my life. Moved around allot as a kid. That’s why I want to bridge out to new things.
- Linux
- Comic books
- Reading novels
- Electronic Engineering
- Video Games
Go to cons my guy. Join the tournaments, stand in line. People are friendly just aim for a good conversation and be curious about people
Book club or maybe even some sort of 3d printing meetup? I’ve always found that the people that are interested in those probably would hit the other items on your list.
as one with limited mobility, i have made friends at the local, extremely small, music venue. tickets at the door are $20, beer is cheap, and everyone is super friendly.
because its a small place, the owner lets me take a chair with me when i am going to one of the stages that has no seating (i use a cane; its hard to stand for long periods). i usually sit next to the merch tables, and the friends of the bands usually strike up conversation.
this is a suuuuuper small place. it has 2-3 stages (depending on the night), but they are really close together, so only one band at a time can play (two stages are outside because the building is so small). even if its not music, go to really small local places that get decent crowds - they are a lot more personable.
That’s interesting how do you get to know people? Doesn’t the music make it hard to hear people? I feel like in that scenario i would go listen to music and have a good time but would still be alone in a crowd.
usually a band plays for ~30-45m - enjoying music time - and ~15m-1h (depending on the setup for that night) of downtime for chatting.
Oh that’s cool i guess i didn’t think of it as live music only. I was picturing a place where they blast a DJ or playlist way to loud between bands playing.
You are in Dallas? The main redeeming quality of Texas is the music. I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion.
Also going out to the same places at the same time can pay off, you will make acquaintances and some may become friends. I see a group of old guys at the cafe I go to for coffee, pretty sure they are only friends because they go get breakfast at the Cuban place and ended up talking and sitting together.
I will say though, almost all my friends I met as adult came from work or from them going out with someone in my family. The medium level friends you are probably looking for. Do you not have work?
Check out your local library activities, check your city/town event calendar
Check out meetup.com for any particular hobbies you’re into.
Your local discgolf club / community if you’re into that.
Board game groups and board game cafes are great for that!
No they’re horrible environments for meeting on socializing with other people.
If you’ve ever been to a socializing board game night, you would be aware that there’s effectively zero chance to communicate, talk, have a conversation - a group of people can’t focus on two things at once.
We must be going to different ones because there’s loads of down-time in most games and people would have a smoke break and just hang out with food and drinks post games.
Board game cafes is my 1st choice for social connections when arriving to a new country and I make friends every time. Never failed me once.
Kind of building on the D&D subject, if you look up your local game stores that have playspace, they probably have a calendar on their website listing lots of “Open Play” events or something similar. Mine also has craft/hobby nights.
You normally just show up to these and play.
The card and army based games may expect you to have your own stuff, but I would get in touch with somebody because a lot of the time there’s going to be somebody who will let you try the game with their stuff and teach you how to play in hopes of getting you interested long-term.
Volunteer in outreach orgs or at events that are related to your interests.
There are also mutual aid orgs. They are almost always accessibility aware. Maybe check in with MADR. They may be able to point to local groups if you’re in the US.
There’s also Food Not Bombs which is great!
If you are musical or like music maybe find a local weekly jam or open mic. Play some tunes or just go and enjoy. Typically a very welcoming and open community and supportive scene, at least everywhere I’ve been.
Archery. Relatively cheap sport to get into (no consumable bullets).
As for limited mobility, that depends on what you mean, wheelchair - not a problem, upper body - maybe a problem, depending on the extent. Crossbows can solve the strength part, but if you can’t aim, that will be a bit harder.
Join a group thing you like.
I recommend taking an improv class. I recently started taking classes and it’s been a lot of fun and pretty challenging at times. Taking classes and being that vulnerable with others basically streamlines the friend making process. My class group usually goes out to a bar to hang out and chat after class every week, and we have been inviting others to hang out periodically. It’s absolutely disabled people friendly too (At least my theater is, they have a ramp for the stage and everything.) you can also learn some skills to help become better at communication and ease social anxiety. I’ve really noticed the changes in my life.
It’s a daunting idea, but it so worth giving it a shot
Thanks you, this is a great idea, I really like this one. I am concerned though that my crutches would limit my improv versatility.
Yeah, they might, but I have also seen someone that required a wheelchair perform, and they did a great job. As someone that doesn’t have a disability that interferes with movement, it’s hard for me to say much about performing improv from that perspective, but I think it’s worth a shot. I understand trying to be realistic about what you can and can’t do, but I also think it’s important to try and stretch yourself to see what’s possible. But again, I don’t know your situation or your perspective, so I could be talking out of my ass here. Beginner classes are usually very casual and low stakes, focused on just having fun, getting out of your comfort zone, and learning the basics.
Look for events in church bulletin
Or meetup.com for people who want friends and not cult members
That’s what I was gonna say. It doesn’t even have to be a religious thing. To a lot of people church/mosque/temple is a cultural thing.
First off, you cannot attend any kind of event where women are involved.
I’m not doing a battle of the sexes thing, but the reality is that social dynamics massively change when opposite sex are involved. It is fundamentally impossible to have genuine interactions with other men, when women are around.
Before you get all triggered and decide to hit the downvote, remember I am not doing battle of the sexes…you cannot take women’s wine night for example, deposit a man in the group and expect the social dynamic to remain the same.
So go find something where women are not allowed. Find a clubhouse with a crudely written sign that says “no girls allowed” and the R is backwards.
Find a place where men are not in competition for the attention of women.
