I would recommend looking for volunteer opportunities. Be open, what exists around you may not be exactly what you want to do, but it you’re doing something positive, the journey will make it worth it.

I recently went to a pottery shop for a christmas event. I bought a piece from a woman there, and as she excitedly told me about some of her projects, I shared some of mine. It seemed like we had a lot in common, so I said “I think we should be friends” and gave her my number. She texted and tomorrow we’re going out for karaoke.

I made friends with my dog’s groomer the same way. If you vibe with someone you meet in the course of life, you can act like a child and just straight up invite them to be friends.

Walk around your neighborhood and open your eyes to what organizations and institutions exist.

Try sports, gardening, making art, music, and look for shared workshops used for woodworking, car or bicycle enthusiasts, and such.

There’s also always the option to announce your own event, meetup, or activity.

More adventurous route: get addicted to drugs or gambling and then go to self help groups.

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If there’s an activity or skill you’ve been wanting to get into, you could try taking a class in that. You’ll meet some other people at your approximate skill level, and it’s an opportunity to socialize.

I’ve personally met a lot of people through climbing gyms and dance classes, both activities where you’re often paired up with one other person. Bouldering is great for smalltalk as well, because people are often eager to discuss approaches to the problem.

Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve also met some friends through work colleagues. A colleague of mine was going hiking with friends and invited me along, and since the friends didn’t work in the same company as us it felt disconnected enough from work for me at least.

It really depends what you’re interests are. If you like art, start checking out artsy spaces and public events. If you like games try hanging out in game or card shops. It took me 3-4 months of showing up to art/music festivals before I started running into people I recognized and felt comfortable chatting up. My experience isn’t universal, but as a socially anxious person it required a lot of discomfort and patience.

I find it helpful to start by looking for hobbies you enjoy for the hell of it and then seeing if there’s a community around that. Making friends seems to be a bit easier when there’s a shared activity to chat about. For example, I took up acoustic guitar and met a lot of people who like to jam together. Also started learning a type of dance and got involved in the community by attending classes and socials. My buddy met his main friend group at a rock climbing gym when he took up bouldering.

For apps/websites, I had luck attending a few Meetups, e.g. like for people learning a foreign language who want to practice with each other. Some people join rec leagues or attend tabletop game nights.

I personally don’t use social media much but it can be useful to see if there are any local events to checkout nearby.

There are plenty of local, secular, community service groups. I know it’s associated with old people, but my local Rotary club has a lot of good people and we do a lot of good in the community. This isn’t the only option, there are lots of community service organizations and it’s a great place to meet people.

Your local area would be the best place to start

Are there any causes you’re interested in? Volunteering is a good way to meet people. Having some kind of structured activity besides “making friends” and defined start/end times can be helpful to take pressure off.

Start your own group.

You can’t expect other people cater to your preferences if they are unpopular. people like popular things. if you don’t like popular things it will be hard to connect to people. watching sports is an easy way to connect with people.