How Do You Meet New People?

[El Diablo]

Iggy,

You and others have already mentioned it, but I just watned to give another positive vote for sports leagues. The initial core group of my friends in multiple cities I've lived in have been from rec and competitive soccer leagues. I've often ended up playing other sports with them as well.

Taking classes is something I haven't done a ton of (like cooking classes, wine classes, etc.) but I've done a couple of things like that and met some people. Other friends who do it more regularly say it's a great way to meet people.

Volunteering is another really good way to meet people.

[namespace]

Here is how you do it.

Go out anywhere and find the ugliest girl you can possibly find and be friendly to her, exchange numbers, etc.

Then climb her social ladder until you get to the people you really want to hang out with.

It's fun to sometimes go on myspace and find a not-so-good-looking girl and see how many steps it takes until they have a hot girl on their friends list.

[polkaface]

As mentioned a few times....

Sports leagues, possibly join a gym, church, volunteer someplace, get a 2nd job at a sociable place as a means to force yourself to talk to new people, if that would help you to have the initial contact.

[IndyGuy]

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Also, the season is still a few months away, but here's a list of Steelers bars worldwide.

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I was going to suggest this (minus the link, but kudos to the guy who found it) since I (as a Colts fan) recall all the gloating from Iggy circa Jan 2006.

If you're going to find friends through a bar, it's much easier to go while watching a specific team since there's a built-in schedule for hanging out. If you like basketball at all, follow the NBA playoffs in a bar. You'll see the same regulars each game. Same for NFL or college football.

Where did you go to college? See if there's an alumni association chapter nearby.

As other posters pointed out, sports leagues are a great idea too. Or showing up as a single at a local golf course and filling a foursome.

You also might have luck with (as lame as it may sound to some here) volunteer groups like Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, or even a church group. Even if you don't meet anyone your own age, it can be fulfilling and definitely makes you look way less creepy than being the guy with no friends who tags along everywhere. Plus, it's bonus points on the resume and/or (eventual) girlfriend's family fronts.

[IndyGuy]

Also, I thought I'd point out that some of my friends have had mixed results (sometimes fun) with this:

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"Highlife Adventures is Indy's ultimate social club for singles. Rather than a dating or matchmaking service, Highlife Adventures provides fun-filled opportunities for singles to meet in a comfortable, friendly environment."

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I haven't been involved in this myself, but from the friends that have I know their activities ranged from learning how to make sushi and martinis at a bar after work to skydiving on a Saturday or a weekend trip rafting.

The ones I've known that have tried it were generally after they broke up with a long-term boyfriend/girlfriend here and wanted to escape their social circle and meet some new people (to avoid the sympathy from existing friends).

I'm not sure what SD has in terms of something similar, but it doesn't hurt to check.

[nyc999]

Another vote for sports leagues. I recently joined a soccer team where there are 3-4 different groups of friends involved. I'm now getting invited to 1-2 extra bar nights/parties per month and have made a few good friends.

I've also heard cooking/dancing-type classes and book clubs/discussion groups are good for this. I guess it comes down to what type of people you're looking to meet.

[sethypooh21]

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I play Ultimate Frisbee (formerly seriously)

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. . . in case the screen name wasn't a giveaway.

I'd like to get back into playing. Some guys I know put together a summer league team last year, but the skill and athleticism levels were both too low to really be competitive, and man, was that frustrating.

EDIT: To bring it back to the thread a bit, ultimate is a massively underrated sport that can really be a lot of fun, and I'd seriously consider giving it a try, OP.

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Hey, not everyone knows what 7ontheline means, right?

Anyway, I know what you mean about the summer league team. I'm playing a spring league right now in Madison and my team SUCKS. It's really annoying being the only good player on the team.

Finally, one last plug for Ultimate Frisbee - most of the people you will meet will be really friendly. Definitely not a sport for the typical jock for the most part. A lot of slightly nerdy but very fun people. A laid-back sport for sure. I have met people in Taiwan and Singapore by going to pickup games out there, and felt right at home with them pretty quickly.

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3rded regarding the ulty, unless you have some kind of aversion to hippies.

Though I would warn that many of the 'better' players in the league will tend to be cliquey.

[thatpfunk]

take a couple of surf lessons and youll get some surf buddies that are just learning as well.

[adios]

Get yourself a real nice looking or unusual dog and walk it in a very popular place where other people take their dogs, seriously.

[traz]

I just took a job in a new city, and I"m currently trying to a build a new social circle as well. I only moved here a week ago. I'm 19 yrs old and I"ve never had problems making friends, but it's a whole new ball game when you're not in schools, and you know no-one.

So far, things that have worked for me:

Going to the gym- I go to the gym alot, and it was easy to just start talking to the employees there. From there, I just said hi and was friendly to other regulars, and I've since made a couple friends from the gym. I have a date with a girl from the gym on saturday.

Online sites- I figured why not? I've gone on a couple online sites just looking for cool people to hang out with. So far I've gotten a couple msn addresses, and they are showing some promise. No meeting here yet.

Classes- I signed up for BJJ classes once I got here, and I've met some cool guys here as well. I'm sure this is a good idea for any kind of class you're interested in.

Getting a dog would be great too ;P

I'm still trying haha, so the more suggestions the better