The best ways to meet new people, even your neighbors When you are feeling lonely, your friends won’t just show up at your door. You might want to meet new people, but going to bars or talking to people at work won’t help. Maybe it’s time to think about how you spend your free time. Scientists have found that hobbies help reduce stress, improve brain function, and bring people together. But you won’t meet people through just any hobby. Learning to code websites or doing puzzles can be fun things to do, but you probably won’t make a lot of new friends this way. On the other hand, social hobbies are a mix of talking and doing something. Getting a new social hobby is like winning three times over: Learn something new. Be more interesting Meet like-minded people Instead, here are 33 hobbies that can help you meet new people and make friends. What are some social activities? Social hobbies are things you do for fun that involve interacting with other people. They make it easy for people to get together and learn new skills while having fun talking to each other and making connections. Instead of just standing around awkwardly trying to talk, social hobbies let you have more casual, free-flowing conversations while you focus on a task at hand. According to statistics, not having friends is just as bad for your health as being overweight, smoking, or drinking too much. Having hobbies that bring you together with other people is good for your overall health and can even help you age more gracefully. Adults’ social activities It can feel awkward or even scary to start new hobbies as an adult. Clubs, classes, and groups are great because everyone is in the same boat. Like you, they’re probably there to meet new people, get better at something, and have fun in their free time. Organize a game night. Game nights are a great way to get to know your neighbors or meet new people. You can play Settlers of Catan if you want to be a nerd, Taboo if you want to think quickly on your feet, Sushi Go! if you want to keep it kid-friendly, or Cards Against Humanity if you want to laugh your buts off at inappropriate jokes. Tip: Google for the best Games to Play with Every Kind of Friend. Choose the best game for your group of friends, plan the food, drinks, and atmosphere, and send out invitations to have an epic game night. Pick up a language To learn a new language, you have to, uh, speak it. If you’ve ever tried to learn Spanish, Italian, or Japanese on your own and failed, it’s probably because your mind is wired for social interaction and needed someone to practice with and have fun with. Research shows that learning a new language with other people is the best way to do it. It also helps language learners remember things for longer and feel better about themselves. Resources: Get the Hobbytwin app and save the language you would like to explore, an the app will match you with every other person on the network who is either learning the language like yourself, a person who already speaks the language on a daily basis around, and even a person who teaches the language professionally. You can also take cheap conversation classes on online sites to learn the basics, then find a language learning g or team on hobbytwin in your area. Go to workshops or meetings. There are conferences for everything, including entrepreneurship, homesteading, art, cryptocurrency, and psychology. Each seminar, discussion, and happy hour is a chance to meet more people who are interested in the same things you are. Use Event Portals to find an upcoming conference that interests you. Tip: If you want to be a pro at networking at conferences, make an interesting name tag, print some business cards, and practice conversation starters that are relevant to the event. Classes in both yoga and acroyoga The physical and mental health benefits of yoga read like a long, flashy sales pitch: more flexibility, less back pain, less stress and anxiety, and a better mood. But you don’t hear much about how yoga helps people get along with each other. When you’re feeling good after practicing zen, it’s a little bit easier to talk to other people. Partner yoga or “acro-yoga,” on the other hand, combines acrobatics, fitness, and social connection. Regular yoga isn’t always a social sport. And, despite what most people think, it’s not just couples! These are friendly, open-minded places where you can meet new people and learn something cool (with some fun photo-ops). Dance Classes Whether you like to swing, salsa, ballroom, tango, bachata, or contra dance, this is a hobby where you don’t have to think too much about what you’re going to say. If you’re shy, it’s good to know that most dance classes want you to dance with as many people as possible, so you don’t have to think too much about who you’ll dance with next. As a dance teacher or dance partner shows you the steps, your body can relax and move to the music. You might feel right at home when everyone takes a break to talk. Tip: Dance classes are a great place to learn how to read body language. Learn the basics of body language 101 so that you can use your skills to read people outside of the dance floor. Workshops and writing groups To start writing, you don’t have to be a great poet or a published author. Most writers’ groups are small groups of people who just like to tell stories and want to do something creative. Writing can be very personal because it touches on so many deep feelings and experiences. If you choose to read your work out loud, your fellow writers may be able to relate to it and want to talk about it afterward. You can find events in your area by visiting local coffee shops, Facebook Groups, Meetup.com, or typing “writer’s group in [your city]” or “gateless writing salon near me” into Google. Woodworking Classes You might think of woodworkers as old men who work alone in their garages to make birdhouses or cabinets. But classes and shared spaces for building make this hobby easier to get into and more social than ever. Think of an adult social hour as a high school woodshop class. It also comes with all the gear and safety training! If you don’t want to buy a whole shop full of carpentry tools, look for a local woodworking school or “maker space” where you can join for a small fee and use a shared shop to improve your skills and meet other woodworkers. Join a band or take lessons in music. Scientists have found that music helps people get along better with each other. Getting on the same beat is fun, whether you’re singing or playing in a band. The best part about music is that you don’t have to know how to play an instrument well to start. Tip: Join a school or church choir, look in musical classifieds like Bandmix or Join-A-Band, or Google “group music lessons for adults” to find a music school near you. Nights of Trivia Old-school trivia is a fun way for smart people to test their knowledge of random facts while having a good time laughing and talking. Trivia teams can compete against each other to see how smart they are about a narrow or wide range of topics. Find a trivia night at a pub, bar, or brewery near you. Paint-balling Paintball is a fun and competitive team sport that is great for beginners. If you want to get dirty and feel like you’re in a colorful video game, try it. Find an indoor or outdoor paintball facility in your area to try this activity with a group and improve your shooting skills. Education is what people do to you, learning is what you do to yourself! Social Activities Outside Natural areas are a great way to get away from the busyness of cities and feel refreshed. Find other nature lovers to join you in the great outdoors for a bit more adventure. Hiking Even though Muir had some poetic thoughts to himself in the woods, hiking alone in the wilderness isn’t always the safest or most fun thing to do. Group hiking, on the other hand, is a great way to get all the health benefits of spending time in nature while making new friends who love trees and mountains as much as you do. Check out the hobbytwin app and save the hobby “Hiking” if you want to find or plan a group hike, join a hiking club, or go to a nature center where you can meet other hikers. Growing gardens in groups As the “farm-to-table” movement grows and “Victory Gardens” are brought back to life after the pandemic, community garden plots can be found even in the most crowded parts of big cities. Studies have shown that community gardening brings people together and helps them get along better. Tip: Get your hands dirty and learn how to start from scratch with an organic garden. You can rent a plot at a community garden near you or start your own garden in your front or back yard. When summer comes, have work parties with your friends, try the food, and share the harvest. Go watch birds. Do you know those people who stand in state parks and look at trees through binoculars? That’s the group of people who watch birds, and they’re a pretty cool bunch. As a hobby, about 50 million Americans like to watch birds. Learn to recognize beautiful birds and get to know the ecosystems in your area. Bird watching is a fun hobby for people who like to spend time in nature and learn about animals. Also, it doesn’t cost much to get started. All you need are your eyes and a cheap pair of binoculars. You might buy a bird identification book and a camera with a zoom lens at some point. Use the mini-guide on How to Meet Other Birders from the National Audubon Society and look through the list of Birding Clubs and Organizations from the American Birding Association. Take a course on foraging Foraging means learning how to find and gather wild plants and fungi that you can eat. It’s a good thing that it’s not as scary or dangerous as it sounds. There are expert foragers everywhere, and they are usually happy to talk about what they love. If you like plants, food, cocktails, or herbalism, a local foraging class is a great place to meet new people. Go to a meeting Gatherings are an interesting way for hippie-minded people to meet new people and learn at the same time. There are sometimes drum circles, dances, and campfires. There are music shows, food trucks, and activities that are good for the whole family. Check out an Earth skills Gathering via the hobbytwin app in your area to learn how to make fire, use herbs as medicine, carve wood, and tan hides. Or, you could go to a Hippie Fest to see a bohemian market and listen to live music. Go to events. Festivals aren’t just about music, drinking, and setting things on fire, though Burning Man might be a great time if that’s your thing. Festivals are also held for food, wine, boats, old clothes, and just about anything else you can think of. Festivals are usually more fun and laid-back than conferences. They are a great place to bring your friends or meet new ones. Athletic Hobbies for People The book “Exercise Contagion” talks about how fitness-related hobbies can spread. If your friends run, you’re more likely to run too. If you play sports, you’re more likely to have friends who also play sports. It has a positive effect that … Continue reading The best ways to meet new people, even your neighbors