[tivert]

> Cooking classes, volunteering, sport clubs, the gym, group travel, boardgames, photography classes, dancing lessons, language classes, concerts, movie clubs, hiking groups, etc. etc.

I think the specific activity is less important than whether it's done by a community or not. That's especially true if you're the kind of person who has trouble connecting quickly with new people.

Some of those things (e.g. volunteering, gyms) can turn out to be relatively solo activities or have a lot of people treating them as such.

> Of course, you wouldn't attend those with the explicit goal of finding someone special. I'd argue that the other way around is much healthier: go out there, explore activities that mesh with who you are, or get you a bit out of your comfort zone, and you'll likely meet new people who might just surprise you.

I agree with that broadly, but I think if "finding someone" is on your list of priorities, you should try to gravitate to things with a larger group or a just-right amount of churn.

[ethbr1]

Good point, in that some of these are not like the others.

Imho, if you're joining a group with a goal of meeting people to possibly have a relationship with, you want a group that:

   - Is a community (people stay in it)
   - Is growing or has turnover
   - Has enough of a connection to make friends

And a particular note that you might not meet people in the group, but... the people you meet in the group might introduce you to other people.

That's the way things used to be done before social/dating apps -- "Hi, have you met ____? I think the two of you have a lot in common..."

And by and large, it worked pretty well. Who better to matchmake than people who actually know both of you?

[tivert]

> That's the way things used to be done before social/dating apps ... And by and large, it worked pretty well. Who better to matchmake than people who actually know both of you?

I feel like some uncomfortably large fraction of consumer-focused tech is like that: take something that worked, and replace it by some new-shiny junk-food like thing that's actually worse in all important ways.

[CaptArmchair]

I'd agree. The big differentiator being your own personality and your own outlook / expectations of life and others.

There are plenty people around looking to have a date, and maybe more. The big caveat is meeting someone who's a match.

If you want to reel in a fish, you will inevitably have thrown out your line many times and come up empty handed.

The elephant in the room is learning how to confront your own feelings regarding rejection in a healthy way. This is true regardless of how and where you meet others.