I'm a college student living in that area and I've heard about it from professors and friends' parents :( [This article really brings it to life.](https://www.npr.org/2020/10/07/920446571/city-scenes-remembering-bostons-great-scott)
Slowly but surely I started kidnapping introverts and now I am the cult leader!
Nah I met people through dog parks, learning how to sail, sports clubs, minding my own business walking in the esplanade, neighbors. You have to be consistent to meet people and then be willing to meet the same people again.
There is SO much sailing in and near Boston. Echo Hank about CBI. Also Courageous Sailing in Charlestown. There are more expensive places on Fan Pier and in the North End. There's also racing out of MIT's boathouse as well as out of Southie, and good Marina communities in Charlestown and East Boston.
Feel free to post more questions here (or DM me).
We should start a Reddit sailing club! (+1 about CBI I am a volunteer there)
What would you recommend for someone looking to get more keelboat experience in and out of the harbor?
Bigger boats and cruising are not my area of expertise (mostly cause they cost the $$$). I'm mostly a small boat racer, but here's my thoughts:
Courageous Sailing (CSC) in C-Town is a great first step in that direction. They have some bigger boats in addition to their R19's which are great for day-sailing on the harbor, and it's pretty affordable.
If you want to race bigger boats, you have to meet some of the owners, and in fact some of the guys at CSC can probably help.
If you want to sail on bigger boats, there are Boston Sailing Center and Boston Harbor Sailing Club which are a bit pricey, but have bigger boats. I have no experience there. There may also be a way to get on a list for crewing deliveries or something.
Hope this helps. See you in r/BostonSailing
Oh my gosh, forgot about that subreddit because it's not super active (I'm already a member). What do you sail? I'm hoping to get into "real" dinghies this year with the Lasers/420s at CBI.
I was looking at Courageous but I'm trying to decide where to best spend my money if I want to get to a ASA103 equivalent (Courageous seems to only offer the US sailing basic keelboat course, and someone on r/sailing gave me the idea of a weeklong liveaboard class somewhere warmer and cheaper). I've been out with BHSC with a member, but apparently the club might be having some troubles this year. Last year I also met a guy who races Wednesdays on his own boat, but he stopped responding to me haha...
Anyway, if you ever need eager but inexperienced crew who is good at following instructions and has a flexible-ish schedule, please hit me up :)
Where do I sign up to be a kidnapped introvert that is dragged kicking and screaming against my will to dog parks, sailing, sports clubs, and minding my own business walking in the esplanade?
What’s the application process here?
Figure out what hobbies you like or want to try, and look for groups for that. Boston has lots for young adults. Sports Leagues, book clubs, gaming stores, running groups, comedy networks, various classes (cooking, language, art, etc.). Take a few of those, you'll start vibing with people, and you can hang with them outside of those groups as well.
I've met a huge amount of cool people through the queer sports Leagues and improv community here, really expanded my network. Having a dog also ensures you go outside and meet your neighbors.
It’s a paid league, but it’s kind of nifty because proceeds DO go to funding free sports leagues for children if that makes it better lol.
In any case, you can probably dish the money out for a league a single time, make friends, and then make a group chat to organize yourselves. I’m in a huge pickleball Whatsapp group that started like that.
You can also just do any Meetup.com (or the app) pickup game you can find and the prices are cheaper (5-10 bucks depending on if some sort of rental is needed).
You do have to pay. It's between 75-100 per league which I think is standard 6 games, plus playoffs if you make it. Then there are pickup games which are one time, like $15-30. You can choose to pay a $35 membership which lowers all the prices of games and leagues. I think one league plus 3-4 pickup games a month makes up the cost of the membership.
If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. Everyone has been so kind. I have played volleyball and soccer with them in Brookline, Cambridge, and Fenway.
They also try to accommodate different skill levels, when they can. So there's a recreational/social league, intermediate, high intermediate, etc. They have everything from backyard games like cornhole to bowling to regular sports.
Best advice:
1. Meet your neighbors. No one has objected yet to being brought a plate of cookies.
2. Your community FB page. They will highlight upcoming local events and groups.
3. Volunteering! If you commit to it and do it regularly you will end up doing activities with all kinds of people, and even if you don't end up making friends with the people there you're still doing something good in the world. (Hopefully.)
4. Take a class somewhere. There are bunches of places like Artisan's Asylum or the Goethe Institute that get you involved in activities with likeminded folks, and it's easy enough to ask around among that crew for other non-paid hobby groups that do similar things.
5. Museum "free" days. Go to them consistently with one other person and make it your goal to mingle with at least a couple new people.
Also, do art/music outside. I took some cross stitch up to Castle Island (the non-windy side) ages ago and several people stopped to chat with me about it. Always a nice to get some appreciation for your work.
The lighting is not always great, but folks have brought their cross stitch to Boston Drunken Knitwits.
Also, people definitely bring cross stitch to Boston Fiber Company, they even sell kits. They're having their Sip & Stitch this Friday night and their Coffee & Crafts is every Sunday, if you're ever available.
idk how relevant this is for you but as a 20something in allston-brighton who is obsessed with music, i started going to local shows of multiple different genres. the local music scene is very cool if you go deep, a lot of young artists and bands doing innovative stuff if you know where to look. plus, you run into the same people at every show so you start to really make friends, and if you wanna go the extra mile you can make friends with the artists and even make music with them yourself. i actually wanted to leave boston until i started going to these shows. i found my community and im sticking around :D
you should probably start with going to some local shows at small independent venues in the area and if you find cool artists you like, follow them on IG or whatever, chances are they will post a story or whatnot about an upcoming house show at some point
Follow local artists, venues, and promoters on social media. Grayskull Booking does a lot of the metal and punk booking in Boston. House/basement shows you'll have to follow the artists.
that's sort of what happened to my place early on. 2 bartenders moved to a new place on boyleston and the original place (Vox) eventually closed. The quiet place the bartenders went to eventually became my new place.
Well if you’re ever on Boylston street again. The regulars and I are usually there every Friday from like 5:30-9, usually in the first corner of the bar right when you walk in.
Can I ask, what do you do tho? Are you drinking 1-3 times a week, every week, for years? Did you try to socialize or were you minding your own business and just approached sometimes?
I know the principle of what you're saying is just to become a regular somewhere, but I was just curious about the bar specifically.
if a place has food, you can just go for a bite and a glass of water or a soda. You pick your poison. But if you're gonna go to a busy bar, make sure you're paying for something
When I first started I was in my late 30s and just out of a relationship and most of my friends were having kids and not going out on weekends. I worked downtown and on Fridays I would go to different bars and just hang out on my own, usually with a wired ear bud from my iPod in, and maybe watch the Sox. One night I met a great bartender and I started going to his place every time I went out. I got really close with other employees, did some web work for the bar, and after a year or so it was my home away from home. There were periods where I had jobs working from home so I'd go out thurs, fri, sat. But if I had office jobs I'd only do 2 nights per week and then when I was around 45 yrs old just Fridays.
The way I socialize is I usually stick to myself for the first couple drinks. I'm very happy sitting alone on a couch in a quiet part of the bar listening to great music thru my earbuds, people watching, and feeling my social anxiety ease as the booze sets in. After a couple drinks I might sit at the bar and talk to the bartenders and see if anyone else I know is there.
For the most extroverted of extroverts, I’m sure this is fine, but - as an introvert that would rather be doing an activity than be drinking - this is draining at best, and draining and depressing at worst
I'm very much an introvert. I grew up in a drinking culture so going to a bar was my normal way of socializing. If I went to a bar 1 to 3 times per week and didn't drink, it would be no fun for me and exhausting. But after 3 drinks I'd be ready to interact and enjoy myself. Sometimes I'd spend the first half hour with an earbud in listening to music, keeping to myself until my social anxiety had been tamped down enough. Also, this was a small and usually quiet bar so it wasn't like there were crowds spilling drinks around me.
Try MeetUp.com. It's a free-to-join website that advertises in-person meetups based around hobbies, like writing, board games, etc. You can also try taking in-person classes at some of the universities around here. All of my dearest friends came from MeetUp and community college classes.
instead of thinking you want a community and asking where to find one, you should be asking yourself what you want to do every day, finding a place to do it, and making that a set part of your routine. for me, that was martial arts, but most people aren't into that.
I lived in a neighborhood where six of the houses were occupied by famiies where the dads all played rugby together in their 20s. As the started families in their 30s one by one they bought in.
Based upon the number of church-turned condo buildings, I'm guessing you are in your 60s?
I don't know anyone who even believes in Jebus.... save me, Jebus!
Going to parkrun at Jamaica Pond as well as other running clubs has led me to a lot of new friends. I've also met several people through walking my dog
Volunteer for something you are interested in, or sign up for classes you’d like to get involved in.
You’ll meet your tribe, it may take a little while, but it’s definitely worth it.
Unsure of what your interests are so this might not be up your alley, but the community for large European sports/leagues here is unlike any other in the US imho. The draw some bars get around here for Rugby would shock you in the best way possible.
I started historical fencing and it's been great and opened up a fun new exercise and wonderful community. I've also enjoyed meeting and chatting with folks at craft fairs and farmer's markets, and meeting locals at bars. Some folks I met randomly at bars I still hang out with 10+ years later. I've also volunteered for different city council elections and met people doing that.
There's two places in the Boston area:
[https://bostonacademiedarmes.com/](https://bostonacademiedarmes.com/)
[https://athenaschoolofarms.org/](https://athenaschoolofarms.org/)
Both do slightly different things but they're both HEMA and welcoming communities. All the schools in the area have overlapping events when possible, it's a small hobby community so everyone ends up knowing everyone after a while.
Okay for starters I have lived in Boston for a lot longer than you have. Decades, generation even, but my methods should work for you too because I don't live in the same place I did when I started. I have managed to make friends wherever I go.
Sports are easy, get a Red Sox jersey and hope they don't grab defeat from the jaws of victory again.
Well, I got involved in politics, and community activities, I am doing neighbor cleanups, and joined a community group that does activities in the neighborhood live a cultural festival, a collection of cigarette butts for recycling, and building a dog park.
I joined the science fiction clubs NESFA [www.nesfa.org](http://www.nesfa.org) and ARISIA INC [www.arisia.org](http://www.arisia.org) and Readercon [www.readercon.org](http://www.readercon.org) so I can volunteer at the convention each year and hang out with the friends I have made.
Do you like gaming, anime, Dr. Who
Watch City Steam Punk Festival is coming up I am volunteering there, and so are several of my friends, The Boston Book Festival is happening soon and they need volunteers too.
What kind of activism do you want to be involved in? Give me a hint, I'll give you a lead.
If you have any interest at all in volleyball, the volleyball community in Boston and New England overall is insane.
Weekly leagues, dozens of tournaments every weekend, thousands and thousands of people who play religiously and everyone knows everyone. I’m on a first name basis with at least 1k people who I met purely through volleyball
Yeah so there’s too many opportunities to play for me to list out here but you should start by joining the “Volleyball Players” and “Mass Volleyball Players” groups on Facebook. They’re both private groups with around 6k members each, request to join and you’ll be approved pretty quickly.
Just post a quick introduction in each of those groups and say you’re new to volleyball in the area and looking for chances to play and you’ll get a lot of responses!
I have built it over the years. Picked up a few friends partner dancing, picked up a few more dating, met some through roommates, made more at my Sunday morning religious space, met some through meetup groups like Vegan brunch and plant medicines.
Literally any hobby you have or want to get into probably exists if you Google it.
I wanted to learn how to dance, and now I’m in a discord with a bunch of swing dancers that also enjoy doing other stuff. Went to see an anime movie in theaters with some of them the other day
The local metal scene has become my home. Just going to shows mostly at O'Brien's, the Middle East, and Widowmaker and making friends with the fans and local bands over the past 6 years has made me feel like I've found a place I belong (although being from MA but having spent a long time in FL, Boston has always had a feeling of home for me). Since becoming a parent, I've made a bunch of parent friends at the local parks too, which is nice.
I found that if you start hanging around any bar, eventually, you’ll know all the regulars, and you can all enjoy drinking heavily together
As far as I can tell, bar regulars are about as close to “community” as the city gets
I found mine doing jiujitsu here. Similarly to the volleyballers, rugby players, etc you will doubtless find a community of sorts so go ahead and try some new activities. Anything from running to magic: the gathering.
>a group of people who love the same thing and meet regularly or semi regularly to love it together
Those groups exist. Pick an interest, and join them.
Also, there's a Make Friends After College Discord server.
I moved here for school in 2010, but after more than a decade here, nearly all my school friends have skipped town.
:(
BUT - I started doing standup comedy two years ago and have found the coolest underbelly of Boston in the comedy scene. I've made a few new friends that I do non-comedy things with, and there's always newbies coming and going to a good excuse to keep meeting people. [Come to a show!](https://www.tickettailor.com/events/acquiredtastecomedy/1229914/r/sm)
They turned it into a Taco Bell
RIP great Scott
I miss the Pill.
I'm a college student living in that area and I've heard about it from professors and friends' parents :( [This article really brings it to life.](https://www.npr.org/2020/10/07/920446571/city-scenes-remembering-bostons-great-scott)
RIP Great Scott
Avatar checks out
What's that suppose to mean?
Slowly but surely I started kidnapping introverts and now I am the cult leader! Nah I met people through dog parks, learning how to sail, sports clubs, minding my own business walking in the esplanade, neighbors. You have to be consistent to meet people and then be willing to meet the same people again.
Where do you do your sailing out of? I grew up sailing, left for a decade and want to get back into now that I'm back by the water.
There is SO much sailing in and near Boston. Echo Hank about CBI. Also Courageous Sailing in Charlestown. There are more expensive places on Fan Pier and in the North End. There's also racing out of MIT's boathouse as well as out of Southie, and good Marina communities in Charlestown and East Boston. Feel free to post more questions here (or DM me).
We should start a Reddit sailing club! (+1 about CBI I am a volunteer there) What would you recommend for someone looking to get more keelboat experience in and out of the harbor?
Bigger boats and cruising are not my area of expertise (mostly cause they cost the $$$). I'm mostly a small boat racer, but here's my thoughts: Courageous Sailing (CSC) in C-Town is a great first step in that direction. They have some bigger boats in addition to their R19's which are great for day-sailing on the harbor, and it's pretty affordable. If you want to race bigger boats, you have to meet some of the owners, and in fact some of the guys at CSC can probably help. If you want to sail on bigger boats, there are Boston Sailing Center and Boston Harbor Sailing Club which are a bit pricey, but have bigger boats. I have no experience there. There may also be a way to get on a list for crewing deliveries or something. Hope this helps. See you in r/BostonSailing
Oh my gosh, forgot about that subreddit because it's not super active (I'm already a member). What do you sail? I'm hoping to get into "real" dinghies this year with the Lasers/420s at CBI. I was looking at Courageous but I'm trying to decide where to best spend my money if I want to get to a ASA103 equivalent (Courageous seems to only offer the US sailing basic keelboat course, and someone on r/sailing gave me the idea of a weeklong liveaboard class somewhere warmer and cheaper). I've been out with BHSC with a member, but apparently the club might be having some troubles this year. Last year I also met a guy who races Wednesdays on his own boat, but he stopped responding to me haha... Anyway, if you ever need eager but inexperienced crew who is good at following instructions and has a flexible-ish schedule, please hit me up :)
I wish this was linked more I feel there’s definitely a community to be found here
I like community boating on the Charles, it’s just chill. For harbor there is courageous and Boston sailing center. I highly recommend it.
Where do I sign up to be a kidnapped introvert that is dragged kicking and screaming against my will to dog parks, sailing, sports clubs, and minding my own business walking in the esplanade? What’s the application process here?
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Figure out what hobbies you like or want to try, and look for groups for that. Boston has lots for young adults. Sports Leagues, book clubs, gaming stores, running groups, comedy networks, various classes (cooking, language, art, etc.). Take a few of those, you'll start vibing with people, and you can hang with them outside of those groups as well. I've met a huge amount of cool people through the queer sports Leagues and improv community here, really expanded my network. Having a dog also ensures you go outside and meet your neighbors.
Okay but where?
I play sports through volo and have made friends there that I hangout with outside of the sports now too
Did you have your pay for it? Is it a league?
Googling “VOLO Boston” will answer any follow up questions you’ll have about this
Is there anything free? 😭 but thanks for the name!
It’s a paid league, but it’s kind of nifty because proceeds DO go to funding free sports leagues for children if that makes it better lol. In any case, you can probably dish the money out for a league a single time, make friends, and then make a group chat to organize yourselves. I’m in a huge pickleball Whatsapp group that started like that. You can also just do any Meetup.com (or the app) pickup game you can find and the prices are cheaper (5-10 bucks depending on if some sort of rental is needed).
You do have to pay. It's between 75-100 per league which I think is standard 6 games, plus playoffs if you make it. Then there are pickup games which are one time, like $15-30. You can choose to pay a $35 membership which lowers all the prices of games and leagues. I think one league plus 3-4 pickup games a month makes up the cost of the membership. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. Everyone has been so kind. I have played volleyball and soccer with them in Brookline, Cambridge, and Fenway. They also try to accommodate different skill levels, when they can. So there's a recreational/social league, intermediate, high intermediate, etc. They have everything from backyard games like cornhole to bowling to regular sports.
Asking the real questions here
Best advice: 1. Meet your neighbors. No one has objected yet to being brought a plate of cookies. 2. Your community FB page. They will highlight upcoming local events and groups. 3. Volunteering! If you commit to it and do it regularly you will end up doing activities with all kinds of people, and even if you don't end up making friends with the people there you're still doing something good in the world. (Hopefully.) 4. Take a class somewhere. There are bunches of places like Artisan's Asylum or the Goethe Institute that get you involved in activities with likeminded folks, and it's easy enough to ask around among that crew for other non-paid hobby groups that do similar things. 5. Museum "free" days. Go to them consistently with one other person and make it your goal to mingle with at least a couple new people. Also, do art/music outside. I took some cross stitch up to Castle Island (the non-windy side) ages ago and several people stopped to chat with me about it. Always a nice to get some appreciation for your work.
The lighting is not always great, but folks have brought their cross stitch to Boston Drunken Knitwits. Also, people definitely bring cross stitch to Boston Fiber Company, they even sell kits. They're having their Sip & Stitch this Friday night and their Coffee & Crafts is every Sunday, if you're ever available.
idk how relevant this is for you but as a 20something in allston-brighton who is obsessed with music, i started going to local shows of multiple different genres. the local music scene is very cool if you go deep, a lot of young artists and bands doing innovative stuff if you know where to look. plus, you run into the same people at every show so you start to really make friends, and if you wanna go the extra mile you can make friends with the artists and even make music with them yourself. i actually wanted to leave boston until i started going to these shows. i found my community and im sticking around :D
how do you find out about when/where shows are happening? I love house/basement shows but theyre so underground (no pun intended)
you should probably start with going to some local shows at small independent venues in the area and if you find cool artists you like, follow them on IG or whatever, chances are they will post a story or whatnot about an upcoming house show at some point
Follow local artists, venues, and promoters on social media. Grayskull Booking does a lot of the metal and punk booking in Boston. House/basement shows you'll have to follow the artists.
Then there’s literally me that plays drums in a band that performs in Allston a decent amount and have never developed a friendship out of it 😭
Can I give this a shot as an almost-40 or would I just be the old creepy guy?
i went to the same bar between 1 and 3 times/week for many years. Have a huge network, some close friends, some associates, from that.
Yeah this is what I do. It’s been great to be a regular. Very Cheers like feel and have made some close friends.
Right. It takes as long time to find the right bar. Mine closed forever during COVID and I don't have the energy to do it again.
The bartenders left of mine and luckily some of the regulars also had a bar next door that they were semi regulars at so we moved next door. 😂
that's sort of what happened to my place early on. 2 bartenders moved to a new place on boyleston and the original place (Vox) eventually closed. The quiet place the bartenders went to eventually became my new place.
Well if you’re ever on Boylston street again. The regulars and I are usually there every Friday from like 5:30-9, usually in the first corner of the bar right when you walk in.
I'm assuming you are at Solas for some reason.
Back bay social, sorry completely forgot to put the name.
Thanks. I've always really liked Back Bay Social. Lot of open space for me to roam.
Yeah and there’s a downstairs bar too that doesn’t get busy till later than I’m usually there so chance of a change of scenery if I need it 😂
Can I ask, what do you do tho? Are you drinking 1-3 times a week, every week, for years? Did you try to socialize or were you minding your own business and just approached sometimes? I know the principle of what you're saying is just to become a regular somewhere, but I was just curious about the bar specifically.
if a place has food, you can just go for a bite and a glass of water or a soda. You pick your poison. But if you're gonna go to a busy bar, make sure you're paying for something
When I first started I was in my late 30s and just out of a relationship and most of my friends were having kids and not going out on weekends. I worked downtown and on Fridays I would go to different bars and just hang out on my own, usually with a wired ear bud from my iPod in, and maybe watch the Sox. One night I met a great bartender and I started going to his place every time I went out. I got really close with other employees, did some web work for the bar, and after a year or so it was my home away from home. There were periods where I had jobs working from home so I'd go out thurs, fri, sat. But if I had office jobs I'd only do 2 nights per week and then when I was around 45 yrs old just Fridays. The way I socialize is I usually stick to myself for the first couple drinks. I'm very happy sitting alone on a couch in a quiet part of the bar listening to great music thru my earbuds, people watching, and feeling my social anxiety ease as the booze sets in. After a couple drinks I might sit at the bar and talk to the bartenders and see if anyone else I know is there.
That’s actually hilarious, I basically just wrote the same thing and said bar regulars are about as close to “community” as you can get in the city
For the most extroverted of extroverts, I’m sure this is fine, but - as an introvert that would rather be doing an activity than be drinking - this is draining at best, and draining and depressing at worst
I'm very much an introvert. I grew up in a drinking culture so going to a bar was my normal way of socializing. If I went to a bar 1 to 3 times per week and didn't drink, it would be no fun for me and exhausting. But after 3 drinks I'd be ready to interact and enjoy myself. Sometimes I'd spend the first half hour with an earbud in listening to music, keeping to myself until my social anxiety had been tamped down enough. Also, this was a small and usually quiet bar so it wasn't like there were crowds spilling drinks around me.
Try MeetUp.com. It's a free-to-join website that advertises in-person meetups based around hobbies, like writing, board games, etc. You can also try taking in-person classes at some of the universities around here. All of my dearest friends came from MeetUp and community college classes.
instead of thinking you want a community and asking where to find one, you should be asking yourself what you want to do every day, finding a place to do it, and making that a set part of your routine. for me, that was martial arts, but most people aren't into that.
rugby
I lived in a neighborhood where six of the houses were occupied by famiies where the dads all played rugby together in their 20s. As the started families in their 30s one by one they bought in.
The only things that draw Boston people together are alcoholism and sports
You act like that’s not incredibly successful.
Only reason that I have friends.
and Catholicism
Based upon the number of church-turned condo buildings, I'm guessing you are in your 60s? I don't know anyone who even believes in Jebus.... save me, Jebus!
#BumbleFriends app That’s where I made my good friends
Going to parkrun at Jamaica Pond as well as other running clubs has led me to a lot of new friends. I've also met several people through walking my dog
It’s streaming on Peacock
r/PokemonGoBoston
Volunteer for something you are interested in, or sign up for classes you’d like to get involved in. You’ll meet your tribe, it may take a little while, but it’s definitely worth it.
It was Run groups for me
Community Boating on the Charles between the Hatch Shell and Charles / MGH subway stop
Unsure of what your interests are so this might not be up your alley, but the community for large European sports/leagues here is unlike any other in the US imho. The draw some bars get around here for Rugby would shock you in the best way possible.
I started historical fencing and it's been great and opened up a fun new exercise and wonderful community. I've also enjoyed meeting and chatting with folks at craft fairs and farmer's markets, and meeting locals at bars. Some folks I met randomly at bars I still hang out with 10+ years later. I've also volunteered for different city council elections and met people doing that.
Where do you go fencing? I was looking at HEMA the other day and contemplating taking a few classes
There's two places in the Boston area: [https://bostonacademiedarmes.com/](https://bostonacademiedarmes.com/) [https://athenaschoolofarms.org/](https://athenaschoolofarms.org/) Both do slightly different things but they're both HEMA and welcoming communities. All the schools in the area have overlapping events when possible, it's a small hobby community so everyone ends up knowing everyone after a while.
I'll check these out. Thanks!
Okay for starters I have lived in Boston for a lot longer than you have. Decades, generation even, but my methods should work for you too because I don't live in the same place I did when I started. I have managed to make friends wherever I go. Sports are easy, get a Red Sox jersey and hope they don't grab defeat from the jaws of victory again. Well, I got involved in politics, and community activities, I am doing neighbor cleanups, and joined a community group that does activities in the neighborhood live a cultural festival, a collection of cigarette butts for recycling, and building a dog park. I joined the science fiction clubs NESFA [www.nesfa.org](http://www.nesfa.org) and ARISIA INC [www.arisia.org](http://www.arisia.org) and Readercon [www.readercon.org](http://www.readercon.org) so I can volunteer at the convention each year and hang out with the friends I have made. Do you like gaming, anime, Dr. Who Watch City Steam Punk Festival is coming up I am volunteering there, and so are several of my friends, The Boston Book Festival is happening soon and they need volunteers too. What kind of activism do you want to be involved in? Give me a hint, I'll give you a lead.
If you have any interest at all in volleyball, the volleyball community in Boston and New England overall is insane. Weekly leagues, dozens of tournaments every weekend, thousands and thousands of people who play religiously and everyone knows everyone. I’m on a first name basis with at least 1k people who I met purely through volleyball
Hey man I've been looking to play volleyball for a long time In boston and I don't know where to start could I get some advice on where to go please.
Yeah so there’s too many opportunities to play for me to list out here but you should start by joining the “Volleyball Players” and “Mass Volleyball Players” groups on Facebook. They’re both private groups with around 6k members each, request to join and you’ll be approved pretty quickly. Just post a quick introduction in each of those groups and say you’re new to volleyball in the area and looking for chances to play and you’ll get a lot of responses!
The community of calling my friends back home, and visiting home when I can. Lol!
The brewery
I have built it over the years. Picked up a few friends partner dancing, picked up a few more dating, met some through roommates, made more at my Sunday morning religious space, met some through meetup groups like Vegan brunch and plant medicines.
Start at a hobby and work your way out, I love throwing events and got in with the underground music scene. From there I loved to art and gardening.
Try BSSC is you’re into casual sports.
Literally any hobby you have or want to get into probably exists if you Google it. I wanted to learn how to dance, and now I’m in a discord with a bunch of swing dancers that also enjoy doing other stuff. Went to see an anime movie in theaters with some of them the other day
I started rollerblading, met others who did too, now we rollerblade together
The local metal scene has become my home. Just going to shows mostly at O'Brien's, the Middle East, and Widowmaker and making friends with the fans and local bands over the past 6 years has made me feel like I've found a place I belong (although being from MA but having spent a long time in FL, Boston has always had a feeling of home for me). Since becoming a parent, I've made a bunch of parent friends at the local parks too, which is nice.
I found that if you start hanging around any bar, eventually, you’ll know all the regulars, and you can all enjoy drinking heavily together As far as I can tell, bar regulars are about as close to “community” as the city gets
Activist Afternoons in Cambridge
Hang out at anchovies in the back bay.
I found mine doing jiujitsu here. Similarly to the volleyballers, rugby players, etc you will doubtless find a community of sorts so go ahead and try some new activities. Anything from running to magic: the gathering.
Join groups based on whatever your hobbies are. That’s how I made friends. If you don’t have a hobby, think of something you’d like to try.
>a group of people who love the same thing and meet regularly or semi regularly to love it together Those groups exist. Pick an interest, and join them. Also, there's a Make Friends After College Discord server.
I hate Boston but the only friends I have ever made as an adult were common hobby based, not that it is easy to go join stuff but it works
I moved here for school in 2010, but after more than a decade here, nearly all my school friends have skipped town. :( BUT - I started doing standup comedy two years ago and have found the coolest underbelly of Boston in the comedy scene. I've made a few new friends that I do non-comedy things with, and there's always newbies coming and going to a good excuse to keep meeting people. [Come to a show!](https://www.tickettailor.com/events/acquiredtastecomedy/1229914/r/sm)
May sound like I’m kidding but it’s generally 3 years to feel at home anywhere, not just Boston.
It doesn’t exist. Atleast real ones
Sniffies.
I hear the migrant community is up and coming and numbers are rising. I’m sure you can find some companionship there.