Has anyone had success with Meet Ups?

Adding also horse riding.

My local riding school does lots of classes during the day for 'returner riders', so you get women (it's usually women) who are coming back into riding after raising families and they group them by ability. There's lots of laughing and one or two have gone on to own a shared horse between them. But even if you've never ridden before there are beginner groups too, and they tend to socialise after classes a lot.

To add…the weekly fee that they try to make you ‘think’ you need to pay, just gives additional perks. All of these ‘perks’ used to be free…things like being able to direct message anyone in your groups, see everyone’s photos and bio (a bit like dating apps!). However, just click past the fee bit and use the free stuff…you don’t need the perks. I’m a member of several groups…nobody pays the fee!

You don’t need to pay. They brought this in a couple of years ago…but there’s no need to. Just join some groups and attend some of their activities/events.

I joined in 2017 and have had some fantastic experiences, made lifelong friends and done things I’d never have done by myself.

What sort of activities do you like doing or want to be doing?

Tennis is a really sociable sport - or padel, or badminton. If you play ot ochle learn can you join a club or a league ?

There are 3 local parks near me looking for volunteers.

Choir (or band orchestral) also has been a great one.

A friend met her now husband when they both volunteered for Samaritans.

Cold water swimming attracts lots of like-minded middle aged women!

there are a lot of activities that are done in groups and facilitate chat. Some may involve a regular coffee or pub visit afterwards - others this comes later. I think the key is to find something that you are happy doing anyway and allow the friendships to grow from that.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/meetups

You could try this.

My best place to meet other women has been Pilates! It took a while but have a couple of good friends now. I'm in my early 50's

I used it 12 years ago, went to about 3 different groups. Made 3 friends and we are all still friends now, meet up regularly and have been on two holidays with one friend.

i did join one group but could never get on the meets as they were always full, they kicked me off for not attending- along with many others

It does lack an over 50s group presence

never paid meet ups but did pay the book club on attending

Problem is a lot of those things aren't aimed at people in their 40s/50s as I said before & aren't social groups as such.

Most will be for young parents & kids. Or for fitness classes.

But it's worth a try, maybe things have changed since I last looked around.

In London I’d go old school. Do you have any local independent cafés or nice pubs? A park or green space nearby? A station with a notice board? A heritage place of some sort? Maybe even an independent bookshop? There’ll be flyers about activities and events, local volunteering groups, choirs, gardening or running groups etc.
Turn up to one of their events and take it from there.

I’ve met people through volunteering at a charity shops -so you see them for a few hours once a week - then after a month or three you decide to go to cinema or something - I’m trying to say it’s a gradual thing and you make friends as you get to know them

I did meetup about 8 years ago and found it great for a while when I moved to a new city. I joined walking, theatre, nature and dining out groups. The organisers paid the sub and attendees paid a few quid per meeting direct to them, plus ticket/ meal costs or whatever. I got a new social life out of it so it worked for me. After a bit I made closer friendships/ joined smaller clubs so I didn't need it any more. A friend of mine used it in similar circumstances and recommended it to me.

When I first retired, I was 54 I went to a meet up group for hiking. It was an ok group and they used to meet locally. I clicked with two women well, I went for a year. One ended up having an affair and I found her going in to detail about it a bit much and to be honest I didn’t approve. It was at the stage that I had been thinking would be nice to meet up outside the group. I did meet up with the another woman outside the group but she was over enthusiastic too quickly and very intense.

I tried 3 other walking groups, through Facebook, local nature reserve and an NHS one. I have made one very good friend through these groups. I was in one for 4 years but it became almost too successful. There were 25 on the last walk I went on plus it became very much let’s all go away and get drunk and that’s not what I want.

I agree I used it for speed dating for friends. I have a lot of mates but they still work. Only 3 have been able to retire so young and they all live miles away.

Is this a specific thing designed for people to meet friends?
I have always found classes are just that - people go, often with a friend already, do the class and leave.

How do you "get an hour to see what someone is like" when you are doing Pilates, not chatting? How does that work?

I’m slightly older and all my kids have left so needed to do the same but wouldn’t pay for meet ups so ended up going to a wide variety of Pilates clasesss across town to find my new favourite and met lots of new people - it’s like speed dating for friends love it and I’ve met lots of new people. You get an hour to sense what someone is like and they about you which is perfect. I’m also going to keep doing this with other events through event brite

I used to be in a few groups about 20 years ago. It was fun and I met a lot of people. There were a few predatory single blokes you had to be wary of (this was in a hiking group, they had ulterior motives) but largely people were nice and genuine and it was a good way of building a bit of a community.

@Feadsisbanging from their own website

Meetup is free.
Meetup+ is not. It gives you a few extra features, but I don't know anyone who pays for this.

Ps if you find anything good, do post it on here!

I am also in London, in my 50s so a bit older than you, & I find it's not a great place for the middle aged when it comes to finding ways to meet people.

There are things for young parents, for millennial age groups & some things for seniors but people our kind of age seem to be missed out.

And things like choirs etc are quite expensive.
I more wanted a social meet up thing though.

Maybe it's just me . I haven't looked for a while, kind of gave up.

I’m a meetup host. You don’t need the sub to join groups or attend events. It just gives some perks.

You don't have to pay. I've attended online meets through the site and never paid anything.

MeetUp is free to attend events but the website makes that unclear. You have to specifically click that you don't want to subscribe now. They have more than doubled the subscription costs for organisers so a lot of non-profitmaking events have disappeared. In my area, a few groups are paid for by well-off people who are prepared to pay to keep the groups going which is really decent of them. I met one of my best friends through a MeetUp group and I regularly attend a group that has now left meetup due to the cost but meetUp is massively fading as people are put off by the grabby monitisation. I would suggest finding a group based on your interests by searching online more generally.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain @Feadsisbanging

No it isn't. It's free to join to attend groups. The paid membership is for being a group organiser.

You’re right! I’m not paying that.