How do I put myself out there?

LegacyUser

So as the title says, im wondering how do I put myself out there.
Im in my late 30's and have lived in the same town for most of my life, I always stuck with the same friends and im close to my family, ive always been very introverted and shy and never really knew how to approach people, start up conversations without looking weird or just get to know other people.
All my friends are now married with children and ive less people to hang out with and finding myself alone most of the time.
I was walking through the town this week and noticed that I knew absolutely no one, I could walk around town all day and never meet a single person im even acquainted to even to just say hello in passing or a quick nod of the head. Its a small enough town and ive lived here my whole life, I should at least recognise someone.
I would like to be more involved with people and the community, I would like to start meeting people outside my small circle but don't know how to go about it.
Ive looked up clubs and societies but there all either language exchange groups, mother and baby groups or sports related such as GAA, none of which interest me.
Ive looked up classes in the local area but again cant find anything that would suit me and there doesnt seem to be much on in the town that doesn't involve drinking, family events or events for groups of friends.
Ive also looked up volunteering locally, Ive been keeping an eye on the online volunteer website to see if anything comes up but nothing ever does, the only options are bag packing, collecting money on the street, online support for people and a few exploitative job types such as businesses looking for a volunteer cleaner or painter and decorator.
I always hear people say to join meetup or local clubs and societies, that's all well and good if I lived in somewhere like Dublin where lots of events take place but the town I live in doesnt seem to have allot of meetup events.
How does everyone else do it?

messy tessy

Is there a tidy towns in your locality? If so get involved. These types of organisations are always grateful to extra help and you can get to know other volunteers with the added bonus of doing a small bit of good.

pansophelia

Is there a Parkrun in your town? They are always looking for volunteers and lots of volunteers never actually run - they help out every week with timekeeping and marshalling. It’s usually a really sociable crowd and you can end up knowing lots of local people.