Experiences of meetup.com?

blinkwink

I see meetup.com recommended here on PI quite a bit and I am thinking about going on one. Just wondering what are your experiences of going to one.

Not 100% a personal issue, per se, but I just want to see what people make of it.

purifol0

Been awhile since I went to anything and the main reason is all the meetups now are "tech" based. Also quite envious of all the stuff for the gay community on it, they've really got a great social life in Dublin.

The writers meetups "share and critique" were great but sadly it's dead now. Used to be board and card games on a Wednesday night but now that's only weekends and I can't make those. We're great fun, meet a lot of foreigners and couchsurfers new to Dublin trying to make friends

Still If there's a good amount of people going to something social and not mental (there's a lot of crazy stuff on it) you should give it a go.

ILoveYourVibes

Never heard of it. But links don't work.

I don't do online dating or socializing. Its not for me. But lots of people do and have good stories.

So i think its highly individual. You might like it you might not. Its probably the luck of the draw too.

eviltwin

I've been using it for years and have run groups in the past. It's great and two of my closest friends are people I met from meetup. Its like anything, it's got its good stuff and it's not so good stuff. Obviously most of the groups are Dublin based so if you aren't in the city that will limit you. You also need to commit to it, you won't make friends if you aren't consistent with your attendance. Overall its a great site and a great way to meet people and improve your social life.

Wanderer2010

A lot of people on it are only there to meet a partner, that's the reality. Even though it isn't marketed as a website for dating or hooking up, a huge number of people only attend the "friends" type events in the hopes of meeting someone suitable and when they do they vanish from the group and you don't see them again. Nothing wrong with that per se, but if you go to an event thinking everyone is only interested in meeting new people with no agenda, that's not the case for a lot of them and you could find yourself just ticked on or off someone else's list of potential partners!

Ubbquittious

I run a hill walking meetup group with the past 3 years. Have over 2500 members now, I find it quite good definitely brightens up my weekend and it brings out a lot of people who would stay at home. The site has it's problems but if you're only an attendee and not an organiser you're shielded from most of that.

Your experience will depend heavily on what kind of group you go to and how closely it matches your interest. Aim for one that is based around an actual activity and not just sitting in a pub

PHG

I moved to Sweden on my own. Was a great way to meet people as cannot play sports anymore due to injury.

Started off with a coffee morning group on a Saturday (needed something to do at the weekend besides doing the tourist thing all the time). Made a few friends and was good for loneliness and meeting people in the same boat. Was also great for confidence and to talk to other people. Now means I'm busy most weekends and meet people during the week. If you find the right group (can take a few goes at the same or different ones) then it is well worth it.

blarb

I go through bouts of using it - I find it great, although I'm quite an extroverted social type anyway so it suits me down to the ground.

I find my experience of it varies based on the group, the activity, the location (in Dublin versus rural). If you're near Dublin it definitely seems to have a great choice of groups dedicated to various activities and caters to specific groups of people (games, hillwalking, tennis, dancing, singles, gender, age, LGBTQ+). I've recently moved to another town and the only group is a general social group which tends towards alcohol-related meet-ups which is grand and all, but it takes effort to vary the activities (I'm not much of a drinker these days).


However there is only one way to find out for yourself There's generally no commitment involved and you can just go along and see what you think!

ILoveYourVibes

Op try it once if you don't like it then don't try it again.