Asking for myself and those who are looking for what good communities often provide: feeling of connection, purpose, a place to go, etc.
Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
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Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#2The community of dancers once I decided to learn Cuban Salsa. It was the best choice for me to feel happy.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#3The church is like a second family for me. I made so many great friends there!
Of course it will not be for everyone, but if you are open to it you can try.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#4jiujitsu though competition gets a little toxic and filled with egos, friday night magic and mtg in general was fun for a bit until i realized how much of a cash sink it is. skateboarding, snowboarding and to some extent surfing, thats more of a loner thing. bowls at the skatepark are usually fun, social and laid back.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#5Open source. I recently started getting back into submitting patches and hanging out on irc/matrix/discord.
I think a lot of the advice like "join the church" or "do an activity" are lost on chronically online people like myself.
For us, it should be "find an online community that makes you challenge yourself to improve", but it's hard to articulate that.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#6Church. Volunteering (best results serving meals, less success with food pantries). Poker games.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#7Ultimate (Frisbee)!
Been playing for 15 years at all levels, it's amazing!
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#8I played tennis in a rec league a long time ago. It was not community but a substitute for light social interaction.
I guess similar things exist for Golf and pickleball.
I grew up in India and now live in the U.S.
Socializing or being a part of a community is surprisingly very very hard.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#9Reached out to a group of acquittances (with no kids) a few years back to see if anyone wanted to play weekly D&D. 6 years later, I am now happy to call them friends.
Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?
#10Personally:
-sports: climbing gyms/trips/facebook groups/etc, bike groups (not exclusively biking alone), hiking trips, etc
Anecdotally: -drama clubs/local theatre productions -run clubs: while running is typically fairly isolated, there are social run clubs in cities that often go for a drink (no booze necessary) post-run -book clubs: random collections of people that discuss a book together -dinner clubs: sharing food with folks in a way where different people cook for others in turn -partying: most places have a community of folks that enjoy dancing and/or recreationals
Note that I believe that the strong relationships can come from overcoming a shared struggle, so if you can think of something that's difficult and with one or more other person/people, you will probably form a community around it over time (co-founders and cohorts are a great example).