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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?

#191

Post by bombcar »

slothtrop wrote: post #146
osdoorp wrote: post #114

Volunteering. And before you brush it out skeptically, like "oh yeah right, those people", it really doesn't have to be anything you don't care about. I volunteer at a boat house on the city lake nearby, just putting kids on pedal boats and kayaks. I don't even call it volunteering, I just love kayaks and water. It's amazing how your perspective of time and people and service shifts, when you spend some time being "i…

I intend to try some form of this once I have more leisure time. I'm a parent and I don't see it happening in the foreseeable future unless it involves my kids.

It's almost impossibly easy to find volunteer activities if you have kids, everything from daycare to school to field trips to soccer, they're almost always quite open to volunteer help.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#192

Post by silisili »

bombcar wrote: post #180
silisili wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Southwestern USA. Which is kinda funny as my wife hates it and wants to move because gardening here is really hard-to-impossible, but she doesn't want to give up our great neighborhood, so we're at an impasse.

Gardening should be possible in the southwest, but you may have to utilize greenhouses or whatever the opposite of one is. Much of the "desert" will bloom if you pour enough water on it (and drip irrigation does wonders). But you can't do a "midwest" style garden.

Right, and we're used to that style of gardening (and tropical, we've lived all over). Here the main problems are that the soil is completely garbage, it never rains, and there's too much sun. She's had limited success planting things in large bags full of garden soil, watering every day, and building a system of shades from the afternoon sun - it's just a big hassle compared to gardening in a lot of the eastern side of the US.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#194

Post by slothtrop »

foobarbecue wrote: post #173

I think community is the main reason (EDIT: I meant to say ONE OF THE main reasonS) people go to church, not for the magical guy-in-the-sky stuff. Someone here in my small beach city started a "Secular Society" which is a bit of a reaction to how religious this area is. The concept is that we don't have to be religious to get together and hang out. Only a couple meetings so far, but it's been fun!

I think it's a strong reason, but not the only one. Many people do, apparently, take comfort in things like faith and salvation (or a 'relationship' with God), creed, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#195

Post by bombcar »

jonah wrote: post #175

Volunteer public service organizations. Some years ago I was looking for an activity to get into that met the following needs: * Helps others * Physically active * Outdoors / in nature * Requires specialized skills * Gives back to the community I was entertaining things like the local trail building groups when an article about our local Search and Rescue team mentioned they were having a recruiting meeting the next…

The best thing about getting into one volunteer thing is you find out about tons of other ones; the people who volunteer often do so in various semi-related groups. And you can end up with some really fun volunteering opportunities.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#198

Post by xrd »

leesalminen wrote: post #150
ljsocal wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I joined a local Rotary club twenty years ago (in my mid-40s) and it’s become a pillar of my social health and personal productivity. Service clubs like Rotary (Lions, Kiwanis,etc) are facing an existential demographic crash right at a time when people have a renewed interest in IRL social/community engagement. Fingers crossed that resolves!

I tried applying to my local rotary club online in 2019. Basically just a web form expressing interest. I got an automated email saying someone would reach out in the next 30 days. I was met with complete radio silence. Never heard anything back at all. I was a Rotary exchange student 20 years ago which completely changed the trajectory of my life (for the better), and was excited to help the next generation with bec…

That's interesting to hear. I was also a Rotary exchange student to Japan. It was an incredible experience. I've thought about whether Rotary would be a good option personally or professionally but haven't tried it yet.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#199

Post by bombcar »

leesalminen wrote: post #150
ljsocal wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I joined a local Rotary club twenty years ago (in my mid-40s) and it’s become a pillar of my social health and personal productivity. Service clubs like Rotary (Lions, Kiwanis,etc) are facing an existential demographic crash right at a time when people have a renewed interest in IRL social/community engagement. Fingers crossed that resolves!

I tried applying to my local rotary club online in 2019. Basically just a web form expressing interest. I got an automated email saying someone would reach out in the next 30 days. I was met with complete radio silence. Never heard anything back at all. I was a Rotary exchange student 20 years ago which completely changed the trajectory of my life (for the better), and was excited to help the next generation with bec…

You'll find that groups like the Rotary or Knights of Columbus or the Shriners are almost technologically phobic - it's entirely possible that your automated email came from a web form and your interest was forwarded to an email box of a member who had died years ago.

Phone or in person is often the only way to get things done, unless there happens to be a tech-savvy person involved.

Re: Ask HN: Where have you found community outside of work?

#200

Post by kiliancs »

slothtrop wrote: post #146
osdoorp wrote: post #114

Volunteering. And before you brush it out skeptically, like "oh yeah right, those people", it really doesn't have to be anything you don't care about. I volunteer at a boat house on the city lake nearby, just putting kids on pedal boats and kayaks. I don't even call it volunteering, I just love kayaks and water. It's amazing how your perspective of time and people and service shifts, when you spend some time being "i…

I intend to try some form of this once I have more leisure time. I'm a parent and I don't see it happening in the foreseeable future unless it involves my kids.

See if you can look for (or create) opportunities for your kids to practice doing service, and support them. It's an important part of life, like exercise or intellectual growth.
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