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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?

#551

Post by conradkay »

unsupp0rted wrote: post #546
YellOh wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe buy earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones? The parent probably doesn't want their child to be crying either, but sometimes there's not much to be done.

I use AirPods Pro with aftermarket memory foam tips. They block about 50% of the noise of a crying child in the area. Not nearly enough.

Bose QuietComfort 35 with white noise playing on them should block anyone not yelling right at you. Bought mine used after some extensive research, but maybe there's something better nowadays. If you added foam earplugs and music to that you'd be deaf.

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

#552

Post by fuzzfactor »

circlefavshape wrote: post #514
xavriley wrote: post #32

It’s not been mentioned yet, but if you play music then going to jam sessions is a great way to meet people. You’re all on a journey together toward improving as musicians which helps things to gel. As a jazz musician I can find a jam session in pretty much any city I go to. If you don’t play you can always go just to listen, watch and be inspired

+1 Not a jazz guy, but open mics are a good way to meet people

Bluegrass jams too.

Seems like the less popular the genre, the more interactive the amateur musicians are.

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

#553

Post by jonmb »

no_butterscotch wrote: post #453
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…

One of my obstacles: it's a stones throw away from a retail/service job. Okay not really. But what I mean is, the way people respect you. My obstacle is my fear of being treated the way I was 15 years ago when I had to work retail before my professional career. In that sense I'm HAPPY that I work behind a computer screen. But I do think it's made me very isolated, introverted, and lonely.

One important difference is that in retail, you had to deal with it, or risk losing your job / getting written up. In volunteering, if someone is being a jerk to you then you can call them out on it. And I think it is less likely you’ll run into a jerk when you’re volunteering. It’s not like working at Walmart.

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

#554

Post by anirudh24seven »

no_butterscotch wrote: post #456
anirudh24seven wrote: post #444

Toastmasters. Attending my own club meetings, other club meetings, contests and conferences have been fun. We insist that speakers share their own original content and they usually share stories from their lives. Lots of networking offline via WhatsApp, Facebook and phone calls as well.

So you don't actually have to make toasts? Haha I'm scared of public speaking. What would a first meeting look like for someone like me?

No. There are several roles one can play in a meeting.

- Audience

- Prepared speech speaker (usually 5-7 mins. They speak on topics from their manual.)

- Table topics speaker (1-2 mins impromptu. Usually audience & non-role players are picked.)

- Prepared speech evaluator (2-3 mins)

- TMOD (The host of each meeting)

- General Evaluator

- Timer

- Ah-counter

- Grammarian

Usually, most clubs adjust according to guests. If guests are nervous, clubs are very encouraging. If guests are confident, clubs try to improve their speaking skills.

Usually first time guests are asked for their introduction and encouraged to speak on an impromptu topic. They are heavily applauded for getting over their stage fear. Most times, they are also voted as the best speaker of the day to encourage them.

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

#558

Post by paddy_m »

I race sailboats. Getting involved in an active fleet that hangs out afterwards is the single best way I have found to make friends. At one point in NYC I was racing on a J/24 part of a crew of 5, we raced against 15-20 other J/24s and all met at the docks after the race, every Tuesday from May until October. You are bound to make friends. Eventually you start getting invited onto other boats.

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

#559

Post by midiguy »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #505
swat535 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I'm a practicing Catholic and attend Church often with my fiancee. Everyone is welcome to even attend Mass (they just don't receive communion) and participate in activities that we organize. We also have many support groups for elderly, grieving families, young adults and so on. Additionally, if you want to do volunteer work, contact the closest Catholic Church. You can join pretty much all of the events regardl…

The issue I have with churches, specifically Catholic and other large ones, is belonging to and participating in an organization that has collectively done so many bad things to humans just doesn't sit well with me. Then there's the element of collecting money and hoarding it and its a huge turn off. You may say "the doors are open" and in fact they may be in your local church but official membership has requirements…

> I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join.

That's not entirely true. No legitimate catholic church would prohibit lgbtq couples from joining. The more conservative ones definitely would not condone their lifestyle, however, and probably none would agree to marry them. So if you are lgbtq you should probably just give some serious thought into more liberal denominations.

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

#560

Post by Yhippa »

silisili wrote: post #88

My neighborhood. When we moved in we sat out front every evening, and made small talk with every single person who walked by. Some were caught off guard, some kinda just waved and moved on, but most stopped to talk. What's interesting is that people who had lived in that neighborhood nearly 20 years together had never talked, and met for the first time as both stopped to chat at nearly the same time. Then we started…

This is so wholesome and has generally worked for us.

I have one thing to add if you can pull it off: get a dog, and walk the dog around then neighborhood. I've met so many cool people that way.

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