<p>I have friends from the local art association. I was also the architect for a business that has been bring together performers in the area - they are sponsoring poetry nights, local songwriters circles etc. It’s a nice group. My brother used to play on a coed soccer team. My sister-in-law has found an old-lady ice hockey group. Another sister-in-law sings in a chorus and is involved in local politics. All are good ways to meet people.</p>
<p>I’ve made friends from all over the world through my association with a rock group that I love.
I was a fan for a couple years before I joined their fan club.(the only other fan club I had ever joined was The Monkees, when I was 12) But I found out that members got first shot at the best concert tickets and entering the venue, it seemed like a good deal.
I also joined a volunteer fan organization that raises funds for causes the band supports. We not only host pre parties before the concert that raise money( with raffles, auction items…), but have a secret Santa and a holiday card exchange.
Many of the members meet up and travel together, and while I haven’t traveled farther than San Fransisco to see them, I’ve met other fans who have traveled much farther, especially as Seattle is kinda their home base so everyone wants to come here to see them.</p>
<p>I also second bookgroup.
We have been meeting every month for over 15 years. It’s not really about the books, but it gives a structure that provides more support than if we just meant to get together every month.
Originally most of us had daughters roughly the same age, but a few were friends & neighbors.
We’ve been through a lot.</p>
<p>I’ve made two of my closest friends while attending painting classes at a nearby preeminent art college. Both of them are teachers there (I attended both of their classes), both are male and both at least 15 years younger than myself. We frequently paint together on weekends or we meet at local museums.I also now socialize with their wives. All through my life I have had younger heterosexual male friends, I don’t know why, but there you have it.</p>
<p>This thread was supposed to be about odd ways one made friends, but most of these sound pretty normal. Shared interests…
I met one of my now good friends when she interviewed me when we were trying to arrange a dog rescue/adoption. She was the head of the local breed club and grilled me for a very long time over the phone. She is now a good, longtime friend.</p>
<p>By the way, DadII is looking for friends.He started a retirement thread about it.</p>
<p>She did say “ODDEST” but seems more interested in ideas, wherever they come from.</p>
<p>I am friends with my ex-husband’s second wife. How’s that for odd? :)</p>
<p>I invited one of H’s exes to our home for a nice turkey dinner. We met in mom and baby aerobics. We had exes attend our wedding. </p>
<p>I had to have radiation daily for two months at the same time everyday. Ran into the same people all the time and ended up very good friends with one. I don’t recommend this method though.</p>
<p>I recommend the local library - I have made many friends at my library (staff, library volunteers, and patrons who attend events with me ). Libraries usually have book groups (which have been mentioned already) but mine has concerts, movies, cooking classes, a knitting group, etc.</p>
<p>Our library has a board game night, which I am really interested in. It’s only monthly.</p>
<p>The ODDEST way I ever made a friend? I don’t think I’ve ever made a friend in an odd way.</p>
<p>Do you know your neighbors? If you don’t consider hosting a neighborhood party (it can be very informal), just invite everyone via a flyer on their door. </p>
<p>As new empty nesters H an I are renewing contact with people we use to hang out with before we all got so busy with raising kids.</p>
<p>I met a friend several years ago online (Girlfriendcircles), and I’ve also made several good friends through language exchange (they want to learn English, I want to use my German).</p>
<p>One of my friends keeps bugging me to join the Women Business Owners group in our county. Have to get up the gumption to just do it. Have also gotten much more involved at synagogue now that membership has decreased and they needs more hands on deck. Got back in touch with a couple of colleagues who I was friendly with in the mid-80s in Phila. Have had a couple wonderful get-togethers!</p>
<p>Also have a good-sized group of imaginary friends from CC who have turned into Real People. :)</p>
<p>So I heard this story many times when I was growing up. Way before I was born, my dad was driving one of my older brothers up to school for some sort of sports practice, when he was rear-ended by another car. Some ‘crazy’ woman got out of the car and wouldn’t stop talking to my dad, who just wanted to exchange information. Ends up, the sons of that crazy woman were in the same parochial school as my brothers, so over time they all got to know each other and my parents became good friends with the other parents. Many years later, I came along, and that crazy lady and her husband became my godparents - they were best friends with my parents for MANY years, and in fact, they are/were (godfather died a couple of years ago) D2’s godparents! </p>
<p>So yea, all due to a fender bender.</p>
<p>I lived in the midwest several years ago. I had just read that the way to tell if tires needed replaced was to put a penny in the thread and if it covered up the head of Lincoln then you were ok or something like that. I was out there checking out my civic with a penny in an apartment complex and a neighbor started talking with me thinking I had a problem. He was from Australia and an young engineer on some kind of exchange program. We became good friends and he even came to our wedding.
I am thinking that the theme here as well as the outher thread that started virtually the same time (three foundations) is GET OUT THERE. Very few people are going to show up at your door to be friends.</p>
<p>I became friends with one young man because we both agreed to be bumped from our flight and get a check from the airlines and catch the next flight. We corresponded for years. </p>
<p>Just watched ‘A long way down’ on netflix. that was a strange way to meet friends. good movie.</p>
<p>For me it was when I helped an organizer with a hoarder situation and the hoarder, now reformed to a large extent, and I got along well, now a close friend.</p>
<p>But I have met many people through cooking and food boards online. Chowhound meets and dinners and mostly and small board that I’ve been on for 15 years. Once I went out of state to a weekend with about 15 of them. Done local lunches with local one on the board and people who come through town that want to do foodie tours. I have seen a lot of food oriented meetups, like an ethnic food lunch club, but not joined any.</p>
<p>When i moved to a new town for my first job, a friend talked me into taking a ballroom dancing class. It was a lot of fun; i expanded my circle of friends; and i learned to how to cut a rug for future parties! :D/ </p>