PICKLEBALL. I've lived in my town for 13 years. Only talked to a few neighbors. Discovered Pickleball last summer, and everything changed. I've made scores of friends, not only in my town, but from towns all over north NJ. No prior experience necessary, AND it's great cardio.

It's the fastest growing sport in the US for many reasons. One of the main reasons is, I can have the same amount of fun and cardio playing with my 7 year old kid, as I would with a 77 year old, and every age in between.

Stranger to stranger, TRUST ME. Pickleball is the answer to many of problems facing this country.

My brother recently got divorced and he does a few things. He has joined, i think bumble and bumble has a feature to look for "friends" and not relationships. The other thing he started to do was play pickleball and other activities where you meet people and play together. Maybe find hobbies and activities you may want to do and find them in a group setting. He moves alot and picks up 10 buddies pretty quickly.

We have roots in Arkansas, but I’m from Jersey originally.

Thanks for such a thoughtful answer! I actually worked at Greene's Beans in high school lol, went to HS in Hackettstown but haven't checked their sub so thanks for that. All great suggestions :) Maybe sometime I'll message you and get in touch with your fiancé, where did you move from? Welcome to Jersey!

Was definitely thinking about looking into a sports league, but honestly have never played a sport (did ballet through high school and that's a lonely activity lol) do you know off the top of your head if there are generally any leagues that are absolute beginner friendly?

Yes! I actually lived in downtown Easton in 2021 but didn't get to explore much because of COVID and Zoom university lol. Definitely worth going back and hanging out there more especially as the weather gets nicer.

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Social media. FB groups. Follow local events and venues. Instagram follow event organizers. Hobbies groups. Bumble and FB have a friend mode on their dating platform.

If you’re in the Hackettstown area, check out Greene’s Beans on High Street, they’re fairly popular with and staffed by younger people who are very friendly. You could also check the shops on Main Street, plenty of students from Centenary around there. Aside from the usual recommendations about breweries and bars and restaurants, there’s some cool niche art shops and clothing outlets that may have customers or staff you could talk with. I also recommend visiting r/hackettstown if you haven’t already.

There’s a Pinot’s Palette off 57 in Beattystown. I can’t speak to the clientele but it stands to reason you may find people to connect with there.

In the spring I recommend checking out the lavender farm in Port Murray. I’ve seen a few artists and a fair amount of young adults the past few times I’ve gone. It’s a beautiful place to connect over nature and flowers and such.

If you’re willing to go out on a limb, the local SCA chapter is having their annual Mudthaw this March up in Vasa Park in Mount Olive. There’s a fairly large group of locals around your age that I know will be there and they’re very welcoming to newcomers. You don’t need to dress up like a medieval character either, so no worries on that front.

Finally, if you’re simply trying to find one or two people in the area to get to know rather than feeling overly adventurous, I can put you in touch with my fiancé. We moved to the area from out of state and it sounds like you two are in the same boat. Your interests align, too, so you may be able to figure out some more things to do than I was able to think of off the top of my head.

Consider hiking groups (e.g., Sierra Club, NY-NJ Trail Conference, Appalachian Mountain Club, or maybe some local groups). Bicycling clubs (Princeton Wheelpersons -- or whatever PC moniker they assumed, Central Jersey Touring Society, etc.). Check out events and classes at county parks and colleges. Consider volunteering (Volunteer Match, or similar sites, maybe a first-aid squad if you're into such). There may even be hope for ski clubs (Princeton Ski Club, or others). SEAS if you're into sailing, or want to be.

Nature clubs are wonderful, but most of the participants will be middle aged or older. Great people, though, if you just want to be around great people: NJ Audubon, local Audubon Societies, Native Plant Society of NJ, maybe even the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team (which likely has younger participants).

If your into wellness. Start hiking. Lots of super friendly people.

Some libraries offer foreign language classes; yoga classes, free walkers group (they have planned walks throughout the year), Toastmasters, to name a few. I use to live in WC, and ended up moving because of lack of things to do or being too far away from things interesting to me.

This. :)

If your into working out. Gyms are a good place to meet people your age. Sense of community in helping someone

Hi… also warren checking in. It sucks! But there are ways. I’m on bumble bff, and joining a sports league in Morristown. Recently started going to trivia nights at bars in Morris county, chatting up some of the regulars while I’m there. Breweries and local businesses where hanging out is the main goal (maybe a coffee shop?) would be the way to go just to be a bit more social

Edit: when you go to hang out with anyone, see if their friends from home are around, etc. My brother’s friends are over all the time, and I’ve started connecting with them more, we started doing game nights and meal prep “parties”. My friend’s friends have just become part of the family now :)

Start playing disc golf, enter some tournaments, and there you go. I may be biased because it's how I make friends as an adult. Any hobbies will work. Just get involved in something you enjoy doing and you'll meet people who enjoy that thing.

Would you consider checking Easton or Bethlehem, PA out? I know this is a Jersey sub, but might make some cool connections.

Lol find a meet up or hobby/interest for that meet up and then go and meet people. Not too difficult, you’ll find a bunch of passionate NJ folks who’ll be friends.

For me it was Falconry, found a club, went to a meet and now hooked. Made a lot of good friends along the way.

It's tough here, IMO. But maybe it's hard to make new friends as an adult everywhere.

+100 - When I moved back I joined hiking clubs for young professionals, dog walking clubs, etc... and it worked out well for finding new friends/acquaintances.

I know people who have had some success meeting people on Bumble Bff. There's also meetup.com which might have some things you're interested in.

We spend a lot of time in easton. Not sure what part of the county you are in.

That's rough, Warren county is in the middle of nowhere. Best bet would be to join an adults sports league.

If you go to places for hobbies, that’s pretty much the best thing you can do. And then talk to people that are there for the same things.

Seriously dude, drove to jfk early morning, I can share more than 30 examples of this from my dashcam, couple of them hit me too. On SUV on 287, I think they just cleared windshield with wipers and drove onto 287, was stuck behind for a while. Same on Belt parkway.