I attended my first Meetup group last weekend. Just in case you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years and don’t know what meet-ups are, I’ll explain.
Meetup is a product of the technology age. Old by tech standards, Meetup was started in 2001 as a way for people to band together around a shared interest or activity. Meetup got its first boost as a way for political candidates to organize rallies. Since then, meetups have evolved for a multitude of interests.
It is simple use and a perfect way for new retirees to explore activities and meet people with shared interests. Get started by going to meetup.com. Because meetup is programmed by location, you enter your location and how many miles you’re willing to travel to meet a group. Automatically, all the meetup groups within your geographical parameters will appear.
Once you have your list of groups, you can learn a lot about them before ever going to a meeting. Read a description of the purpose of the group, how many members, how they often the meet and what they do when they get together.
Most meetups are inexpensive to join. Generally, you visit a group before you actually decide to become a member. Some meetups are geared towards different lifestyles, such as singles or gay/lesbian groups. There are political meetups, business networking groups, spiritual and alternative healthcare groups. Then there are groups for a wide range of recreational and leisure activities.
My husband and I went to a photography meetup. My husband also belongs to a jeeping meetup. Many of the meetups on our area are focused on physically activities such as hiking or boating.
If you don’t find a meetup that you like, it’s very easy to start one on your own. Meetup is an example of how we can use technology to improve our lives. Have you joined a meetup. What types of meetups are in your area?
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