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Do you know of any clubs that attract younger people? I'd prefer to not be 40 years younger than everyone at these clubs.

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This is one of the biggest problems I see for getting new friends as a millennial. About a year ago I got my amateur radio license. I started to talking to a few people locally and eventually went to club meetings and lunches. I'm in my mid-30s; almost everybody else involved in amateur radio in my area is old enough to be my parent or grandparent.

Well I'm in my 50s and wouldn't consider a single one of the clubs listed in the GP as I feel like the people in those clubs would all be older than me. (Plus I hate religious and quasi-religious organizations like those.) On the other hand, I've considered going to some meetups and usually don't because I'm sure I'd be the oldest person there. (Plus the few meetups I've gone to were mostly attended by people who were desperate for attention and socialization, or who were trying to sell stuff to the other members. But that may just be where I live.)

Thanks for unlocking the memory I have of getting my radio license in my early 20s. Got a lot of questions about why I was interested in radio, but in the sort of way that you might ask an alien what the purpose for their visit is.

Also if anybody is reading this and interested in radio - take the test! It's cheap and you can cram the material in a day.

I’ve visited a board game club before and there were only a few people over 30. And a lot of younger. Very fun if you like board games. Literally just people there to have fun. Some cute girls too if that’s what you’re looking for.

That's a great idea! I've seen these pop out of local game shops pretty often.

I have tried to participate in dozens of board game and programming clubs in my region, and while sometimes it turns out alright at first (as in I went back several times), every single one of them got derailed by identitarianism; mostly trans[whatever suffix is appropriate] people making the entire thing into drama about themselves, with a small spattering of political ideologues (of all bents) and race. All it takes is one bad apple and a bunch of others desperate to not offend to make a gathering shift from "we were just here to play scrabble" to "everyone needs to sign this petition about drag shows/police brutality/tenants rights/etc. if you want to be welcome in this diverse and inclusive group."

I don't want to go to the geriatric clubs who lament about how woke things are, either.

Just leave your bullshit at home, please.

I made a few friends through Reddit and LinkedIn. I build in public and it attracts some people. In other cases I was the one reaching out.

If you consider small online communities as a sort of club, you can make a few friends there.

Otherwise Meetup.com was a good place to find groups of people. Dog owners and parents tend to find their peers at the park. There are WhatsApp and Facebook groups for just about anything else, but many of them spread through word of mouth.

Voluntary organisations like the Scouts have been a good choice for me. It's tricky to get into if you're in the US because of all the dogma, but Scouting is an awesome thing to get into as an adult leader.

If not the Scouts, then any voluntary org with a cause at its centre is great for forming connections.

If you're interested in a service organization, Active 20-30 looks pretty cool. It aims to help out kids.

https://www.active20-30.org/Get-involved

At least in my area (SW Michigan), the Jaycees seem to be a fairly big thing. They require member ages to be in [18,40] - so "40 years younger" is not a risk.

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