I received the following email from a reader yesterday and thought I’d post some of my suggestions and welcome all of you to help pinpoint some good ways and/or places to make friendships in the ‘hood.
So I am new to greenpoint, moved here a few months ago from Michigan, and I happily stumbled upon your blog today. I am looking for some places in the area, particularly a good place to go and meet people… I am familiar with Matchless, Greenpoint Coffee House, and various other cafe/restaurant/bars… but in my experience going to these places isn’t always successful in sparking conversations for longer term friendships. I am looking for something a little more social-club like…. I was thinking of joining a yoga studio but am unsure of which is a good one to take classes at. I am a 22 year old grad student studying art…. so if you have any suggestions as where to find friends with similar interests, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! -amanda
I definitely see your point regarding making actual friendships as opposed to just meeting people randomly at a bar or cafe. I think this is a great question and I hope I can help you out a little.
First off, since you’re into yoga there’s Kusala Yoga on Franklin and India where I’m sure you could meet some like-minded friends.
Also, I think hanging out at Word for some of their cool events is a great way to meet new people. Just a couple of weeks ago they had their first game night. My sister and I went, it was a lot of fun and we met a couple of cool peeps ourselves! This Friday they’re having their first Book-to-Movie Night featuring a screening of Liev Schreiber’s Everything is Illuminated, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. And there’s always their Book Clubs to join.
You could also check out Brooklyn Kickball and sign up for a team. Not sure if they play in the winter, but send an email off to brooklynkickball@gmail.com and see what the deal is.
If you’re looking to meet a significant other, you could try local matchmaking service Brooklyn is for Lovers. Seems a bit safer than craigslist, no?
That’s all I got that doesn’t involve alcohol since I’m a drunk myself. But hopefully some younger and less apt to spending their nights stumbling from bar to bar folks will be able to weigh in on additional things to do in the area. Thanks for the email Amanda!
Another way to get to know folks is to volunteer at the soup kitchen. We’ve got a great group of fun people helping out every Wednesday. Most show up after work, but you can arrive any time between 4pm and 7pm.
We serve a hot meal to approximately 60 people every Wednesday at the Greenpoint Reformed Church, located at 136 Milton St (between Franklin and Manhattan). If you have questions, feel free to call 718-383-5941 or email pastor [at] greenpointchurch [dot] org. The website is http://www.greenpointchurch.org.
all the suggestions here are good.
but gently, and I mean this as kindly as possible:
this isn’t michigan.
what i mean by that is you will need to rearrange your thinking about meeting folks that you are going to form friendships with. it’s so incredibly different. i mean, i will talk to people that i meet in bars, but my big major radar would go off in terms of being VERY careful about anyone i met out drinking. male or female. it’s a big bad city in that way.
it is very hard to meet people here (as you already know) and even if you do, to keep friendships in this city. people are insanely busy. new yorkers tend to go out, or stay home.
the cold weather doesn’t help.
the Y is inexpensive, and while the yoga classes are perhaps not the same experience as going to a yoga studio (personally i hate taking yoga classes at a gym myself), you would get out and also have opportunities to see/meet other people in the neighorhood, if that’s important to you, which it seems like it is.
but i would think larger than your zip code. meetup.com has some crazy groups but they also have some awesome ones. it works in nyc almost more than anywhere else.
you are lucky in that you are in school, so you are around people sharing similar interests every day, and who also know other people. there are also special interest clubs and the like.
it’s a crazy isolating city, isn’t it? it’s a tough thing to do. hang in there. the cold weather isn’t helping lately.
Both fantastic suggestions! Thanks and keep ’em coming peeps. 🙂
I’ve had really great experiences at Greenhouse Holistic for Yoga classes. I’m not a regular, but I drop in on classes occasionally and really enjoy the laid-back vibes there.
http://greenhouseholistic.com/yoga.php
There are also a plethora of places to find one-off classes or workshops that may spark your interest AND a friendship. Be Crafty (http://becrafty.blogspot.com/) comes to mind…
Aprenda hablar lengua polaca.