

Ask HN: How does a new grad transplant to the Bay Area tech scene meet people? - krazy

I'm a new grad coming to the SF Bay Area in pursuit of the tech dream, however, I'm feeling pretty alone. There's thousands of transplants like myself coming in each year, yet, I don't know where to meet them or where to start in this formidable, diverse area. Help me crack this egg...<p>Since I'm a good tech nerd...
-I'm not terribly into playing sports so joining my local *ball/board/bike club/team would be a faux, contrived effort.
-I'd be considered a little on the shy side before extroverted.
-I'm into techy things, of course. I like reading TechCrunch, HN, programming, soldering things, etc.<p>However, unlike most tech nerds...
-There's a limit to how much I want to talk about tech. Friday night at 10PM? No. Saturday at noon while strolling the Mission? Sure.
-I like to have good conversation over a few beers, anytime. I'm not socially challenged. I invite the proposition of meeting other people and drinking in a bar. The thought of doing anything that's not having fun, crazy adventures on a Friday/Saturday night is uncomfortable to me.<p>Also, unlike most companies in the Valley, my company tends to be secretive. As such, there are large proverbial walls between teams so it's hard to meet people. We just don't have general interest mailing lists, endless special interest groups (we have ~20), openness, and lots of offsites and team builders. Combine that with the fact that everyone on my team is in their 30s/40s and just had children and I'm stuck on that front. I've even tried the local alumni chapter. They also all fall in this age range.<p>So, to that end, folks, I need your help.<p>Previous tech companies I've worked at practically came with a complimentary group of friends and events as soon as you walked in the door. Now, it's the real world, I've graduated college, and long-term relationships are harder to find.<p>Thoughts? Ideas? Clubs? Sympathizers?<p>(I seriously think this could be a startup, too. I'd pay some money to go on fun events/trips with other Bay Area newbs.)
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mlinsey
The closest thing to a startup that solves this problem is meetup.com.

I'd recommend tech meetups, like Super Happy Dev House:
<http://superhappydevhouse.org/>

You say you don't just want to talk tech, but in my experience random meetups
on places like meetup.com can be pretty hit or miss, and by going to tech
meetups you can meet people with an obvious common interest, and those people
don't talk tech and hack all the time either.

Just make friends with interesting people however you can. It's hardest the
first few months, because it takes time and a lot of false starts to build out
a real-life social network. Hang in there!

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charliepark
I know you said you're not into sports. FWIW, I've found Ultimate Frisbee to
be a very welcoming sport, once you learn that there are actual plays to
learn.

Regarding clubs, many areas have outdoors clubs where you join as a member,
and can then opt-in to occasional events. They cater to all sorts of people,
and the activities range from aggressive weekend-long trips to afternoon day
hikes. Essentially, they're social groups optimized for people in your
situation. Here are two in SF: <http://www.sfoac.com/>
<http://www.confused.org/>

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alnayyir
Go tech meetups, bone up on your foosball.

If you've been coding on your own time you should've already known a few
people from the SF BayArea by now via collabs/side-projects.

Unless by tech nerd you mean someone who can't/doesn't code.

