As an adult (I'm 53) I've managed to make lasting friends in only two contexts:
1. My local arts community, where I've served as a board member and patron for many small organizations; and
2. Cycling. I'm a big roadie, but I dabble in gravel -- primarily for social reasons. This has actually been a larger source of friends than the theater stuff, but both have been big. The bonus with cycling is that you kill two birds with one stone: you exercise AND friends in the same activity!
Now, I'm sure that one could abstract these two things out to "volunteering" and "local sports," but I feel like cycling in particular is great for this.
> The bonus with cycling is that you kill two birds with one stone: you exercise AND friends in the same activity!
Make that three birds because you can travel to places!
One of my favorite things to do in the summer is ride with friends to the city center and grab some food, maybe a drink, and hang out before riding back. It's a leisurely ride on multi-use paths through parks, so even people that aren't comfortable or new to biking are willing to do it and you get to see cool parts of the city that aren't as accessible in a car, bus, or train.
As an adult (I'm 53) I've managed to make lasting friends in only two contexts:
1. My local arts community, where I've served as a board member and patron for many small organizations; and
2. Cycling. I'm a big roadie, but I dabble in gravel -- primarily for social reasons. This has actually been a larger source of friends than the theater stuff, but both have been big. The bonus with cycling is that you kill two birds with one stone: you exercise AND friends in the same activity!
Now, I'm sure that one could abstract these two things out to "volunteering" and "local sports," but I feel like cycling in particular is great for this.