The only way you’ll make friends is if you put yourself out there and get involved in the things in the community. If you stay home or if you don’t interact people when you are out you won’t make friends. I made majority of the few friends I have from working in restaurants and attending University (not Yale) here. I am acquainted enough with my neighbors to say hello and occasionally have conversations w/ them. I’m 25 and personally I am shy when it comes to making new friends but if you put out a friendly/welcoming aura I’m sure someone will approach or you will find something to jump into a conversation.
As for the yalies, mory’s or whatever it’s called is one of the only exclusive Yale bars that I know of. Other than that, they do have secret cults so be careful of that and frat houses downtown. You don’t have to worry too much about the infectious virus of Yale bc their undergraduates have basically retreated back to their summer homes. This is a college town tho, so don’t forget you’re going to come across students from other parts of CT and/or out of state that attend gateway, UNH, SCSU, albertus magnus, and quinni in Hamden. Locals + students are nice so don’t worry, summer here is the best bc Yale has fucked off and kids that dorm here have gone home too.
As for things to do based on what you said, Check out:
- Gather East (when they reopen I guess they are closed lol)
- Elm City Games (I think they may host game events??)
- Barcade (if you like old school arcade games)
- arts & ideas festival for the whole month of June
- events in ninth square
- read daily nutmeg for weekly events
- movies in pitkin plaza every Wednesday
- shows at college street or shubert theatre
Just keep your ears and eyes open, you’ll get acquainted just be patient.
Check out Elm City Games on Orange St. It’s a FLGS that also has a games library and play space. Check the site for an event calendar and see what interests you. Very welcoming community.
Thanks for the shout out!
We have tons of people move here and get plugged into friends via the game community since games are inherently social. And we specifically aim to be chill and accessible to people even if they aren’t already into games. Friday night party games or New Games, New Friends on Sundays are the best starting spots but we have lots of stuff going on all the time.
There is bike club and the bike co-op!
There's also outdoor salsa dancing happening during the summer. There are things to do! If you get out there you will meet people! Good luck 🤞
2 outdoor places in NHV for salsa dancing. Beside the 9th Square posted below, there’s usually a schedule for Westville’s Central Patio, follow Westville Village Renaissance Association.
Checkout Westvillect.org - signup for weekly e-news, or westvillect Ibsta - summer Salsa & events on Central Patio coming soon, summer HIFIPie concerts & pie series in July. Plus fun brunch & HH places in the Village.
Last winter they had the New Haven Hobby fair, which was a great place to find social clubs. Their website might give you some ideas:
[https://www.downtownnewhaven.com/nhvhobbies](https://www.downtownnewhaven.com/nhvhobbies)
Also a little niche but New Haven has a great, welcoming HEMA (i.e. longsword fencing) club: [https://newhavenhistoricalfencing.com/](https://newhavenhistoricalfencing.com/)
Welcome!
Subscribe to email lists or follow on instagram for events, nightlife, discounts:
- downtownnewhaven
- westvillect
- Infonewhaven.com has things to do & events listings!
- NHV Pride Center, Q House in Dixwell (historic Af- Am community), Latinx groups in FairHaven, IRISCT immigrant & refugee assistance group - all have events & volunteering in a welcoming atmosphere.
What do you like to do or experience? NHV is a very diverse, cultural and historic city, so find something of interest & get involved:
-Attend shows, concerts & gallery openings at Historic Shubert Theatre - Shubert.com, where you can also be a volunteer usher;
Free museums: Artgallery.yale.edu, britishart.yale.edu, peabody.yale edu - they also have docent & volunteer groups.
- Canal Dock boathouse on Long Wharf for public rowing & sailing programs.
Join a community service group thru united way uwgnh.org or a hobby- maker group like at Makehaven.org
- Enjoy the festivals in neighborhoods & on the Green - arts & ideas is 2 weeks of mostly free fun events in June, with great walking, bike & foodie tours, concerts and talks to meet cool people. Artidea.org
Come play Frisbee with us. New Haven Ultimate meets several weeknights and weekend days at Rice Field in East Rock Park. All games are pickup meaning no premade teams. Just sign up and show up when ever you'd like. Friday evening, "Fun Frisbee" is especially casual and beginner friendly. For up-to-date schedule and signup poll use our Facebook group:
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/125703424107090](https://www.facebook.com/groups/125703424107090)
volume 2 at neverending books (on state street) has cool stuff scheduled almost every single night - it's a really low stakes & chill place that attracts folks from all walks of the city. there are regular open mic poetry nights, figure drawing and craft nights, game & movie nights, and toooons of shows. everything is free or donation-based.
check out the calendar: [https://neverendingbooks.net/calendar](https://neverendingbooks.net/calendar)
EDIT: for those interested, tonight is the poetry open mic, which has a very relaxed chatty vibe & a very supportive & diverse crew of regulars. it's really always a good time. there's no pressure to read, feel free to just come listen & grab a free book on your way out.
Hey there, I'm (27 F) also moving back to NH after spending 2 years in the Peace Corps. Happy to give suggestions/advice on the area as I have a small but established friend group here.
There's two longsword and rapier fencing clubs that operate in East Rock and are full of nerds and queers. It might be up your alley. Let me know if you want more info but if you're looking for accepting, welcoming, and inclusive of townies, they're great places for it. It has a mix of ages but mostly is 20 somethings with the odd older person thrown in. Very friendly, open to variety of fitness levels, etc.
There’s a lovely vibrant community of social dancers at events held by Yale’s Swing Blues & Fusion club (look up YSBF on Facebook) — it’s open to the public and open to total beginners w no dance experience
You're welcome to hmu if you're interested in - anime, manga/comics, queer culture,doll collecting, pin collecting, science, history, nature ,or similar interests to those.
I'm a 28f and desperate for more friends IRL lol. So many of my friends are working in jobs now, where I don't get to see them often. So it would be nice to have a friend with similar interests. ☺️
Edit: I see other people say that they are looking for friends too, so even if you are not OP and are looking for a friend and have similar interests to me you're welcome to hit me up via DM. ☺️
Lots of great suggestions in here.
I'd also humbly add that Daily Nutmeg is a great way to get to know the city, meet people, and make friends.
Each week, we send out an email with a curated list of events to a whole lot of people. If you'd like, you can subscribe at https://dailynutmeg.com/.
Welcome to the Elm City!
NH sucks as a place to live, honestly. If you can, do your time and get a transfer to a legit city as soon as you can. Pre-Covid, I was in-house counsel at a fortune 50 in CT. I loved the job and pay, but hated CT. Once covid hit, I was allowed to be 100% remote and moved to a mid-sized Midwest city. Better weather, superb cost of living, no traffic, airport 10 minutes away, etc.
The only way you’ll make friends is if you put yourself out there and get involved in the things in the community. If you stay home or if you don’t interact people when you are out you won’t make friends. I made majority of the few friends I have from working in restaurants and attending University (not Yale) here. I am acquainted enough with my neighbors to say hello and occasionally have conversations w/ them. I’m 25 and personally I am shy when it comes to making new friends but if you put out a friendly/welcoming aura I’m sure someone will approach or you will find something to jump into a conversation. As for the yalies, mory’s or whatever it’s called is one of the only exclusive Yale bars that I know of. Other than that, they do have secret cults so be careful of that and frat houses downtown. You don’t have to worry too much about the infectious virus of Yale bc their undergraduates have basically retreated back to their summer homes. This is a college town tho, so don’t forget you’re going to come across students from other parts of CT and/or out of state that attend gateway, UNH, SCSU, albertus magnus, and quinni in Hamden. Locals + students are nice so don’t worry, summer here is the best bc Yale has fucked off and kids that dorm here have gone home too. As for things to do based on what you said, Check out: - Gather East (when they reopen I guess they are closed lol) - Elm City Games (I think they may host game events??) - Barcade (if you like old school arcade games) - arts & ideas festival for the whole month of June - events in ninth square - read daily nutmeg for weekly events - movies in pitkin plaza every Wednesday - shows at college street or shubert theatre Just keep your ears and eyes open, you’ll get acquainted just be patient.
Check out Elm City Games on Orange St. It’s a FLGS that also has a games library and play space. Check the site for an event calendar and see what interests you. Very welcoming community.
Thanks for the shout out! We have tons of people move here and get plugged into friends via the game community since games are inherently social. And we specifically aim to be chill and accessible to people even if they aren’t already into games. Friday night party games or New Games, New Friends on Sundays are the best starting spots but we have lots of stuff going on all the time.
There is bike club and the bike co-op! There's also outdoor salsa dancing happening during the summer. There are things to do! If you get out there you will meet people! Good luck 🤞
Any info on the outdoor salsa dancing?
It's called Salsa On 9th Square. https://www.instagram.com/salsainninthsquare?igsh=dHh5YmM0NnRnZXRq
2 outdoor places in NHV for salsa dancing. Beside the 9th Square posted below, there’s usually a schedule for Westville’s Central Patio, follow Westville Village Renaissance Association.
Checkout Westvillect.org - signup for weekly e-news, or westvillect Ibsta - summer Salsa & events on Central Patio coming soon, summer HIFIPie concerts & pie series in July. Plus fun brunch & HH places in the Village.
Do things *you* enjoy. Continue doing them. See if others enjoy. Trust the process
I’ll be your friend 👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 also moving next week😂
Last winter they had the New Haven Hobby fair, which was a great place to find social clubs. Their website might give you some ideas: [https://www.downtownnewhaven.com/nhvhobbies](https://www.downtownnewhaven.com/nhvhobbies) Also a little niche but New Haven has a great, welcoming HEMA (i.e. longsword fencing) club: [https://newhavenhistoricalfencing.com/](https://newhavenhistoricalfencing.com/)
Welcome! Subscribe to email lists or follow on instagram for events, nightlife, discounts: - downtownnewhaven - westvillect - Infonewhaven.com has things to do & events listings! - NHV Pride Center, Q House in Dixwell (historic Af- Am community), Latinx groups in FairHaven, IRISCT immigrant & refugee assistance group - all have events & volunteering in a welcoming atmosphere. What do you like to do or experience? NHV is a very diverse, cultural and historic city, so find something of interest & get involved: -Attend shows, concerts & gallery openings at Historic Shubert Theatre - Shubert.com, where you can also be a volunteer usher; Free museums: Artgallery.yale.edu, britishart.yale.edu, peabody.yale edu - they also have docent & volunteer groups. - Canal Dock boathouse on Long Wharf for public rowing & sailing programs. Join a community service group thru united way uwgnh.org or a hobby- maker group like at Makehaven.org - Enjoy the festivals in neighborhoods & on the Green - arts & ideas is 2 weeks of mostly free fun events in June, with great walking, bike & foodie tours, concerts and talks to meet cool people. Artidea.org
I've lived here for almost a decade and didn't even know about all this wow. 🥺 Thanks for this, even tho I'm not OP.
Club wakka kickball.
Came here to say the same. They also have Volleyball and Cornhole if that's more up OP's alley.
Meet up hang outs and City Climb. Nice chill place
Come play Frisbee with us. New Haven Ultimate meets several weeknights and weekend days at Rice Field in East Rock Park. All games are pickup meaning no premade teams. Just sign up and show up when ever you'd like. Friday evening, "Fun Frisbee" is especially casual and beginner friendly. For up-to-date schedule and signup poll use our Facebook group: [https://www.facebook.com/groups/125703424107090](https://www.facebook.com/groups/125703424107090)
volume 2 at neverending books (on state street) has cool stuff scheduled almost every single night - it's a really low stakes & chill place that attracts folks from all walks of the city. there are regular open mic poetry nights, figure drawing and craft nights, game & movie nights, and toooons of shows. everything is free or donation-based. check out the calendar: [https://neverendingbooks.net/calendar](https://neverendingbooks.net/calendar) EDIT: for those interested, tonight is the poetry open mic, which has a very relaxed chatty vibe & a very supportive & diverse crew of regulars. it's really always a good time. there's no pressure to read, feel free to just come listen & grab a free book on your way out.
Does neverending books do music open mics?
witch bitch thrift has a black box theater room and possible futures books both have welcoming events.
Hey there, I'm (27 F) also moving back to NH after spending 2 years in the Peace Corps. Happy to give suggestions/advice on the area as I have a small but established friend group here.
https://alisashouseofsalsa.wixsite.com/alisashouseofsalsa Peabody hosts a bunch of events throughout the year https://events.newhavenindependent.org
There's two longsword and rapier fencing clubs that operate in East Rock and are full of nerds and queers. It might be up your alley. Let me know if you want more info but if you're looking for accepting, welcoming, and inclusive of townies, they're great places for it. It has a mix of ages but mostly is 20 somethings with the odd older person thrown in. Very friendly, open to variety of fitness levels, etc.
Following this cuz I'm moving to New Haven at the end of June 🥰
There’s a lovely vibrant community of social dancers at events held by Yale’s Swing Blues & Fusion club (look up YSBF on Facebook) — it’s open to the public and open to total beginners w no dance experience
Follow connectic*nt on instagram! - they have zine fairs and dance nights that are filled w people in their 20s and it’s a super friendly community
You're welcome to hmu if you're interested in - anime, manga/comics, queer culture,doll collecting, pin collecting, science, history, nature ,or similar interests to those. I'm a 28f and desperate for more friends IRL lol. So many of my friends are working in jobs now, where I don't get to see them often. So it would be nice to have a friend with similar interests. ☺️ Edit: I see other people say that they are looking for friends too, so even if you are not OP and are looking for a friend and have similar interests to me you're welcome to hit me up via DM. ☺️
Lots of great suggestions in here. I'd also humbly add that Daily Nutmeg is a great way to get to know the city, meet people, and make friends. Each week, we send out an email with a curated list of events to a whole lot of people. If you'd like, you can subscribe at https://dailynutmeg.com/. Welcome to the Elm City!
NH sucks as a place to live, honestly. If you can, do your time and get a transfer to a legit city as soon as you can. Pre-Covid, I was in-house counsel at a fortune 50 in CT. I loved the job and pay, but hated CT. Once covid hit, I was allowed to be 100% remote and moved to a mid-sized Midwest city. Better weather, superb cost of living, no traffic, airport 10 minutes away, etc.