If meeting people feels harder than it used to, you're not imagining it. The WHO says 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by loneliness; in the EU, 13% feel lonely most or all of the time; and in the US, Cigna found 57% of adults lonely in 2025 — 67% of Gen Z. The US Surgeon General compared the health risk of social disconnection to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
The good news: the fix is simple, if not easy. Show up to the same thing, repeatedly.
Why recurring beats one-off
A great night out with strangers rarely leads anywhere — you never see them again. Friendships and relationships grow from repeated, low-stakes contact: seeing the same faces week after week until talking is easy and making plans feels natural. That's why a weekly class beats ten parties.
So the main question isn't where's the best place to meet people? It's what could I go to every week for the next two months?
The best places to meet people
| Type | Why it works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Social run clubs | Pace groups make small talk easy; drinks after | Run clubs grew 3.5× on Strava in 2025 |
| Partner-dance classes | Partners rotate — you meet everyone | Salsa, swing, tango beginner courses |
| Language exchanges | Built-in topics, mixed locals and newcomers | Mundo Lingo, BlaBla, Meetup groups |
| Climbing / bouldering | People rest between attempts and talk | Most city bouldering gyms |
| Board-game nights | The game carries the conversation | Game cafés with open nights |
| Volunteering | Shared purpose, side by side | City volunteer portals |
| Team sports & padel | Fixed team, weekly | Social leagues, Playtomic |
| Dinner with strangers | Zero planning, guaranteed evening | Timeleft, 222 |
Our city guides list specific clubs, addresses and days.
Turning acquaintances into friends (or dates)
- Commit to four visits. The first is always awkward. By the third, people recognise you.
- Arrive a bit early, stay a bit late. The best conversations happen before and after the official activity.
- Suggest the next thing. "A few of us are getting a drink after — come?" is how a group becomes friends.
- Swap numbers in the moment, then follow up within a day or two with a specific plan.
- Go alone, or with one friend at most. Groups are less approachable.
Meeting someone romantically
Everything above works for dating too — many couples meet through friends, hobbies and work. In a February 2026 Czech survey, people most often met their partner through friends (22%) or at work (17%). To meet singles specifically:
- Speed dating — 8–11 short dates in one evening. See our speed dating guide.
- Singles events — Thursday runs singles-only nights, run clubs and trips in many European cities.
- Partner-dance classes — a classic for a reason.
- Event feeds — Meetup, Eventbrite, Luma and the events tab in apps like M show what's on tonight; going alone to something that repeats is the move.
- Apps that plan the date — if you do use an app, choose one that turns a match into an actual plan instead of an endless chat.
If talking to strangers is the hard part
Read how to start a conversation in real life — what to say, how to read interest, and how to leave gracefully.
