It can be hard relocating to a new place, and Atlanta has its share of people from around the country.
So what do you do to get involved and meet people?
- Check Access Atlanta, Creative Loafing and Atlanta.net for event listings. Access Atlanta also has a weekly email of top bets for the weekend.
- For those up for last minute ideas, Creative Loafing offers their picks of the top 5 things to do daily.
- With the mild climate, outdoor activities can be done most year round. There are regular groups who jog, bike and skate, with organized tennis, kickball, soccer leagues and more along with lots of 5ks at various festivals. Check the Atlanta Track Club, active.com, Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, GOKickball or do an online search for your favorite sport. Tennis courts are throughout the city, some free, for playing as well, and sports fields at Grant Park and Piedmont Park can be rented.
- If you like watching sports, there are some good local bars where you might come across other big fans - Taco Mac, Stats, Brewhouse to name a few.
- Volunteering is another way to meet people. Hands on Atlanta is a large central charity information group, and many environmental projects are available as well -- check out Earth Share of Georgia and Idealist.org for more event and volunteer ideas. Some larger organizations with regular volunteer opportunities include Piedmont Park, Trees Atlanta, Woodruff Arts Center, and the Fox Theatre.
- Politically, there are open neighborhood and planning meetings, Young Republicans and Young Democrats to get you started. Most neighborhoods have associations as well.
- Local mainstream radio stations often host and run events, so listen to the radio or check out some of the local stations online such as Star 94, 92.9 Dave FM and Kiss 104.1
- The alternative and local arts scene is alive and well. Wonderroot connects several art communities and regular shows/events are at Eyedrum. Many restaurants and neighborhoods have art strolls (such as Castleberry Hill) and art openings (such as Young Blood Gallery) on regular basis. Or if you play an instrument, there are several community orchestras, bands and choirs.
- If you like food and writing, you can write/read reviews on Yelp.com and attend some of their meetups and recommended events. Wine and beer tastings occur all over the city too and live music and drinking at the Sweetwater Brewery.
- The literary-minded have options for poetry and spoken word jams and readings. See the Apache Cafe', Atlanta Writer's Club or Poetry Atlanta.
- There are plenty of places to social dance and take classes, which can provide a large community of people to meet. Check out the Atlanta Swing Era Dance Association and Georgia Tech has a fairly inclusive salsa dance guide. Tango and contradance have good followings as well.
- Taking classes or getting more professional development is another way to meet people. Callanwalde and Emory Center for Lifelong Learning have adult classes, and several language institutes are around the city such as the Goethe Center and the French Cultural Center have classes and events.
- Or go to meetup.com for hobby groups in just about all other areas that are not listed here