Someone fairly new to town asked my advice on finding social groups in town.
I realized that most of the friends I made in town as an adult were through my kids when they were much younger.
If you are a stay-at-home mom with really young kids, there are lots of ways to connect with others. Later in life, there are lots of social opportunities through the Southborough Senior Center.
But what about everyone else? If you don’t have young kids and you aren’t past retirement age. . . How do you connect with other people in town?
Volunteering is one option I posed. There are several organizations around town centered around good causes. Check out my page on Clubs, Organizations, and Churches here for more information on those options.
And Town officials would surely like to remind you of all the Town committees that have vacancies or could use fresh blood.
But what else is there? Do any of you have advice?
What’s a good way for residents to make new social connections in Southborough?
I would say if you are religious then the obvious one is local churches. Otheriwse maybe if you are athletic there are adult leagues in some sports or bicycle clubs. Or maybe volunteering at the local food pantry or at the library.
These are all very good suggestions. And don’t overlook the transfer station. On Saturdays it rocks. Just be sure to obtain an access sticker and observe parking rules. Or you could walk there from Dunkin Donuts and hand out complimentary munchkins.
Yes! Getting involved in an activity or organization that you are interested in is the way to go. Find out what is happening (by way of this blog or at the library etc) and get yourself to these events. Attend numerous things until you find a group whose focus suits you best. Once there, the best way to actually get to know people is to help out!
If they are of a certain age half the newcomers in town could join a discussion at the Senior Center on Friday mornings. Conversations at the Dull Men’s Club at times become lively despite our efforts to curb enthusiasm.
If you’re an active person, there are some good options. I know the AMF bowling alley in Shrewsbury has leagues for all ages. There’s also the CrossFit gym here in town that has a great community of people that are really friendly. The running shoe store over by Tatnucks has weekly group runs you can jump into.
One other option is Assabet After Dark – the continuing ed program over at Assabet high school. They have a ton of classes on all kinds of things, many of which are a relatively small commitment. Pick something you’re interested to take a class on, and you’ll meet people interested in the same thing.
I have found many social opportunities on meetup.com
I could not agree more with Deborah Costine’s comments, which is why I’d like to recommend the Southborough Gardeners as a perfect venue for meeting people and making friends. Our group of wonderful, creative women is responsible for various town beautification projects, including the Public Library Garden. Each year, we host November Guest Day, which is considered to be a gift to the town in furtherance of the Club’s educational mission; the Spring Plant Sale, which raises monies for the Club’s civic projects and scholarship fund; Southborough Heritage Day, where the sale of seasonal items raises funds for Town Beautification projects, to name but a few. Our organization was incorporated to educate and promote active interest in gardening, horticulture, floral design, conservation and beautification of home and civic landscapes. If a newcomer to town has a penchant for gardening, flowers or floral creativity, please visit our website at http://www.southboroughgardeners.org to get in touch.