If you’re looking for places to meet people in Riverside, California, then check out the list below. It will help inspire you to go out, mingle with new people, and make some new friends. We hope you like it!
Explore the social scene of Riverside, California home to the citrus industry located in the Southern part of the state. While Riverside may lack the glitz and glamour of its iconic sister city of Los Angeles, it does have a vibrant cultural and social scene perfect to connect with residents in the city. With plenty of outdoorsy activities, museums, historic attractions, and cool neighborhoods it offers a wonderful opportunity to increase your social circle.
How To Meet People In Riverside, CA & Make New Friends
1. First, let’s start with some of the most popular meetup groups in Riverside
- Redland’s Singles for the Food and/or Wine Enthusiast
- Riverside Food CoOp Social Club
- Downtown Riverside Neighbors
Other meetup opportunities in the area are: https://www.meetup.com/topics/over-50/us/ca/riverside/
2. Explore the outdoors
Enjoying the outdoors offers two benefits. You get to explore the best of nature and along the way socialize with new people. Join an outdoor hiking group to find popular haunts for residents and visitors on the weekends and holidays. See the mountain ranges of Riverside like the San Bernardino and the San Jacinto along with other like-minded individuals and you’re sure to befriend a handful of them.
The location is a major draw with locals so it offers an opportunity to meet new fellow nature enthusiasts. Plus with several group-oriented activities including hiking, it provides an opportunity to get to know your neighbors in the city.
3. Get an art update and make new friends in the process
Making friends is not something you can accomplish by sitting at home. You need to get off the couch and travel around the city. If art is something that captivates you a visit to the many art museums would be the thing to do. Along with getting an insight into the latest artworks and developments in the art world, it offers the perfect platform to meet people with a shared passion for art.
The Riverside Art Museum is the place to begin your quest as it holds exhibitions featuring the best of contemporary art from all over the globe. With art classes, workshops, and a string of activities it offers the perfect excuse to mingle with new people with similar interests.
4. Spend an evening watching performance arts
If you are bored out of your wits any evening with nothing to do, head to the Fox Performing Arts Center. The venue has earned a reputation for showcasing the best of performance arts ranging from musicals to stand-up comedy. There are a number of shows hosted every month, with plenty of visitors. Where there are people there are opportunities galore to expand your friends circle. Spend a pleasurable evening getting entertained and striking up new friendships with the people you meet at the venue.
5. Experience the best of gourmet with a difference
Tired of eating out at restaurants with the same dreary dining experiences? Try something very different, perhaps radical for a change! Book a table at the Gourmet Detective mystery dinners at either of their two venues the Hyatt Place or Flabob Airport Cafe. You get to enjoy a sumptuous gourmet meal while enjoying a denouement of a murder mystery by professional actors.
With the progression of the night, things slowly begin to unravel bit by bit! The venues always have a throng of visitors so join up, enjoy the food, discuss the plot, and make new friendships in the bargain.
6. Get some action on the sports field
Becoming part of a sports activity is one of the best ways to break the ice with new people and strike up a bond in the bargain. Riverside offers a diverse array of sporting options like baseball, basketball, tennis, etc. With more people becoming fitness-conscious and participating in sports, it offers the ideal platform to socialize with new acquaintances.
This would work especially well if you find people who have the same fitness goals. Working out or playing sports with others who are motivated, is a great way to meet people in Riverside, and make some new friends.
As a number of sports are team activities it helps in bonding and developing your social skills. You do not have to be a jock to be a part of a sports club or league. There are sports activities for people of all skill levels. Join a sports club or league and make some exciting new friends by doing so.
7. Join a community club
Another way to make friends is through volunteering. There always are plenty of community clubs devoted to social causes and improving the plight of the less fortunate in society. What better way to contribute to a good cause and make friends in the process? You do not have to necessarily invest money in most as plenty just need volunteers to help.
Join any worthy social cause in your neighborhood to meet people in Riverside. Hence, you’ll spend time doing something enriching and emotionally satisfying, lending a helping hand to the needy. Not only will you enjoy helping but also will gain some new friends in the process.
8. Set yourself against the clock
Another way to meet new friends is through the latest fad catching on, which is that of Escape Rooms. These are a test of ingenuity and intelligence combined with good old common sense. These are group-based with varying numbers and members locked within a room, trying to find a way out of their predicament in 60 minutes.
There are a wide variety of escape games ranging from puzzle-based to murder mysteries and the key is to find the clues and make a quick getaway before the clock strikes the hour. It requires coordination and teamwork, something which helps to make new friends while enjoying a spot of adventure. Enjoy the thrills of meeting and working with new friends by joining an escape room adventure!
Meet New People And Make Friends In Riverside By Improving Your Social Skills
You can go out, meet people in Riverside, and try and make friends in the coming days. What you can also do is to invest some time in improving your social skills.
By doing that, you can significantly increase your chances of meeting the right friends – not just random people. I spent many years learning, failing, trying everything, and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to getting the social life you want.
If you’re ready to transform your social life, I’d like you to learn more about what I teach here: Making Friends Methodology.
Best of luck,
– Paul Sanders