I joined a league at Urban Axes and have been going for a little over two years. Its a ton of fun and the people are great! Even if you come in with no experience, everyone will take you under their wing and help you get better! Its very satisfying to watch the rookies succeed!

What are your interests?

Yeah this is a pretty key question. OP, do you want people to hang out with? Or a group to be active with (running, climbing, whatever)? Or a volunteer group, or a board game group, or any/all of the above?

If they're not sure what they'd like, maybe check out what's going on at community centers like The Foundry or The Democracy Center to see if there's anything that seems interesting.

If you are into fitness and can tolerate exercise at 6:30 AM, the November Project is probably the most welcoming community I've been a part of. It's a 2 for 1 of fitness and community, can't beat that...unless you prefer being in bed in the morning.

I laughed when you wrote, "For most of my time here, I was always expecting to move away again, so it was never a priority."

I had the same attitude when I moved to Somerville from CT, after completing grad school. That was in 1987. I'm still in Somerville and settled in! 😀

The years fly by really quickly.

Haha. Yes, I figured I wouldn't be alone in that. I did attempt to move away once or twice, but always ended up back here. It's a fine place to live :)

Oh wow. That seems super interesting. I admit that 6:30AM fitness isn't what I first think of, but I do need to find ways to stay active! Thanks for this one.

My (known) interests include photography, woodworking, nature walks, biking, board games, gardening. Probably forgetting some, but that's what comes to mind :)

Great suggestion. Will check those out!

Yeah, I think finding a regular group of folks to hang out with would be great. If I can do that while also being outdoors or physically active in some way, that's even better. Open to all the suggestions you made above :)

Oooh... that's really interesting. Thank you! I'll take a look. Sounds like a nice community.

some of your interests sound like theyd be perfect for getting involved with a mutual aid project. check out the cambridge community fridge network!

When I was your age, the Boston Ski and Sports club was a really great way to get to know other people while doing something you enjoyed. Just looked their website, and it seems to be much the same as i remember. Wide range of ages, good mix of genders, welcoming and cooperative vibe. Not super-competitive, with exceptions to that called out clearly. If you ski (and if you have ever learned to ski, it comes back like riding a bike), their ski trips are awesome and cost less than going on your own while including a coach bus ride. Daytrips and also long weekend trips.

This is coming from someone doesn't enjoy a lot of social activity and needs a lot of alone time. The welcoming and accepting vibe was what made this work for me, and I connected with a handful of people with whom friendships blossomed outside of the sporting activities. Married one of them, actually.

I feel that too - it's hard to really settle in because of that worry!

Cambridge Center for Adult Education is hosting a virtual lunch and learn next week about local volunteer opportunities, here's the link: https://ccae.org/classes/offering/2270/volunteer-in-cambridge-find-your-mission-online

For any outdoors activity (hiking, climbing, skiing, etc), check out MITOC (mit outdoor club), which is open to the greater Camberville community (not just mit) They run trips for pretty much every skill level and are very welcoming and friendly.

Another person recommended MITOC, which is MIT affiliated. If you'd like something more generic, I wholeheartedly recommend the Appalachian Mountain Club. As a single person, this was the easiest thing by far to attend by myself and not feel weird. There's a 20s and 30s group where I met some good friends. Come join us!

I’ll try to list some ideas I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

• Pandemonium in Central used to do regular game nights—they may still, or they may have other suggestions if they’re not doing what you play

• Food for Free is always looking for volunteers to pack and/or deliver food boxes throughout the area

• Also community fridges! I saw mutual aid suggested, but specifically I’ve seen volunteers form a nice community around fridge stocking and upkeep too.

• If you’re up for joining a more specialized gym like a lifting/climbing/CrossFit situation, they tend to be more social

• In all seriousness, try MeetUp and/or BumbleBFF. I know people who have had success with both around here.

This looks interesting!

Signed up!

Yeah, and then you turn around and it's been 10 years and you have white hair.

Thank you all for your kind suggestions! I'm very excited to jump in - what a great town. I've consolidated the suggestions below, for my own sake and for easier consumption by future readers with similar questions!

Sports and Fitness

• Appalachian Mountain Club organizes activities and events to foster the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the outdoors
• Boston Ski and Sports is a club that organizes ski getaways, indoor and outdoor intramural sports leagues, adventure travel and social events
• MIT Outing Club (MITOC) helps the MIT/Cambridge community enjoy the great outdoors
• November Project is a free fitness movement to help people stay active though group exercise
• Urban Axes Boston Leagues is an axe throwing community that organizes 8-week league competitions

Games

• Pandemonium is a board game store that hosts tournaments, game nights and book events

Volunteering

• Cambridge Fridge is a mutual aid focused on food sharing, open to volunteers
• Food for Free is a non-profit fighting hunger in the Greater Boston area, open to volunteers

Other/Misc.

• The Democracy Center is a community space that hosts various events
• The Foundry is a hub for creative exploration that hosts various community events

Awesome list. I've walked by Pandemonium a few times. Love board games. Will have to check that out.

Very interesting. Thank you!

Oh wow. That looks fantastic.

Was going to go this morning but seems to be raining. Does it happen rain or shine?

Join a maker space maybe?

Connect with your neighborhood association!!! Depending on where you live, some are better than others. But meeting your neighbors makes a big difference.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9ac5ec58c97c439388e42601f2e554a5

For gardening, perhaps you can sign up for a community garden plot (might take time to get a plot, since there's a waiting list), or the Boston Area Gleaners (which also ticks the volunteering box for you)

Rain or shine, that's kind of a November Project's thing. We exercise outside no matter the temperature or weather. I typically go to the official Wednesday workout at Harvard stadium. The official Friday workouts are in Brookline on Summit Ave. That's a bit too far for me, so a smaller group of us meet every Friday at Prospect Hill in Somerville, run up and down the hill for about 45 minutes then go down to Union Square Donuts for coffee and sweets. There were probably around 10 of us today and with the warm weather it was actually quite pleasant. Again, it's a super friendly group, new faces are always welcome.

Thanks for aggregating this!

Prospect Hill is much closer for me too! Join you next Friday?

See you there!

I'm sharing this info in case it's of interest to anyone. It's not in Cambridge but nearby (Arlington). I've not worked for the organization but have heard of it for a long time:

https://mysticriver.org/overview

https://mysticriver.org/volunteer

If you are into leftist politics there is the Democratic Socialists of America's Cambridge chapter and Party for Socialism and Liberation.

no problem :)

I think MeetUp.com is a good starter because it deals with your interested. When I first moved here, I joined a world music group and went to a couple of the outings that were scheduled. It was a good way to connect w/ people around a shared interest.