If you have a hobby (literally any hobby), I guarantee you that there is a group in Houston that meets regularly to do or talk about that hobby.

During rush hour on 610 we just shout to each other from our cars.

You can have a lot of fun and meet a lot of people in the bar scene, but it’s all superficial and no one really has a relationship with anyone outside of it.

Other than that, I never really found an alternative other than the community that comes along with certain sports.

I made friends at work, there are a lot of transplants here like yourself so lots of you are looking for friends

Meetup.com is a great place to start.

Hint: Do not be afraid to show up to an event that only has a couple of people signed up. Quite often the regulars will stop replying. On the flip side, reach out to the host and see what the head count typically is.

Also, do not let one subpar experience define a group. Give something a shot, but also remember that with a rotating cast of people, things can vary.

Anyhow, best wishes!!! There are groups here that dont really drink and are incredibly welcoming to strangers. Activities such as gaming and athletics are wonderful outlets.

Dnd if you’re into it. Church is good if you’re into it. Could take some classes at college or community college or continuing education and meet a bunch of people.

I've met some of my best friends through my hobbies.

I started riding a bicycle in 2014 and built up my strength enough to join some regular cycling groups. If you can ride for an hour at 16 MPH or so, you can fit in with dozens of groups in Houston and you can make friends easily. People from all walks of life and young and old ride bikes in Houston.

There are plenty of other hobbies that make it easy to make friends. Houston has a couple of 4-part harmony chorus groups, countless chess meet ups, run clubs, etc.

There's a free web site meetup.com that will show you where people meet to participate in a wide range of activities.

If none of this helps very much, you can always do a search on Google: "Houston Reddit how to meet new people besides going to bars"

Come out to the holocaust museum and learn about wW2 history. There’s a few of us who nerd out about history who meet there every second Tuesday of the month

I moved here as an adult.

I threw myself into testing new hobbies and volunteering. Had a great time AND found some friends.

Hobbies: a sailing course in Galveston Bay, surf lessons in Galveston, tennis doubles + other activities via MeetUp, dog related groups on Facebook, etc

Volunteering: So many opportunities in Houston! Find task / activity that engages you, and go volunteer.

Follow your hobbies. Or go to church.

I personally prefer to go grocery shopping on Sundays.

I met my circle of friends through bumble bff!

Join us at our nerd stores playing Magic the gathering or dnd

How do you do it anywhere else?

Volunteering and religious places

Hobby or kids…

Hobby stuff. Recently realized Im a loner but I do tend to meet nice people whenever i join a hobby group however brief it's for. I met some good people in improv, ceramics, cycling, some music stuff. It's been some years though

Worked/read at Agora at the same table, same time. Flash forward ten years and most of my friendships outside of work/church started on that patio.

thursday bike rides at market square park

basketball at the local rec centers

running clubs

coffee shops

car meet ups every weekend

cannabis events every week

What are you into?

F3near.me Is a free men’s workout group and you meet dudes with all kind of interests

Join a gym, run club, group fitness etc. you’ll meet people and work on self love all in one 💪🏼

Do you play tennis? Hit me up :)

Check out the websites for Houston on the cheap and secret houston, also if you have any hobbies just use the Meetup app and search your hobbies and look for groups that are meeting up somewhere and make friends I guess, Eventbrite is also a good one, there's also the website for 365 things to do in Houston

the easiest answer is: work. if no one at your work is interesting, then the second best way is becoming a regular anywhere. be a regular and people will recognize you and you can for friendships. i would regularly show up to local $5 metal/alternative concerts and have met people that way. there are also apps where you can find local friends for people like you.

Join a club? Join a church? Become a regular at a coffee shop?

Meetup and Eventbrite are your friend. Literally whatever your hobby, there’s a group for it.

Houston takes more effort in that people must traverse long distances to meet other like minded individuals. But it's such a large place you'll find literally anyone who's interested doing anything all over

Church

I did not feel happy here until I met my husband, got married, and moved to the suburb. Like the other commentor said, the relationships you have here through work, bars, church, apps, meetup stuff is all superficial, and they won't be there when times aren't good. I wish you the best 

sit at a bar, have dinner. do it often enough, bartender will open up a convo and then others will listen in and click on soemthing. takes time though. met fellow Canadians that way, with no intention of trying to meet anyone. don't look desperate.

What are you into, do a google search with that and their are some places for that.

Volunteer groups. When I moved to Denver it was damn near impossible to make friends all they wanted to do was hike alone with their dog, and they hated Texans so I was at a particular disadvantage. If you're younger and move to an apartment, of course that will make it easier to make friends here. Once you get into the "parent years," it is certainly harder no matter what part of the US you're in. Believe it or not, you're in an easier place to make friends than other spots. In addition to Denver, the "Seattle freeze" is real. It took my friend years to make 2 friends :-/ If you have a dog, maybe you can meet people at dog parks. They probably even have groups for people who have moved from certain locations. When I lived in Amsterdam, they had an expats meet up.

Join a country club. Play golf. Play pickleball. Play tennis. Play Marhjong

Try going to establishments where people go to listen to live music instead of just to drink. If you're into great singer/songwriter kind of music, the Mucky Duck and Anderson Fair are your best bets in town. Doesy Doe on the north side. There are also lots of country music places, but they can tend to be more about alcohol than the music. Not up to speed on what's going on downtown, but there are some live venues there as well, just maybe more about selling booze than music. Anyway, in general, the listening crowd tends to be more amenable to striking up friendships than the drinking crowd.

Drink

There’s a lot to do tbh. Tons of hobbies/recreational activities if you aren’t into just drinking or nightlife. Odds are you can find some sort of club that you can make friends in that matches your interest

Are you a runner (I don’t mean serious, just recreational)? Join a running club. Some are very social with weekly activities, parties and happy hours. I met my wife in a running club here in Houston.

One other piece of advice. If you decide to show up to a hobby based club, don’t go just once. It might be uncomfortable at first but the more you participate, the more you will get involved in more social activities.

Sports leagues

Well a bunch of just ran a long foot race today, have you considered running ?

I’d recommend learning a social dance of some sort, the communities around each are vibrant & fun!

Join a Run Club. 😅

Volunteer, trivia nights, karaoke

Play D&D and wear D&D t-shirts in public. Men, women, and children will start asking questions because of Stranger Things. That window might be closing, though. 

check out meetup amd see if any of your hobbies are there

Join hobbies. I met people during Critical Mass. Make friends with your coworkers. Branch out.

Houston is like any other large liberal city (just better 🗿). Identify your hobbies and find some groups!

Let me know if you want to swing a sword around (I’ll recruit you into my HEMA club)

You already described it, most people here just talk to the folks they grew up with. Houston sucks as a city so there isn’t much in terms of popular areas to spend time so, your best bet is befriend your coworkers and people in the same hobbies as you

A great way to make friends fast is to start driving like you’re from Houston now. Next time you’re on a highway with heavy traffic, and you’re in the far left lane, wait until about 200 yards before the next exit and then just start crossing. 🤣🤣🤣

Big town, takes time. Keep showing up is all I can say.

Put forth the effort and it will yield incredible rewards. I’ve met some of my best friends in the ten years I’ve lived here. This place has some of the best food and best people on the planet. The weather and traffic can suck a bag of dicks though.

Matter of fact, we sold our house this am and are moving back to our home state (it’s a neighbor state) in 30 short days and somehow, I’m a little sad.

Houston is a great place if you take advantage of it.

When we moved to Houston, my husband found the Houston Jets Fan Club that watches the games at a sports bar. Not everyone drinks alcohol when they meet up. But they all have something in common: the NY Jets. Most are from NY or NJ as well. He’s met some really awesome people this way!

Art classes at MFAH or Art League of Houston.   Community Orchestra.  Church.  Audubon Society.  College alumni group. Some friends from the city I moved from introduced me from afar to their friends who live in Houston.  It’s a slow, slow process, still evolving.  

I didn’t grow up in Houston, but have been here for about 13-14 years now. I had a couple friends from college who live/lived here but I’ve met way more people just getting involved in various activities and groups.

As many others have said, you can find groups for pretty much any hobby. I’ve met several of my closest friends through intramural sports (Houston Sports and Social and Sports Monkey are two organizations that have a variety of sports you can join). I also met my wife through a friend I made playing kickball.

I also got involved in a nonprofit organization that raises scholarship money by hosting social events and have made a lot of friends through that.

If you enjoy crafting there are a variety of studios across Houston that host classes (anywhere from one time classes to several week long classes) where you can learn a new craft and meet people.

If you enjoy working out find a gym with a social aspect (a lot of smaller gyms will have events for people to mingle and meet) or find a bike group or run club.

Houston is massive so you can most likely find a group/club for any hobby.

You just gotta do what you do and be a legit cool dude.

I’ve been here for nearly 2 years and have one friend, and is primarily my boyfriend’s friend. I moved here from a town of 5000 from thousands of miles away, but yet I am more lonely and have never been more friendless in my entire life. People just keep to themselves and don’t trust each other which is understandable, but it’s like landing on Mars here. Everything is foreign and I don’t think it’s gonna change anytime soon.

Run clubs

Once upon a time, there was a group called Houston Proud, which was sponsored by the city's convention bureau. It helped connect people who wanted to volunteer with charitable organizations who needed people to help out. I volunteered at all kinds of events, including art fairs and 10K runs.

Eventually the convention bureau ended it, which is a shame. I always had a great time, got t-shirts, got fed, lots of stuff. I even had a few dates with people I met volunteering.

To do that now, you'd had to seek out those charitable organizations on your own. So look for ways to volunteer at charitable runs, at art festivals, the International Festival, that kind of thing.

I used to volunteer at the St. Arnold Brewery, serving beer, etc. I think they may still do that.

If you're into acoustic folk music, I still volunteer at Kerrville Folk Festival. It's a few hours away, but we have a wonderful group of volunteers there. I go for the entire 18 day festival. If you prefer bluegrass, Old Settlers Music Festival focuses on that, and many of my friends also recommend it.

The Warhammer 40k community is solid, and if you run the Hash House Harriers (MOOOston) are an option (you don’t have to drink with them afterwards).

Music scene is solid, too. If you like EDM 9pm music hall has some solid sets.

Go to a weekly event at a bar. Could be karaoke, improv, poker, board games, video games, whatever. You don't have to drink. I guarantee you each event type will have a unique community of people that you can befriend. As crazy as it sounds, bars are more than just for drinking.

If you like live music, Houston has an absolutely massive music scene. Concerts everyday, and always dirt cheap.

Join a gym with a personal trainer and group fitness classes, get involved with MFAH (watch films at their theater, go to events, take a class) and go to movies at the river oaks theater. I’ve been to River oaks theater alone a couple times and made a new friend who was also alone two times. Join preserve houston and go to their events if you are interested in houston history and architecture. Volunteer at the food bank or animal shelter or buffalo bayou clean up

*join Preservation Houston (preservation houston.org). The preserve is a gym haha (a nice one).

Do you golf? Joining a club provides a huge network of people

We have excellent museums👌🏾

Church

EDIT:
somehow my comment posted way too early,

was going to say,

Church may or may not the best option for you but its one that comes up often and should not be disregarded.

Drink. Work. Drink after work.

Welcome to the car brained hellhole

You doing have to go to a bar. Memorial Mall, the Galleria, POST Houston, 19th St in the Heights…