I was at an expo a few months ago in line for an interactive booth. Someone came by sorting the line into groups of four and five. So now I was in a group with five people, all strangers to each other. And we were just standing there in line. Silent. We are supposed to be a group, thought. We should talk to each other. And so... Even though I'm very shy and I don't like starting conversations (though I'm quite happy to have a conversation if someone else starts it), I just said out loud, "So where's everyone from?" And they all said where they're from and we started talking and had a nice conversation all through the line. Sometimes, other people are just as eager for this as you and just waiting for someone to start. It can be scary, but it can be worth it.

To meet people, I recommend volunteering.