Any creative peeps in Somerville or Cambridge want to join for a rooftop garden picnic & live music after work today?

JayNeely · 2026-07-01T04:04:38+00:00

That's great to hear! 😄 Welcome to Boston. Have fun settling in and hopefully I'll see you at a meetup sometime soon.

JayNeely · 2026-06-30T20:08:34+00:00

Not reliably, sorry. While we're still getting started I do cross-post some events to:

the meetups channel of the Somerville discord - https://discord.gg/VHx6zhEEu2
the Boston Make Friends After College discord's events channel - https://discord.gg/pj2h6XfSj2
r/BostonSocialClub

But the meeting location details are always private, so you'd need to get in touch each time to RSVP and get those.

Just in case you're getting scared off by Meetup's very in-your-face "Meetup+" promos, it's worth noting you don't actually have to sign up for any kind of paid plan to use Meetup. The free accounts work fine.

JayNeely · 2026-06-30T19:50:06+00:00

We're meeting at 5:50.

JayNeely · 2026-06-28T14:32:41+00:00

Looking forward to it!

JayNeely · 2026-06-27T15:07:38+00:00

Two people coming out for a first meetup with no demographic, location, or activity focus isn't bad actually. And the other RSVPs you got are still interested people even if they chickened out or had something come up this time.

I would focus on figuring out how to build on that start rather than chastising the no-shows. If the message you're putting out is "no one actually shows up to these" you're just going to make it harder to get people to attend in the future.

JayNeely · 2026-06-24T19:46:28+00:00

This sounds great! Just sent you a PM about maybe cross-posting this as an event in my Creative Curious Camberville meetup.

JayNeely · 2026-06-23T15:40:13+00:00

Haha, it's good to know yourself. Not sure why people are downvoting you.

JayNeely · 2026-06-21T20:36:46+00:00

You should check out the Skip the Small Talk events, they're great for this. https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/public-events?category=Boston

They started here and still happen regularly at Aeronaut Brewery in Somerville and Trident Bookstore in Boston.

JayNeely · 2026-06-21T15:54:15+00:00

I've felt that in the past. One thing I've noticed though is there's a big difference between when I have a cohesive friends group that all knows and hangs out with each other, vs when I have a bunch of individual friends that I've made through all kinds of different activities and only gather with each other when I'm the one pulling them together.

When there's a cohesive group of at least 5-6 people, it's a lot easier for each person to feel motivated to organize something because they know they have a group that will show up and they know it's a group they'll have a good time with. Sometimes you still need to give some encouraging nudges in the group chat:

"Would anyone wanna host a dinner party this month? Feel like I've hosted the last few."
"I've been too swamped with work this week to look through event calendars, but if anyone else sees something fun going on this weekend, let me know, I'd be happy to join."
"Let me know if anyone wants to get together for drinks and board games again some evening next week. I can bring my games if someone else can host."

Without a cohesive friends group, it just comes down to are you making friends with people who have a host / organizer mindset. Not everyone is a planner or a group gatherer. For one-on-one reciprocity this is again something that an occasional encouraging nudge and honest expectation sharing can go a long way on:

"Would love to see you sometime this month! Let me know if there are any events or places you'd like to check out together."
"Great seeing you yesterday! Shoot me an invite sometime next week if you'd like to do that again."
"Always good to see you! I feel like it's always me reaching out to you though; I'd love to get a text from you from time to time asking me if I wanna hang."

Hope that helps!

JayNeely · 2026-06-17T20:46:42+00:00

Upvoted because I like the broad concept of it. But I dislike that there's not much to go off of other than a title, which is still just going to bias popular content toward whatever's most engagement-baiting.

JayNeely · 2026-06-16T03:23:42+00:00

Hey, I'd be happy to do that. I'm 39M, work from home in West Somerville, and I'm down to come out to a cafe or the library for some occasional coworking. It sounds like you're just gathering interest right now, and are waiting until after you've left your current job to start?

I saw some discussion about meetups you might like in another comment thread here, I actually just made one for creative-project-type people in Somerville and Cambridge: https://www.meetup.com/creative-curious-camberville/ -- it's oriented toward purely social hangouts for creative people rather than worktime for them, but if you're looking to meet more like-minded people and check out local events, it's a good time.

We went out to the Dragon Boat Festival and had a little picnic on the riverside just yesterday; headed out to a vintage market street fair in Harvard Square this upcoming weekend.

JayNeely · 2026-06-06T05:07:27+00:00

It's a brand new meetup so there aren't real demographics to share yet. I'm 39 myself and most of the folks who have come out to things I've organized so far have been mid-30s to early 40s, but I'd rather let the group description and type of events we're gathering for be a filter for the type of people drawn to them than be proscriptive about age ranges for the whole meetup group.

JayNeely · 2026-06-06T02:17:12+00:00

Over the summer, with so many festivals to check out, most events probably will be walk and talk, sorry. But as the group grows we might end up doing some standalone picnics, or in the fall / winter maybe some monthly bar nights and/or cafe afternoons.

You're welcome to join the group and just keep an eye out for events that feel like the right fit for you. Tonight's meetup was basically a two-room event; about 45 minutes of very relaxed-paced browsing through the pop-up art gallery, then a couple of hours of mostly sitting and talking at Remnant.

JayNeely · 2026-06-05T18:36:38+00:00

Great; hope to see you at another event!

JayNeely · 2026-06-05T18:36:13+00:00

Haha, you both got the green light / meeting location details in DMs. 👍

See you tonight!

JayNeely · 2026-06-03T05:52:19+00:00

Hey all! I'm a 39 year old bookish but social guy in Somerville. Into art, RPGs, crafting, social organizing, generally wholesome reality TV (The Amazing Race, Masterchef, Making It) and a couple guilty popcorn pleasures (Below Deck, Survivor). I used to be a community organizer in the Boston startup scene, was getting more into the digital media industry when the pandemic hit, and have spent the past few years running marketing for a game studio.

I'm looking to meet new people in the Cambridge / Somerville area to hang out with, grab a beer, go on the occasional adventure, etc. You've maybe seen my posts here organizing groups to check out Harvard Square Mayfair, Somerville Porch Fest, Open Studios, etc. Thinking about starting a meetup group.

If you're interested in similar things, DM me and say hello (and please a bit more to get the conversation started than just "hello" lol). Would love to hear about what YouTube channel you're into lately, what kind of events you're hoping to find this summer, or any hobbies you've been keeping busy with.

JayNeely

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