No big self help lemmy so I had to ask it somewhere else. Alright, I'm an university student but:
I don't like too much noise (no parties or bars).
I only go to university twice per week and it's far from home.
I don't like dating apps.
Social media imo stresses me out instead of helping me.
Can't steal friends of friends: New city, I know no one here.
I suck abismally at sports. Also I don't have a sporty profile.
Board/cardgame shops usually catter to people aged 30 and over as they can actually buy the games.
I'm just, like, out of ideas where to meet people aged 16-26. My best shot so far was in public transport but I'm usually too tired to bother. Been thinking of joining a DnD table or something just to meet people already rofl.
It will only get harder to find friends after university. If you can afford to, take classes on more than 2 days a week and join some clubs and activities while you are there. The university funds them and they are a hell of a lot better than you will get afterwards at any job. There will more likely than not be a D&D club at a university in 2023.
How far is the commute? If it's really that bad, find some school club that is happening on the days you are there. Join something that is obviously designed for another major. IEEE or a poetry club or cuisine club. Your university will have someone in charge that can give you a directory of these. Dean of students, perhaps?
Universities here don't have official clubs. There are some shenanigans people get into, but they aren't sponsored or even organized unless they serve some societal or educational purpose. It's also a bit hard to learn about them. My best bet is paying attention to the boards in the corridors and at the library because the good ol' A4 sheet ad is immortal. Even then it's rare for new stuff to get advertised. Maybe if I make a habit of going earlier once a week to scour every campus for new ads.
I can't get into more classes right now. I can only change my classes at the start of each semester and for mental health reasons I only take 2, max 3 classes at once. The issue is that all my teachers lumped their 4 classes in the week to be lectured consecutively, which is why I only go two days on a week.
How far is the commute?
40 minutes on the bus, 15 on a private taxi. My city has good traffic but even the bus is a bit expensive. Each ride is about a minimum hourly wage and the private taxi is double that. I won't go by bike because I would have to cross two avenues and a busy highway. But going to university just to hang about scouting for people feels silly.
Join something that is obviously designed for another major. IEEE or a poetry club or cuisine club.
That's actually a good idea, since I mingle way better with humanities students than my fellow compsci students.