Lizard Adventure Travel

The other day I was chatting with my friend who recently moved to Victoria, and discovered that I was out of the loop (more specifically I was out of touch with Victoria's social scene), and it all came down to one website: www.MeetUp.com.  This website helps groups of people with shared interests, plan meetings and form offline clubs in local communities around the world.  Here in Victoria there are over 167 meetup groups, which range from the Social Dog Walking Club, to the Victoria Girls Cocktail Group to the more unique Michael Jackson Meetup Group.  If you're looking to get involved, stay connected or meet new people, this is truly the place to be. 

You simply type in your postal code and your topic of interest and all of the related groups will appear.  Since I have a passion for running I tried to search for a group in Victoria, but to my surprise there wasn't a running group!  Within 24 hours I decided it was time to take charge and I launched the Victoria Running MeetUp Group and I've already made 7 new friends!   

The idea is to post MeetUp events (so in my case it would be runs) and we meet at different places in Victoria to enjoy an interest that we share with complete strangers (whom will likely become friends).  This is different from joining a running group at a running store or recreation centre, because there is more of a online social component.  You can chat with fellow group members online - something that isn't available through other groups you might join in the city.  It is a great support network and it is very forward thinking, because it is accessible to more people - the majority of MeetUp groups are FREE to join!!! 

Once you join a group you can decide which MeetUp events to attend (most MeetUps are FREE or the group organizer can implement a cost if there are costs to cover, ex. transportation, entrance fees etc). 

In the Victoira Running MeetUp Group that I just started, you can join for free and there will be several runs that only require that you turn up and run.  Other events will be more structured (include transportation and guest lectures) and a registration fee is applied. 

I hope that you get out into your local communities to see what is offered.  Maybe you'll even start your own meetup group!