How to find friends in Sydney? And how to find dates in Sydney…without using the apps?
The Plus Ones to the rescue! We’re all about meeting new people (it’s pratically in our name), and with more and more people leaving dating apps and craving in-person connections, there’s no better time to start going to one — or all – of these curated happenings.
Go solo, bring a mate — no matter what, you’ll have spent a night away from your screen and exploring the city. We call that a win-win!
FRIENDS
- Conscious Connections
https://www.ccdinners.com/booknowsyd ($59)
‘play board games, have a chat and enjoy good food’
age range = 25 to 50
- Creative Lunch Club
https://www.creativelunchclub.com/ (€10 for 3 months – $16.50AUD) get matched with 2 creatives every month; arrange your own meetup
age range = appears to be 20s to 60s
- Dinner With Strangers
https://www.patreon.com/dinnerwithstrangers ($12.50)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dinner-with-strangers-sydney-tickets-946959660837
every Friday at 7pm (you pay for dinner)
age range = looks to be 20s & 30s
- TimeLeft
https://timeleft.com/ ($26/mo plus dinner [subscription], or $24 plus dinner. Get 25% off with code ‘ILOVETIMELEFT’)
‘meet 5 strangers over dinner, all matched by our personality algorithm’
age range = 18 to 70
Female Friendship Groups
- Bondi Beach.Babes
https://www.facebook.com/groups/200671651017024
‘a place where women of all backgrounds, cultures and beliefs come together’ (not just in Bondi, but Sydney-wide)
- Friends On Purpose
https://linktr.ee/friendsonpurpose ($0-$50)
events like bead & sip, friend happy hours, Hot Girl Walk
age range = 18 to 35
- Girl Gone International
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1410177372569057/
‘a group for meeting friends and creating community’ – one of 200 groups worldwide
- Ketch-up
https://www.ketchupcommunity.com/ ($20-$65)
‘where women meet, connect & share’ age range = 20s to 30s
- Lost and Found in Sydney
https://www.facebook.com/groups/9785681138116375
’82 group chats for different areas, careers, activities, relationship status, lgbt, you name it!’
- Sydney Girls Connect
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4265259613597087
‘a group for women of all ages that want to create friendships that are long-lasting’
DATES
- Cupid’s Club
wearecupidsclub.com.au/events ($40)
all sexual preferences welcome
age range = 20s and 30s
- Dear Pluto
https://www.dearpluto.com/ ($30)
queer and straight speed dating; need to bring a mixed-gender duo/group
age range = generally 25 to 35
- No Swipes
https://noswipes.com.au/ ($84)
‘250 guys 250 girls celebrating single life’
events at the races, on boats
age range = 25 to 45(ish)
- Merge Dating
https://www.instagram.com/merge.dating ($17)
‘no speed dating, no name tags, no apps’
age range = 25 to 60
- Sunday Singles
https://www.sundaysingles.com.au/pages/events-sydney (TBC)
‘a standup comedy game for singles’
- Thursday Dating
https://events.getthursday.com/ ($15-$40)
‘just a bar, everyone single’ – 200 singles
age range = not specified
- Unwritten Singles
https://www.instagram.com/unwrittendating ($110)
’30 singles, 3 tables, 1 restaurant, 1 official unwriten match’
age range = 20s & 30s
MELBOURNE
Finally, here’s an event for all your friends south of the border. Melbourne has one of the coolest activities going, which we hope makes its way to Sydney.
- Human Love Quest
https://www.instagram.com/humanlovequest
https://linktr.ee/humanlovequest
‘an inclusive live onstage dating show’
No matter which event/group you choose to attend, we know that you’ll come out of it with a renewed sense that we’re all in this together — and that it’s easier than you think to make connections IRL.
Best of luck, and enjoy meeting tons of cool new people!
– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa hopes this guide will help you expand your social circle in the new year & beyond!
Disclosure: all prices were up-to-date at the time of publishing.
Image credit: supplied.
