Meet New Friends with a Local Meetup Group

Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, a working mother or a mompreneur, chances are that you don't really get a chance to go out and meet new people very often.

Gone are the days where you can join a friend for a long, leisurely cup of coffee or pursue your dreams and interests at your leisure, right?

Wrong!

Even the busiest mom needs to carve out a few minutes for herself on a regular basis, whether that's once a week or once each day. It's absolutely imperative that you take care of yourself, even when—especially when!—you're taking care of everyone else in your life on a daily basis.

Remember all of those hobbies and interests that you used to have before you had kids? If they're important enough to you, you'll make time for them now as well. Someone once told me that we as moms need to carve out our own agendas—or everyone else will do it for us. Great advice.

Meetup.com is the perfect way to find like-minded people who share common interests. This popular web site allows people all over the globe to find, start or join local groups who meet about almost any topic.

Here's a short sampling of some of the Meetup groups in the Algonquin area:

N2BD Outdoor Adventure Club:
http://www.meetup.com/N2BD-Adventure-Group
Various locations

Pos+ive Charge!:
http://www.meetup.com/Positive-Charge
Meets on Wednesdays at Port Edward Restaurant, Algonquin

The Crystal Lake Bookworms:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Crystal-Lake-Bookworms
Various locations

Women's Leadership Network:
http://www.meetup.com/Women-s-Leadership-Network
Meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.

Algonquin Moms Group:
http://www.meetup.com/AlgonquinMomsGroup
Various locations


Most groups will require you to request membership or sign up, and some groups require approval from the moderator.

There are a wide variety of groups out there, covering everything from bicycling to software to writing and more, and sizes vary widely as well. It's not uncommon for newer groups to only have a few members, while more popular groups can have thousands of active members.

Look around, search for groups that interest you or even start your own. You'll be glad that you did!