Another round at the ‘haus
by Avir Waxman
Socialhaus seeks to establish a space where people can forge new and meaningful connections in a comfortable setting. We gather together all types of people, working in things from software engineers to storytellers, coming from places ranging from Turkey to Chile. So why do they come to Socialhaus? What do they get out of it? And, most importantly, why do they keep coming back? We sat down with a few of them to find out.
What does a good social life look like to you?
M: ”We want to express ourselves. We want to see something that seems familiar. You want to be able to look into someone’s eyes and be able to say ‘this is important to me, how do you feel about it?’…The lack of a social life would be when you feel alone, and don’t have anyone to share those things with.”
D: ”When you feel that every week, there was something you did because somebody else asked you to do it, instead of you coming up with everything by yourself.”
S: “To have a group that I can reliably hang out with, where you go “Hey! Do you want to come to this event with me?” and they respond with “Yeah! And let’s invite (another person) too!”
L: “When you feel that you can connect with someone, rather than talking and talking and talking, and at the end of the day you don’t get anything — and then the next time you go out and do the same thing.”
What first drew you to Socialhaus?
M: “One thing the city does not have, is Denny’s. And when I say Denny’s I don’t mean the restaurant — I mean 2am, hanging out with friends, and we just want to have coffee and chat. That’s one thing about this city that’s sorely missing.”
A: “There’s something to be said about the easiness of actually getting to talk to new people. Like, ‘here’s some people — go talk to these people!’ It removes all the friction and nervousness by being placed in a group where nobody knows anybody.”
What’s the main reason you returned to Socialhaus after your first visit?
D: “There’s not that many social spheres where you can actively dive into deeper discussions or anything that has substance; it’s either networking or you’re going to a bar or party. There’s nothing that feels that niche where it’s like ‘Alright, I just want to talk to people and get to know them.’”
A: “For other meetups, I’d say it’s kind of hard to talk to people about yourself. People don’t really care about you. What I like about this event is you actually try to get to know other people, instead of just making really shallow connections.”
M: “One of the most awesome things that makes me super grateful I found Socialhaus is that feeling that when I go there — I don’t have a motive. I’m just there to meet people.”
What do you think makes Socialhaus different from other events?
D: “For me, it was the fact that what I talked about was different. Silicon Valley is a huge rat race, and 99% of people are doing the same thing. It’s very tiring, after a while. Here, though, the topics are fresh.”
A: “I really like traveling alone and going to hostels and meeting people. I feel like Socialhaus actually gives me that experience without having to travel!”
How much do you want to see new faces versus familiar ones? (This question sparked some interesting conversation — which is quoted below.)
L: “I think that if every time you see different people, it’s hard to build relationships.”
M: “I think it can be really interesting to keep seeing new people, even if it isn’t going to be a friendship. For example, today, there was Michael. When we were doing introductions he said “I don’t do anything. I don’t work.” And I thought, ‘Okay, this will be interesting.’ It was really cool to see his perspective, and it was a nice exercise of getting to know him. I don’t think I’ll end up being friends with him, but it was a good way to start bridging the gap between us.”
A: “Yeah, I’d like to add to that. In the beginning, I really enjoyed that kind of fluid dynamic, because it was really nice to keep meeting new people. But over time, I became friends with a few people who kept returning. It was still nice to have new people around, but I was looking forward to Socialhaus so we could hangout. So I guess it depends on what you’re looking for — to meet new people or make friends — but there’s definitely room to do both.”
There’s tons of reasons people come to Socialhaus. What it boils down to, though, is meeting people and making connections — and that’s what we’re all about. Is that something you’re looking for? Then come see what we’re all about. We’ll have a cup of tea waiting.
And don’t worry: it’s on the ‘haus.
Socialhaus: your city’s living room
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