The Sole Purpose of Socializing

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I live in the middle of downtown Springfield, MO. I've been trying to think of different ways to meet people. I have an account on meetup.com. My problem is that most social opportunities aren't just about socializing, they're more about some sort of hobby, event, or something like that. Additionally, these things typically cost money and/or require me to have a car to get to the meetings. The only places I know of where people go solely for the purpose of meeting others and socializing are things like night clubs, bars, or churches. Those places are not my taste. I'm in college, and used to be in a ton of campus clubs, but those did not help much.

In much of the USA a car is requirement to be a "real" adult, Europeans will never understand. Without that car and lacking any public transport you're basically an invalid.

I don't agree with this but it is true.

B&O do you have any hobbies or interests that don't require a big up front cost? You're probably not going to find something with zero money requirement, but you should be able to think of something with a low money requirement.

I have an expensive bike, but many things I find on meetup.com are outside city limits. A bike would not be the most practical in these cases. Springfield is fairly small and conservative, making me the only one with most of the interests I have. In school, I am majoring in outdoor recreation. There is a local outdoors group or two on meetup, but I have yet to go to any of their meetings. Doing outdoor things by myself- especially without a car- can be expensive, but I need a car to do things in a group (or even by myself in some cases). My main problems with getting a car are that they are dangerous and I do not have a job. As far as low cost opportunities, I have several thousand dollars in the bank and almost no bills, but am too paranoid to spend it. On the other hand, not wanting to get a car or spend money are probably part of why I don't have a job. I don't even take out school loans, even though I probably need them. I have accepted I may need to take out loans later, but recently learned that unused loans from previous semesters do not roll over, at least not at my school. This makes me wonder if I should take out loans now while I can.

P.S. I have started wondering if it is better to die in a car accident after improving my life (or trying to, anyway) than of old age after a lifetime of no human interaction.

i couldnt make any friends on meetup groups since they give you cold shoulder approach they are full of NT's, loud, extroverts
who will treat you like a alien.
Nothing constructive came out of meeting them up
and yes money was spend for nothing at all.
plus its risky approaching total strangers.
many of the looked shady characters.

What kind of meet ups are we talking about? Shady characters?

I mean hell there are groups that just meet up to watch TV shows like Doctor Who etc, you might have to pitch in food wise, crowd is likely to be nerdy/geeky which is easier to engage than something like football parties. No luck outside big cities for stuff like this though.

shady characters mean suspicious looking people
i remember there was a guy who was extra friendly with females in the meetup
he kept clicking photos of the females
and wanted to hold hands or shake hands or touch while talking
this all is not acceptable in indian culture

Blue and Orange, you could email the outdoor group organizers and ask if anyone in the group would be willing to pick you up? You can offer gas money and travel to a convenient place in the city to catch a ride.

Is your bike for on or off road riding? Join a cycling club?

I don't live in a big city, so I may end up with bad luck. I joined a handful of random groups online, and plan to start attending meetings when school is over.

That is a good idea. I'll probably end up needing a car eventually, though.

My bike is an on road only (called a "utility" bike"), and I don't think there's a cycling club around here. *sigh*