How to Make Friends in Omaha
Whether you’re new to Omaha or simply want to expand your local friend group, it’s no secret that it can be real tough making new friends as an adult.
I’ve been there myself. I know it’s not fun feeling isolated. From my own experience, once you’re out of school it gets so much harder to meet new people. It’s not impossible. It just takes a little more effort.
I think one of the best ways to put yourself in a position to meet new people is to pick a hobby you enjoy and join a local group for it, so you can be around people who have similar interests on a fairly regular basis. Similar interests + seeing the same people repeatedly = prospective friendships!
The good news is Omaha has a darn good variety of groups, clubs, and events that are great opportunities to get connected with new people around town. If you’re willing to put yourself out there a little, it’d totally doable to make lasting friendships as an adult.
Below are some suggestions to check out.
Running Clubs
Fleet Feet Omaha has multiple running clubs that meet weekly at different locations.
Omaha Running Club maintains a calendar of various runs happening around town, and they also have a membership card.
Run 402 is a Facebook group that posts about variety running events/groups around town, so you can see everything in one spot.
Hiking & Walking Clubs
Trail Seekers Omaha is a Facebook group that plans one hike per month at rotating locations.
Trail Sisters has an Omaha chapter for their women-only community. They host group runs and hikes.
Omaha Girls Who Walk is a group that meets regularly to walk together at different locations around town.
Book Clubs
Omaha Public Library hosts a bunch of book clubs at OPL branches across town focusing on a variety of genres.
The Bookworm offers in-house book clubs that meet monthly, each with a different focus.
Silent Book Club has an Omaha chapter that meets at different places around town for quiet reading time and a social hour.
OutNebraska’s LGBTQ+ book club meets every 3rd Tuesday evening of the month via Zoom.
Gaming Groups
Spielbound hosts board game events throughout the month and also has a board at their location to help connect individuals to groups looking for more members to play.
Nebraska State Chess Association has Omaha chess clubs that meet weekly.
The Jack Spence Chess Club has a meetup that usually happens weekly.
The Game Shoppe hosts open play sessions and other events.
The Omaha Board Gamers Facebook group arrange meetups to play games together.
Omaha Nebraska D&D Facebook group often has posts from people looking for more D&D players to join their group.
Nebraska Gamers Facebook group often posts local gaming events.
The Geek Room hosts gaming events.
Dungeon Crate hosts gaming events.
Cafe Monster hosts gaming events.
Dragon’s Lair hosts gaming events.
Ground Zero hosts gaming events.
Krypton Comics hosts gaming events.
Cycling Clubs
Omaha Pedalers Bicycle Club meets monthly for a recreational ride.
Omaha Metro Gravel and Adventure Club meets weekly (seasonally) for a casual ride.
Prairie Bloom Cycling Club is a women’s group that offers group rides and a race team.
Bellevue Bicycle Club meets monthly for a laidback ride.
Rec Leagues & Groups
The City of Omaha offers paid leagues for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball.
Omaha Sports Club has a paid membership and leagues for various sports, including bowling, cornhole, darts, golf, pickleball, pool, softball, and volleyball.
Omaha GLBT offers games and sporting events, including volleyball, bowling, softball, and darts.
Greater Omaha Leagues has paid darts leagues.
Game On Omaha has paid leagues for bocce ball.
Omaha Broomball has paid leagues.
Aksarben Curling has paid leagues and classes.
Omaha Metro Disc Golf Association has a paid membership and leagues.
Omaha Fencing Club has paid classes, open fencing hours, and tournaments.
Blue Sky has paid pickleball leagues and mini bowling leagues.
Smash Park has paid pickleball and cornhole leagues.
Fitness Groups & Classes
Females in Action has an Omaha community that meets regularly to exercise.
F3 has an Omaha chapter offering bootcamp-style workouts for men.
Writing Groups
Nebraska Writers Collective hosts events, including a monthly poetry slam in town.
Nebraska Writers Guild has several groups that meet monthly in town for paid members and non-members.
Nebraska Writers Workshop hosts weekly meetups that alternate between in-person and Zoom meetings.
Romance Authors of the Heartland offers monthly meetings for its paid members, along with a book club.
Other Hobby & Interest Groups
Omaha Maker Group has weekly makerspace hours for their paid members.
Craft Day Club hosts monthly crafting meetups.
Bench Omaha offers a paid co-working space and paid membership for woodworkers, plus classes and trainings.
Nebraska Mineral and Gem Club hosts events, rock swaps, and paid member open workshop hours.
Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club has a paid membership, monthly member meetings, and other events.
Omahawks R/C has a paid membership and regular meetups for those interested in radio-controlled model aviation.
Omaha Paddle Club meets weekly (seasonally) for those who enjoy paddling canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, or anything else that floats.
Classes
Backline Comedy offers paid improv and standup comedy classes.
Big Canvas Comedy provides paid improv and standup comedy classes.
Omaha Community Playhouse has paid theater classes and workshops.
The Rosy Clay Co. offers paid pottery workshops.
Social Groups
Social Socials Omaha hosts events for anyone who is sober, sober-curious, or just sober for the duration of their meetups.
Gals That Brunch has an Omaha chapter where you can register to attend a brunch outings (or one of their other get-togethers) around town.
Nerd Nite Omaha hosts a monthly meetup to listen to local presenters speak on a variety of topics.
CreativeMornings has an Omaha chapter that hosts a monthly breakfast series for the creative community.
Omaha Girls Club has a paid monthly membership, member meetups, and paid public socials.
Other Resources
Bumble BFF has an app for making friends in your area.
Meetup.com has listings for local get-togethers.
r/Omaha sometimes has posts from locals looking to promote a group or meetup.
