Beta Sigma Phi (BSP) is an international cultural, social and service sorority. It is not connected with college sororities. I joined 20 years ago when I moved from the east coast to Iowa and found it difficult to socialize with reserved people who had lived there forever. My sister’s SIL had been a member at that time for at least 30 years. She submitted my name to International, which in turn provided my information to the Area Council serving my town. Different chapters contacted me and we “interviewed” each other over the phone and in person to see how we fit. I’ve moved multiple times since and always found a good group of women in BSP.

Here’s the Wikipedia link with the organization’s link provided under External Links if you‘re interested.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Sigma_Phi

I've joined a couple of knitting/crochet groups in addition to a book group.

I’m in a GFWC.org women’s club and have made some wonderful friends. I routinely socialize with a few of them outside of club activities.

I also suggest trying multi-week classes (not once-and-done), at a gym, a community college, a cooking school, a camera store, etc.

Volunteering somewhere would also be a source to meet new, interesting people.

I wouldn't hesitate to try some of the Meetup groups. It’s not a lifetime commitment, what do you have to lose?

Good luck and have fun with it.

I was in a meet up writers’ group for about six years. Yes, it was great for writing, but it was a great support group as well.

Couple other things you can try:

College alumni groups

Political parties on the county level have a women's auxiliary, so look for Democratic Women or Republican Women of ______ County

Sustainability organizations or other community coalitions centered around bicycling and walkable neighborhoods, farmers markets

Is there any type of continuing ed type of classes through cooperative extension, local community colleges, etc.

Many good ideas so far.

I joined a Meetup for a book club opportunity. I didn't want hard core which is what my local options are. I also wanted it to be with older woman in my age group. With my group, I can jump in (although yo do sign up and commit) with only the books that interest me. They have a list 6 months out so I can pick and choose.

I agree with Hhierno about going to the gym. It takes a while, but like minded (really age related) people seek each other out. I have become friends with a few older women but it has taken years of seeing the same faces. So, this is not a quick fix by any means. You need to be consistent with the same class, same time etc.

What are your interests? Meetups have everything so it is a good place to start.

Although I don't golf, a few of my gym buddies do and that has become a spin off for them. If you join a beginners league, I think you couldn't help but make friends with at least one or two in the group.

My WW meetings have a group of friendly women that I chat with while there. I haven't felt the need to meet outside of a meeting, but I think it could be a place to meet others. WW is now Wellness that Works, so even if you are at your ideal weight (which I am as a lifetime member) there can still be a a place for you in this group.

I’ve done Meetups, but I haven’t in a while. It’s very easy to explore and there’s really no obligation to sign up for anything if you don’t feel like it. I personally didn’t acquire any new friends doing Meetups, but if you don’t have many friends who are available to do things with, Meetups gives you an activity to go to with a group of people who will welcome you. There are Meetups for different age groups and interests and you can search within a radius of your location. Most are free to join but some activities might have a charge.

I’ve tried hiking and outdoors meetups, but I quickly found that I don’t like hiking with 20 people. In different Meetups, I learned to play the ukulele and tried Dragon Boating and attended historic and environmental lectures at a local parks or museums. There’s a social Meetups group near me that schedules things like gallery crawls, and going to the movies or plays and concerts, and these events fill up quickly (there can be capacity limits on some Meetups). There are casual Meetups for just meeting at a local place for Happy Hour. There are Meetups to learn to dance, practice different languages, or get together for knitting or cooking. You’re sure to find something that interests you, and even if you don’t find a great new friend you’ll be expanding your world.

I’ve recently upped my volunteering game and have met so many people I wouldn’t have met otherwise! I work at one town library once a week, joined the board of another library, joined a town commission, etc. I’m not really in the market for new friends, but I’m making new friends regardless.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing these ideas and experiences. I've made a note of all of them to research further. I'm probably going to start with Meetup and see where it takes me initially. My area seems to have an abundance of different groups targeted to women.

Kitchenwitch111, you bring up a great point that I hadn't considered before, and that is that just because I enjoy a particular activity or hobby, doesn't mean I want to do it alongside a bunch of other people. But I do need to just bite the bullet and try something.

My DD is your age and married. A few years ago, she wanted to expand her circle and joined a couple of meet ups for women in her age group. She didn’t enjoy the group experience as much as she had hoped, but she is still friends with one of the gals she met there; they’ve even gone on a trip together.