Meetup, Inc

When I moved to Atlanta a little over three years ago, I hardly knew anyone here. Believe it or not, I lived here for almost two years without making new friends. I was so caught up with the craziness of my job that I was too exhausted to make an effort to go out and meet people.
Let’s be realistic… It’s extremely difficult and intimidating to just put yourself out there to meet random strangers and build friendships on your own in a new city. Thank God I found Meetup!
Last summer, I stumbled upon Meetup through a random Google search. Okay, I’ll admit it — I was looking for a group of fellow Asians because my co-​workers had kids, didn’t want to hang out after work, and didn’t really share similar interests. It just so happened that a group that I was interested in, Atlanta Young Asian Nightlifers, was having a potluck at one of the organizers’ apartment in a few days. So I took the leap and signed up to attend with my little sister. Yes, I was too intimidated to go on my own.
Fast forward a year later…
I have met the most amazing group of people here in Atlanta. The people I have met through this Meetup were generally friendly and intelligent. What many of us had in common was the fact that we weren’t originally from Atlanta and simply wanted to make friends. I quickly realized this was the Meetup group for me.
Yes, there are many other Meetup groups out there for singles, couples, and almost any hobby that you can think of, but at the time, there was only one group for «Young Asians» in Atlanta. Although a good number of the members were already friends, everyone was so welcoming of newbies. I felt comfortable with this group and continued to meet with them almost every weekend since then. I haven’t had a dull weekend from that point on. =)
Although not nearly as involved with other Meetup groups, I have also attended some great events through the following groups:
* Mingling in Atlanta
* Gwinnett 20s and 30s Social Club
I realize that many Unilocalers have provided reviews based on their experiences as organizers and the way the website is organized. However, my review is simply based on my experience as a member who has not had to pay a dime to use it. Although I haven’t had the need (or desire) to use the website recently, it was easy enough to use when I was using it regularly.
Overall, Meetup gets 4 stars for for providing a great network to organize and attend various events. This Thanksgiving, I wanted to give a special thanks to Meetup and my many awesome friends I have met through the site. I highly recommend Meetup to anyone who has moved to a new city! There is really nothing for you to lose and so much to gain. Good luck, and happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Unilocalers!
[Review 327 of 366]

I found Meetups to be deceptive and difficult to communicate with. After asking about signing up to create a botanical Meetup, I was told that I couldn’t suspend account (so I could take a break when I wasn’t available to lead group) only to find out later that you can cancel account and restart it later — they don’t destroy your account details. They never gave me this information as an option. Also, they want you to link up with their WEPAY account so that any donations people make to your group they will take a WHOPPING 7%. This, after taking anywhere from $ 15.-$ 20 a month just for posting your Meetup on their site. Greedy… very greedy and seedy.