How to Meet New People in Los Angeles
By the OMGHey team · Published
Los Angeles is not one social scene; it's a dozen of them separated by traffic. The single most useful decision you can make is to build your social life on one side of town — ideally your own — because a 40-minute drive kills recurring attendance faster than any lack of interest. Within that, LA rewards outdoor and activity-based socializing, and a local conversation app like OMGHey covers the nights when nobody wants to get in a car.
Pick your side of town
Westside, Eastside, the Valley, South Bay and Downtown each run on their own rhythm. Choose recurring activities within about a 20-minute off-peak drive of home, and treat anything across town as an occasional trip rather than a weekly commitment.
What works here specifically
- Hikes and run clubs. Runyon, Griffith Park, the Rose Bowl loop, and beach paths anchor a large share of LA's casual social life.
- Beach volleyball and pickup sports. Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach courts run all year and absorb solo players.
- Classes. Improv, dance, surf, and studio classes are unusually strong in LA and come with a fixed cohort.
- Run-adjacent coffee culture. The post-activity coffee is where the actual conversation happens — stay for it.
Plan earlier than feels necessary
Because everything involves a drive, Angelenos plan further out and cancel more. Propose specific plans a week ahead, pick a location between you, and confirm the day before. Same-day spontaneity mostly fails here.
Common questions
Is it hard to meet people in LA?
Meeting people is easy; keeping them is harder, because distance discourages repetition. People who succeed socially in LA almost always have a neighborhood-level routine plus one or two recurring activities.
What apps work best in Los Angeles?
Location-aware ones. OMGHey matches you with verified people around you so conversations start local; Meetup and Partiful handle groups and events. See our 5 best apps for meeting people in LA.