When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
So a year ago, I started bringing small groups of guys together to play darts, shoot pool, go to trivia, and hang out over shared interests. I kept the groups fairly small, usually around three to six people, because that seemed to be the sweet spot. There were enough people to keep things social, but not so many that anyone got lost in the crowd.
The guys came back. They joined more activities, started getting to know one another, and told me I should make the idea much bigger.
That became Choros, a local community and mobile app built around a simple idea: guys are more likely to become friends when they do things together and see the same people more than once.
Today, Choros has more than 250 members in and around DC. Members have taken part in nearly 500 activities, including pickleball, hiking, board games, trivia, happy hours, baseball games, boat outings, and plenty of ordinary weeknight plans.
The app helps guys find activities and people based on where they live, what they enjoy, when they are available, and who they have met before. Members can join something already happening or suggest an activity of their own and find other guys who are interested.
I didn’t want to build another giant Meetup group, networking event, or online space where people collect connections but rarely see one another. The goal is to help guys find a few people they genuinely enjoy spending time with, make plans again, and gradually build a real circle of friends.
What started as a few experimental gatherings has now become an active local community with activities happening throughout the DC area every week.
If you recently moved here, your old social circle has drifted, or you simply want more guys to do things with, I’d be glad to have you check out Choros.