U3A

Wow! Just looked at my next nearest group in a town rather than a large village. They have 24 groups! Mind you, three are walking groups and six are reading groups....

I didn’t get on with it. I joined because I needed help with my iPad but the group had been meeting up for years and it was more of a coffee morning. I would sit there with my iPad being largely ignored. It has since moved to a new venue but nobody bothered to email me to tell me. Having said that, there are lots of other subjects including a history group so I may rejoin and try that. I did go on a walk with the walking group years ago and nobody really spoke to us new members. There is another group a bit further away that I might join. Maybe it’s just me

I have looked at the other group and it appeals to me much more. They are doing a short walk at a local NT property that I’m a member of and they have a poetry group. So I think it’s worth looking at each groups agenda as they seem to vary a lot. I do need to get out and meet people more. Since Covid I have become a bit of a recluse and depend totally on the internet.

My husband, friend and I joined our town's U3A last September.
There are over 500 members and over 30 different interest groups.
We've all been made very welcome, so it's sad to hear other people haven't found the same.
Apparently people come to our U3A from different nearby towns because it's better than their local one!
One thing I found is that when I went to one group, I got invited to another one. As far as was possible I said yes, and went.
I worked on the principle that if I started by saying no, I wouldn't get asked again.

U3a was the way forward for me when I moved after DH died. I didn’t know anyone so the first group I joined was the allotment one because I knew I’d be able to hold my own. I’m now group leader. I have also joined a classical music group, monthly cinema trips and restaurant outings.

The monthly general meetings are a good way to meet people from other groups

My mother-in-law has used U3A extensively.
Is there a neighbouring group with more choice?

Apologies- I see you've done this.
I usually read the whole thread but am on the way to bed!
😬
Sorry.

Useful information. We hope to move this year and U3A was one of the groups I was thinking of joining to meet new people in a new town,

I still haven't joined. I did think about it but the interesting groups had a waiting list and the ones that didn't weren't for me.
Happily though I am back in touch with some old friends and now don't feel the need.
I do think it fulfills a vital purpose for many though, so don't knock it.

I'm interested that this discussion is under "Education".
I applied to join a U3A group to refresh my skills in a subject. I received a po-faced message back saying the group was not designed to offer support or assistance because they were all very proficient at the subject. This made me run for the hills, and I've never tried since!

Goodness! We have two local U3A’s locally and belong to both. Each have a monthly meeting with speaker and that is how we got started. We then went on a few outings, this was before COVID. These have become very expensive due to coach costs so now we both belong to the Local History group and I go to a small art group which meets once a month for a couple of hours so not a huge commitment. I am just getting to know the art group who seem very friendly.
The U3A want people to start new groups that interest them so that is a way forward perhaps. Have a chat to the knitting group, maybe you could just take a bit of finishing off with you, usually there is a lot of chat.

“For the members, by the members.”

If there’s only a few groups and nothing that interests you then join and start a group that does hold something for you.

I belong to an excellent U3a that has 100+ groups. They are all run by members sharing their own interests or by members prepared to research something they don’t know about and share it with others. Which is how it’s supposed to work.

Always something fresh on offer. But maybe not the place for people who just want to turn up and expect others to have (voluntarily) done all the work 😬

U3As vary such a lot as this thread makes clear. I thought it would be good but where I am, there is a U3A with about 50 groups (though there are 4 walking groups and 4 writing groups etc) and most of them are full with waiting lists.

There is a constant grumble that people don't want to lead or set up a new group and of the groups I've visited, some are fine but some are quite cliquey. One group where I joined a table of 4 was quite friendly but the 3 other people on my table carefully discussed going for lunch while avoiding looking at or including me! I suppose they'd known each other a long time!

I think I've read elsewhere that as so often when you're older, people are friendly enough in groups but don't necessarily want outside meet ups so you need a thick skin and to keep at it. It is though quite lively as an organisation in general and offers the possibility of meeting others with similar interests.

I belong to a local U3A and it is excellent. I am part of the music appreciation and also the poetry group, and I organise coach outings to classical concerts for them.

There is a huge array of group options covering just about any interest you might be able to think of. There is also a strong social element with pub get-togethers etc.

Try going to the site of a slightly bigger town and see what they have.

I also discovered that the groups that caught my interest were all full. There are 100 in our U3A.

While they encourage you to start your own group, I've already tried that in the past and just don’t have the energy for it now. However, I do recognise that many of my friends, whom I’ve known for about 50 years, came from those groups or from group connections made through having children the same age, or from different stages of education; another "group" situation.

It's clear that these groups can lead to lasting friendship networks, so it could be worth another try.

I didn’t find it of much use. Either the topics/activities didn’t interest me or if they did, I knew more than they did. I didn’t want to run a group myself, because I didn’t want the responsibility.

When my father was in his 90s he was a keen member of his local U3A play-reading group. He was very much valued because he was the only man!

Offer to serve as leader of a new group. Anything legal will do. You don't have to be the expert just to organise the others in the group, What interest you? Share your interest. The U3A is built on unpaid service to others.

Or you could offer to be the treasurer or the secretary.
I myself was a group leader for years.

Escaped: there is sometimes a problem about multiple levels of experience or expertise. You will understand that often people don't want to merely socialise or be passive learners; sometimes people want to learn from others who are already at or above their own level.

You were too timid. Find an interest at your own level. There is no shame in being a beginner.

Our U3A has about 70 groups ad this is a small town in a rural area! I suppose it depends on how many enthusiastic people who like to organise such groups there are in an area.
One group I enjoyed did close down but no-one felt they could be convenor which does entail quite a lot of work.

I did about 6 months in a U3A group for Spanish. It was very cliquey and was held at various members homes. One member asked you to pay for coffee which I thought was a bit mean. If you can’t afford to provide a few coffees then don’t invite people to your home.

They chose a very poor text book which was expensive and full of errors.

It clearly varies from area to area. There was a similar previous thread which prompted me to find out more as I had just moved to a new area.

Wasn't for me, first group I attended was small (8 I think) and they all knew each other. I had only joined up to it a couple of days previously so I didn't know we should have prepared some things in advance. Leader told me she would email me with all the details but never heard from her.

I also tried to join a book club but they kept changing the venue and I couldn't always to get to it.

Also got emails about Xmas lunches and quizzes then another would follow a day or two later apologising for giving wrong date, wrong venue address or something else wrong.

I may try again in the spring but when you pay for something I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a decent level of organisation.

I joined the nearest U3A a few years back. I liked much about it, but found it a bit clickey, and as soon as certain members discovered I had a car I was too frequently being asked for lifts. One lady in particular took to phoning me to ask for lifts that were nothing to do with U3A.
I joined the Scrabble group, but again I was bombarded with requests to be picked up and dropped home. It became too much after being caught in a massive traffic jam on the other side of town because of taking someone home. I stopped going after that. I don't mind giving normal lifts occasionally, but it really did become too much.
I might join a different group, but hide my car!

Why not volunteer to run something with a decent level of organisation ferry.

I’m sure you could do better than all those other unpaid volunteers🤔

You’re not buying a service 🙄

I am presuming there is a contact number for each group leader, so why not contact them to discuss your queries? (You weren't in a branch of Waterstones on Sunday morning searching for Claire Keegan novels by any chance?) £10 sounds good value to me; my u3a membership costs £30 , but is based on the hire of particular rooms. I belong to one group of 14 which would not fit in anyone's sitting room. I run another group and could join more, but don't have the time!