Mainers who are 18-35 generally move to Massachusetts to hookup, find relationships, and eventually marry. When they are ready to spawn they swim back to Maine and then lay eggs.

Also, I have many friends with interests similar to yours, and you gotta understand this: it will be inherently hard for straight men who like anime and video games to find a gf and it will be inherently easy for straight women who like the same things to find a bf due to gender demographics of these hobbies.

If you want to find a mate, keep your current hobbies, but *add new hobbies*, especially ones that are mostly done by straight women. For example: fashion, sewing, cosplay, knitting, crocheting, equestrian, animal rescue.

Wessie’s Den Arcade and pinball bar in Westbrook has a monthly Goth meet up called darkness at the den.

Also they are planning to have speed dating at some point in the near future.

Dating apps are horrible, especially in Maine.

Its advice I'm sure you've heard a million time but just keep doing what you're already doing. Make an effort to hang out with people who share the same interests as you, don't make the primary goal to meet someone, just enjoy yourself with people you like hanging with.

Arcadia. People like anime and games there.

Another option is to get a dog and go on frequent walks where people congregate. Even though I’m married I usually end up talking with other dog owners if I’m walking my pups through a park or something. Dog parks can also be a good place to start up a conversation.

Honestly, do shared hobbies in clubs where there will be single women, and don’t be too weird if the vibe isn’t right. A lot of anime / table game hobbies usually have women that are taken, because their boyfriends/husbands get them interested in it.

A lot of Women move to / live in Maine to do hiking, biking, Skiing (AT/XC), other light active sports, etc socially to maintain relationships. When I’m out on the trails, it’s usually a large group of women with 1-2 dudes. I hardly ever see a group of chads broing out unless it’s at a mountain bike park.

A lot of Men move to / live in Maine for isolation. Ice fishing, hunting, ATVing, things that require low social interaction. This is a growing problem, because it impacts how people interact in towns and cities. As their social skills deteriorate, they don’t question their incompatibility with others but question others inability to align with the man’s needs.

That type of clash will always leave each sex thinking “why can’t I find a partner?” If women are only swiping through camo wearing fish pics or men wearing all black with katanas.

Volunteer your time to non profits whose work interests you to expand your social network

I met my wife through running; you don't seem interested in that so I don't have a lot else to suggest that hasn't already been shot down.

As mentioned, Maine is an outdoors kinda place; most of the singles I've met have been out in group runs. Make friends, meet their friends, hopefully one will be cute and single and interested.

I really have nothing to add as a happily married dude, but just to say that I really feel for people that have to deal with the whole dating app scene. From an outsider looking in, it looks awful and I would have no clue how to navigate it.

Family reunions

It's crazy that "Hot or Not" evolved into modern dating once smartphones became mainstream.

Do what you love and you will find them there. You seem a little picky to try something new outside your comfort zone.

If you like the cozy indoor life, get to your local library, volunteer, get to know the librarians. They know who likes to stay in to read, and might even know who might be single. And even if they don't, libraries are excellent places to be, and many could use a helping hand. Maybe start a book club or movie night for mud season, when even the most avid hikers tend to take a break.

Is the Meetup app still a thing, or has that died away? I met my wife through hiking. A friend I know from work met her on hikes and kayaking trips using Meetup and introduced us on another hike.

Reddit is full of "I stay home all the time but find it hard to meet people, why is that?"

You gotta get out to places where people might actually be. Look for clubs or other activity groups in your area.

I like board gaming. Back when I traveled a lot for work I'd search the city I was in to find their local board gaming group. 70% or better of the cities I went to had one that was meeting when I was there. Usually in a restaurant or library. Meet up, play some games, meet some people, it was fun. I made some friends who I've kept up with for years now.

Volunteering is a good way to meet people too, the library is always looking for volunteers.

Join a charitable organization. A friend of mine is in the Lions club, they raise money for lots of different charities. I helped with one of their fund raisers and met a whole bunch of people. It can be a good way to meet folks in your town...

If you know or work with well-meaning older ladies, let them know that you are looking to find a nice girl. Older ladies love to play at matchmaking and can usually find you a daughter, granddaughter, niece, friend of someone from church, etc. who would be perfect for you. It worked out for both of my male cousins who are both very shy.

Love that you bring up the third place I'm going to explain for others as a way of also answering you.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg classified social spaces into an ordinal system. The First Place is the home, the Second is the workplace, the Third Place is a place of socializing and human connection. Rather than leave an exhaustive comment I'd recommend checking out the wikipedia page. Note the barriers to our generation in accessing a 3rd Place compared with age groups from other times. Capitalism in it's relentless drive to seek profit has commodified and in the process destroyed many Third Spaces of the past, the famous example being The Mall of the 90's (the same Mall which was already a commercial space). They have become too expensive or alienating in other ways. One particular strain comes from the culture and very person-hood of the young being split between reality (semi-ironically called 'meatspace') and cyberspaces like this. This space we share now is on the one hand more engaging and accessible then reality but is itself fraught with problems which often lead to shallow and/or dead end relationships or community which is insufficient compared to old models. The last 20 years have tested the corporate aspirations of Sony in its bid to claim cyberspace as the new Third Place and found it to be mostly a failure. Relationships sex and even friendships have continued to decline as depression has risen. In a context of mass alienation people like me have found meaning and community alongside others who understand these challenges by waging coordinated struggle against such forces. You may avoid such a confrontation but you will not avoid these barriers. The barriers I refer to are not impregnable, this is part of their design and function. Still, do not be shocked when you look at yourself in a few years and realize you are still outside.

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What about people in their 40's? LOL

Through friends and mutual acquaintances.

I found my wife on an online dating site. I lived alone on an island and she lived alone on a farm. Worked out for us!

I don't have much advice other than you're not alone in this struggle. Even finding friends is hard. I work from home, and most of my interests and hobbies are either indoors or niche, so it's a massive struggle to meet people in our age range with the same interests.

In bangor there’s a video game store that has weekly events game citadel it’s called

In my experience... They meet each other in the past. My wife is someone I met in college and only dated years later. That said, we never would have dated if we hadn't already met.

I'm dating my sock

Volunteer. You meet people, you help people, you gain confidence in yourself from helping others. Some of the best people I’ve met have been through helping others. Look at it less as trying to meet other people and more as working on yourself.

Also become a regular somewhere. Coffee shop, bookstore, etc. become known as a friendly person and you will run into other friendly people. I personally rely on bookstores and gardening to meet other people. Both are non-threatening environments that people are usually open to having conversations in.

Enroll in local educational opportunities that interest you (usually towns mail out flyers periodically with the info). Volunteer your time at charitable organizations. Depending on your industry you could look into chamber of commerce events (Bangor has a chamber offshoot that caters specifically to young professionals and has periodic social events and recreational sports leagues). Look into the eSports scene as there are a few local organizations trying to get off the ground. Start going to local tcg shops for events that interest you (DnD, Warhammer, MTG, etc..)

I can't seem to get any luck in Maine either. I was with a guy from Mass for two months, but me being the shy introvert I am broke it off because I barely knew the guy and all he wanted was sex even though I told him I was still very uncomfortable.

Dating apps only ever get me people from out of state, and I am not willing to drive that far for someone who I may or may not like.

Board game stores will often have regular events. Often it's playing specific board games, but I think there's sometimes some overlap more into the anime and video game realm. Specifically, I'm thinking of Diversions in Portland and Gamebox in Topsham, but I imagine it's a thing at other stores too

Met my husband on Hinge in the middle of the pandemic. Don't let anyone tell you dating apps can't work.

I recently was told that there is a pinball bar and a video game bar in the Saco area. Haven't been yet but when I do check them out I will let you know!

Haven’t been to the new location on Congress in Portland but the old Arcadia, or “Barcadia”, was rad. I know you’re not into the bar scene but it’s a “bar” (former venue now) filled with tonnns of video games. From the earliest to the newest.

Someone correct me if the new spot isn’t representing the old spot, but I used to love that place.

Best advice I can give you is to try dating apps that make you pay. Not trying to be elitist in the slightest bit, but I have a handful of friends who successfully met their spouses on Eharmony.

Doesn't help that Maine is basically a retirement community, young people have very little reason to stay there and there's only one decently urban city (Portland). I got 5 matches in 2 days while in Vermont vs like 2 in 6 months in Maine

Where about a in Maine are you? In downtown Bangor there’s the Queen City Cinema Club, sounds like a place you’d enjoy. Board games, movies, video games, and nice nerdy people. I’m in my mid 20s and I agree, the social scene for our age group, especially if you’re introverted, is very challenging. I asked around about community spaces and a lot of people recommended church..

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My wife and I found each other at a contra dance.

Ya just never know.

Well, that's where you messed up, son, you can't go to no bar to find a nice woman. You gotta go to a nice place, a quiet place like a library, there's good women there; and 'erm, church, they're good girls. Or this place here, where I'm going tonight. The Black Awareness Rally. There's going to be some fine women there. Good, clean girls. That's where I'm going, shit.

At work or at church is how most people in rural Maine hook up. The old port in Portland has plenty of options for bars. They are not all meat markets.

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I really struggled in Portland as an early 20-something. Bars and clubs were places I would go with my friends and not really where I was in the space to find someone.

I was on the apps a lot but extremely picky about actually meeting up with people; there were a lot of frogs to sift through! I literally went on one app date ever, when I was 24, from Hinge, and we’ve now been together for over 6 years and married for a year and a half.

I’m sorry I don’t have any useful advice, but I will say it’s possible. But it sucks until you get there. The best way I can describe it is that the dating pool in Maine is very shallow: decent size with lots of options, but very few that are viable and right for any one person.

Have you tried using MeetUp? That's how we meet people whe. We first moved here. There's a surprisingly large number of active groups on there.

College hookups. And, if that doesn't work, a different state where she thinks your Maine accent is "cute."

Free lessons on Canoe dating -Friday night at the Old Town factory

If you live close to Portland, and you are up for volunteering, check out Mayo street arts. They often use volunteers to help with (evening/weekend) events. I am involved there, and I can say, it’s a lot of nerds - of the best kind. No intimidating art types there. Even if you are not interested in puppets, the adult humor puppet happy hour and puppet slam also had nerds and anime types. I can’t vouch for anyone’s gender preference, but I can promise you nerd types.

Redemption center, plasma center, and Micucci’s secret back room around noon.

Just wait till my mother drags my sister to the store to shop. My sister should be able to drive herself but won't. My mother everytime she sees another guy she will do everything she can to embarrass my sister.

Personally? I’d volunteer at a worthy non-profit. You’ll meet other quality volunteers. Win-win

They meet in the middle, beneath that big Georgia pine.

Community theater? If you aren't into acting, you can help backstage with set building, costume making, props. Or just join as stage crew to help change sets during the show.

Have you tried trivia night at bars? It's a very different atmosphere from regular bar nights. Go with friends, become a regular, and meet other groups of regulars. Your movie/music interests might make you good at trivia!

The internet

As soon as you take the pressure off of yourself to find someone things have a way of working themselves out.

Myrtle street

I was told to find my wife before I graduated UMaine

Bars. I’m hoping they allow for cannabis lounges, that will help with meeting people.

I guess in Maine…

At the family reunion...

Oh, and once I met a guy while circling the Trader Joe’s parking lot waiting for a space to open.

Hard sayin' not knowin'

Mainer men like to complain about the lack of women in our state. My wife is my best friend, smokin hot and grew up in Northeast Harbor. If I didn’t have her I wouldn’t have trouble meeting women. If you see a woman eyeballing you: introduce yourself, charm her for a couple minutes, and get her phone number. Make sure you have a business card to give her your number. Women in Maine do not like being broke in the winter. That card shows you have your stuff together. D&D is fine, my teenage boys love it! Some more adult hobbies will help though. We have a camper and freshwater fishing boat. I also take my girl to several rock concerts throughout each year. And stay out of the bars. That’s where losers hang out in this state.