I moved to Vancouver in 2024 with the express goal of finding and building communities around what I'm interested in. What I found was a lot of ambition from friends trying to do the same, but a lack of discoverability and known options made it difficult for them to find groups doing what they were interested in.

What is unique, maybe, is that I got kind of obsessed with finding every community I could. I started a run club directory website. I started an entrepreneur Whatsapp group - now with over 150 people in it. I went to meetups that ranged from great to deeply awkward. And I kept discovering small niche groups that blew my mind - communities I never would have found if I hadn't been actively looking.

The problem is discoverability. These groups live on tiny scattered Instagram pages, Lu.ma events, Meetup listings, and word of mouth. There's no central place to find them. So I built one.

vancouvercommunity.org is a free, open source, community-submitted directory of 250+ groups across the city. 38 categories. Everything from chess clubs to underground raves to salsa dancing, and so much more.

Here are the ones that stuck with me while curating the site.

Shy Philosophers. A philosophy discussion group specifically for people who are too anxious to talk in most group settings. The fact that this exists makes me unreasonably happy. (Philosophy & Intellectual)

Death Rides a Unicorn. That's the name. It's a literary nonprofit that runs three spoken word series: Famous Last Words, Liars of Orpheus, and The 17 Syllable Slam. Very out of my world but I love it. (Poetry & Spoken Word)

The world's largest dodgeball league. The Vancouver Dodgeball League — 260+ teams, 2,000+ players, the largest non-profit dodgeball organization in the world. Every game ends at the pub. (Social & Friend Clubs)

Silent Book Club. People gather at a bar or café, read whatever they want in silence for an hour, then talk. No assigned reading, no prep, no pressure. Just a room full of people reading together. It's the introvert's ideal social event. (Book Clubs)

Free raves for people who can't afford festivals. The Vancouver Renegade Underground DJs throw free pop-up electronic music events. Their whole thing is making festival vibes accessible to people who can't drop $400 on a ticket. Anti-gatekeeping. Completely underground. (Underground DJ)

Slow Hikers Vancouver. A hiking group for people who take twice the suggested time. Their tagline is "we'll wait for you." That's the whole pitch. (Hiking & Outdoors)

A philosophy club that meets through anime. The Anime Philosophy Meetup - they watch anime and discuss the philosophical themes. Sounds like a joke until you're three hours deep in a conversation about existentialism through Neon Genesis Evangelion. (Philosophy & Intellectual)

Repair Cafés. Free events where volunteers help you fix broken things instead of throwing them away. You bring your busted toaster, someone helps you take it apart. Anti-consumerist and weirdly meditative. (Maker Spaces)

Weird & Wonderful. A social club designed specifically for neurodivergent folks. Low-pressure, explicitly welcoming. They describe their members as "magical and interesting people." More groups should do that. (Social & Friend Clubs)

DC604. Vancouver's chapter of DEF CON. Monthly security meetups that sell out. If you know what DEF CON is, you don't need me to explain. (Tech & Startup)

Atelier. A drop-in session where people bring whatever they're working on - embroidery, code, music, a zine. Everyone works in parallel. Nobody judges. Sundays at UBC, Tuesdays in Vancouver. (Creative & Art)

Free salsa every Friday night. Rueda de la Vida runs free outdoor salsa and bachata at Sun Hop Park — lesson at 7pm, dancing until 9. Sundays in summer there's another one at Robson Square. No experience, no partner, no cost. Just show up. (Dance)

Free stargazing at Vanier Park. The Gordon Southam Observatory does free public observing nights run by RASC volunteers. You just show up and look through telescopes on a clear night. No signup, no cost. One of those things that's been quietly happening in this city for years and almost nobody knows about it. (Astronomy & Stargazing)

Beer & Chess. Vancouver Beer & Chess meets at cafés and bars to play chess and drink. Their description is "we play chess and get to know people who like chess." That's it. Saturdays they squeeze 18 players into Bean Around the World on Main. (Chess)

The DUDES Club. Men's talking circles focused on health and wellness. Participant-led, no therapist running the show. They call it a "community of brotherhood." Men's mental health groups don't get listed in things like this often enough. (Men's Groups)

The thing that surprised me building this wasn't that these communities exist — it was how many there are. Vancouver has a reputation for being cold and cliquey. I don't think that's wrong, exactly. But underneath it there are hundreds of people building something warm and open and a little bit strange, and most of it is free.

The full directory is at vancouvercommunity.org. It's open source. If I'm missing a group or got something wrong, you can submit it on the site.