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My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy… as I’m about to have dinner with five complete strangers—something completely out of my comfort zone—in the name of IRL socializing.
And, no, I didn’t pick these strangers up on Craigslist. The dinner was organized through Timeleft, an app launched locally in November to “help strangers form real friendships,” says Communications and Partnership Manager Aya Tohme.
Active in 60 countries and 300 cities, the weekly dinner series debuted in Durham as part of its East Coast expansion because it’s a city with a “growing sense of urban loneliness” that boasts a “socially curious audience looking for deeper offline connections,” explains Tohme. Now, every Wednesday, ~150 eager individuals participate in a Timeleft outing, joining the roughly 27K participants worldwide each week.
Full disclosure, I was initially skeptical heading to my dinner at Oscar Diaz’s recently debuted Aaktun in Bull City. The thought of sitting for two hours with potentially nothing to say to a group of strangers is bleak to say the least—but, instead, I found five lovely humans.
Corey, another participant, was already on his eighth dinner. Kevin had done four. And Lucy had driven from Greensboro for her second. I was the only newbie—a clear sign that perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
“I was talking with my mom and trying to understand the age-old question of how do adults make friends,” says Corey of how he got hooked. He says the Meta gods listened and delivered, serving him ads for Timeleft. He took the plunge and hasn’t looked back since. “I love that it’s an entire experience with little planning,” he muses. “I get to try new food, meet new people, enjoy new experiences and find community.”
Conversation flowed more naturally than I expected, and by the end of the night, half of the table had plans to join that week’s afterparty at The Velvet Hippo to keep the vibes (and drinks) going. Unfortunately, it was a school night, so I opted out—but I can see how heading to a bar with like-minded strangers in search of connection would yield just that.
“Everyone at the dinner is likely showing up with the same mix of curiosity and nervous energy,” says Tohme. “That’s what makes it real—and what makes it work.” Final verdict? No stranger danger here. timeleft.com
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