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asklemmy·Ask Lemmybysandhu

What Are Your Hobbies? Trying to Find Something New

What are your hobbies? Genuinely trying to find something new for myself.

Right now my free time mostly goes into watching series and checking trades, and I want to add something that actually feels productive or fulfilling instead of just passing time.

Curious what you're into, and honestly, why you got into it in the first place. Doesn't need to be impressive or unique, just real.

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109 replies

lemmy.world

My passion is horses and horseback riding, but it's dangerous and expensive so I don't recommend it to folks unless they have money and are into taking risks lol.

I love cross stitching and writing as well.

5

I recommend everyone read Seabiscuit; by far the most remarkable non-fiction book I’ve ever read, and a real life fairy tale.

1

I don't kayak anymore :(

The only person who would go with my has a back injury that makes it too painful to paddle

1

Birding. Gets you outside and is healthy for mind and body. To get started, download the Merlin app (*or whoBIRD on FDroid) and walk outside. If you start getting into it, maybe buy or borrow some cheap binoculars. Meet up with a local Audubon group for a social outing with some generally chill people. And your observations can help gather data for science using eBird from the Cornell lab of ornithology.

5
Varpeggioreply
lemmy.zip

I fucking hate the stigma surrounding birdwatching. Birds are fascinating, intelligent, and social creatures, and they constantly do things you wouldn’t expect.

Today, in the US Virgin Islands, I saw a pelican diving into the ocean for food, a pigeon digging determinately in the sand, and some weird tropical bird tossing mustard packets into the air over and over again.

2

That's so cool! I'd love to go birding in that area sometime. I'm in the middle of the US, but we had a vagrant Brown Booby visit us from the Caribbean last month. That was a lot of fun to see!

You're 100% correct tho. Birds are amazing! They sing, dance, give gifts, commit arson, they travel the world, and they're actual real-life dinosaurs.

Plus they're literally everywhere. You don't even need to go out of your way to see some.

2

Reading. It's always nice to stumble into a new book while browsing around the store. I generally go for science fiction or fantasy but really just go for what interests you.

Mechanical design and 3D printing. I'm mechanical engineer so it goes well with the hobby. I often end up making simple tools for things needed around the house. Making glow in the dark tooth brush stands that fit neatly in a sink nook, coat hangers, and replacement parts for knobs that break can help save you a little money (if you ignore the obvious cost of the 3D printer and filament).

Building Gundam model kits is also quite entertaining. I'm getting close to finishing all the models I want though so it might be a waning interest.

Archery is one of my latest interests. It can be rather cheap in the long run because every piece of equipment is reusable with proper care. It also overlaps neatly with my 3D printing hobby as I make quivers and vambraces to save a little more cash.

Lastly is video gaming. I go on just about any platform and even pirate but lately I've been buying DS/3DS cartridges because there's something fun about the ritual of inserting a cartridge to original hardware to start a game. It makes it like you're invested in the title you have unlike scrolling around a library list and launching it from there.

4
lemmy.world

Hiking - got into it because I was in the scouts as a kid. I found it boring and exhausting and onerous as a kid, until I went on my first backpacking trip. For me at least, feeling committed to a multiday journey from A to B kind of removed the distractions and what-ifs, and allowed me to really sink into the experience of being outside like nothing else had. Going backpacking is my number one trick for becoming a happier human - exercise, in nature, good circadian rhythm, disconnected from the internet.

Climbing. Got into it because I was looking for friends to go backpacking with in college, and they were into climbing, too. While backpacking can feel very relaxing, climbing feels very in-the-moment. A difficult route will challenge you in any number of ways - physically, as your lungs burn and your forearms start giving out; mentally, as you try to figure out a sequence of moves to make it up while managing the risk of falling; and emotionally, as you work through your fear of falling off and balance your mind between focusing on the task at hand and being open to all possibilities. You develop great friendships, since you tend to get comfortable with someone you are trusting your life with pretty quick. There is always something new to learn, as there are many disciplines from gym to outdoor, rock to ice to aid to mountain, and boulder to sport to trad. And it takes you to amazing places - sure, you can plan a trip to Chamonix or Thailand to go skiing or hang out on the beach. But when you make plans with a climbing partner, you actually buy the plane tickets. You fly in and immediately depart from the normal tourist circuit, getting a much better feel for life for the people in the areas you are travelling in. Then you show up in your destination, and you don't just look at the beautiful scenary - you are part of it. You don't just look at the mountain - you are perched on a tiny ledge on the side of it, watching the birds hover next to you while your partner cruxes out on the next pitch above.

Canyoneering. Similar to climbing, but easier to do with lots of friends of various skill levels. While climbing is often a fairly serious endeavor with defined goals, a canyon just has a single general goal that the whole group works on together: get out of the canyon. Thus, canyons tend to be a lot more fun and social, and often involve silly shenanigans like throwing a bag over a wall to have a rope to climb, or standing on a friend's shoulders while another lets you grab their foot to lower yourself over an edge.

DIY. I dunno, I just intrinsically like the idea of being able to build and fix all my own shit. Sometimes this feels less like a hobby and more like a job, but it is hard to beat the satisfaction of finishing a project that then makes your life better every time you use it.

7

Canyoneering is on of the best things ever. If anyone reading this is remotely tempted, find a way to try it out safely. It’s a complete blast!

2
blarghlyreply
lemmy.world

I would try looking for canyoneering groups in your area. I know there are a few active fb groups - the ones in your area might host trips, or you could post asking for friends who want to bring a newbie along.

And no surprise, climbing and hiking share a lot of overlap - so going to hiking meetups or climbing gyms might get you the connections you are looking for.

Often, people are hesitant to bring along a stranger who might not do well in a canyon. But previous experience in climbing, hiking, or caving will improve your odds of getting invited out, since it implies that you already have some of the skills needed to canyoneer successfully, like techical rope skills, endurance and athleticism, a willingness to get a bit dirty and try hard, the movement vocabulary needed to move efficiently, and a comfort with moderate exposure. You could even organize trips with friends to do Class 1 and 2 canyons!

If those arent panning out, there are several annual canyoneering festivals you could check out. Easy to find a crew there!

And if you just wanna jump right in, you could always try to rally some friends to pitch in and hire a canyoneering guide.

2
blarghlyreply
lemmy.world

I mean, unfortunately I don't wanna subject myself to the Walmart experience either, but I do it anyway because they have cheap groceries.

1
lemmy.world

My free time is divided between audio books, video games, some TV, mostly YouTube, and learning bass guitar.

I try to skateboard once or twice a week in the summer, and snowboard at least twice a month in the winter.

I have a few motorcycles but those are more cheap transportation these days than a hobby.

The skating, snowboarding, and motorcycles are my "Screaming at the gods". Dangerous activities that require total focus so everything else in life can be forgotten for a while.

Books and the bass are to keep my mind active and learn new things.

3
lemmy.world

Fellow bass player here. Who are the bass players you're listening to?

1

I have the world's most expensive PlayStation controller. For the past five years I've pretty much only played Rocksmith 2014, and have a few hundred songs downloaded. I'm about to hit 1000 hours played.

On my fourth bass, a brand new Ibenez fretless, and finally have a setup without all the buzzing and crap of a cheap bass.

I like blues, classic rock, but my brain just seems hardwired for 90s grunge as that was my youth.

Greenday, Offspring, Primus (on easy) are my go to. Really enjoy Me and Bobby Mcgee by Joplin and Moonage daydream by Bowie when I've been drinking.

Been thinking about taking lessons at a local store, I really want to learn to read tabs and get things setup to play along with YouTube.

I'd love to be able to play some Pink Floyd, Phish, and Grateful Dead. Other than three Dead songs there's none of that available.

I live in an apartment so it's all headphones.

1

Dude I have too many. You asked for it:

  • Balisong flipping
  • Begleri
  • Yoyos
  • Airsoft
  • Watching hockey (go Ducks) and do a little ice skating
  • Archery
  • Rock climbing
  • Hiking/backpacking
  • Scuba diving
  • Geocaching
  • Kite flying
  • Rubiks cubing
  • CS:GO
  • Linux and FOSS stuff
  • Other tech related things
  • 3D printing
  • Good quality pens and pencils
  • Lockpicking
  • Disc golf
  • knives and metallurgy
5
Phunterreply
lemmy.zip

That's so many! How do you figure out what hobby to engage on any particular day?

2

I've made a schedule to do 5 of those hobbies regularly every week: archery, airsoft, rock climbing, hiking, ice skating, and a wild card in there

2
Phunterreply
lemmy.zip

I'm imagining you accidentally rolling up to the archery range in airsoft gear. Whoops, wrong day! Sorry, lemme find my bow...

Do you have a picture where you're dressed up in all your various hobby gear at once? Airsoft gun, bow, hiking backpack, rock climbing gloves, and ice skates. And a pineapple of course.

2

Haha, never has happened to me, though sometimes I have shown up to places with my arm guard on.

I should really consider doing a picture like that, that'd be so epic. Though, I'm sure the ice skating rink won't let me bring my airsoft gun, maybe I can bring a yoyo

2

Cheap:
Felting is unexpectedly fun but probably not rest of your life fun.

Mid: Cooking, delving into other cultures dishes, learning to replicate a meal you eat out. If can be fun, but has an upfront learning curve. on the upside, you need to eat anyway.

Expensive:
RC drones/Planes are fun and get you outside.

3
lemmy.world

Gardening (veges!), musical instruments (currently guitar), vidja games, cooking, bread baking, self-hosting, paddle boarding, wood working, and a life-long hobby of trying new hobbies.

There are thousands of hobbies out there. You never know which ones will click with you. Try as many of them as you can! If something looks interesting, go for it! Look for the least expensive entry point. If it requires equipment, rent, borrow, or go super cheap. Unless its safety equipment.. Then don't go cheap.

A fine example is guitar: don't spend more than $100 on a used acoustic. If you stick with guitar long enough, you'll eventually be able to make that shitty guitar sing while also understanding exactly how it's holding you back so you'll know what to look for when upgrading to something intermediate.

Also, "earning the right" to get better equipment is a badass feeling.

Apply that to any hobby that requires investment. If you invest a small amount of money and realize the hobby is not right for you, you didn't lose much but gained a lot of insight about yourself.

3
Frostbeardreply
lemmy.world

Earning the right to better equipment is so satisfying. Like leveling up and getting to equip new gear

2

Exactly!

There is also the benefit of being able to move on from a hobby that doesn't click, without having to feel any amount of guilt.

2

Baking. It can be as simple and inexpensive, or as elaborate and costly as you want. It's very beginner friendly. And even most of your failures end up delicious.

7

I garden poorly and do canning! I got into gardening because last year (technically two years ago) my mother for purim gave me a bag of things and one was some san marzano like seeds. So last year's growing season I planted those and it worked! I can because we use to can growing up. I've been canning before the garden but they're a natural fit.

2

Self teaching myself piano - been going a little over a year now and I've made a ton of progress! It's a lot of fun to hear myself play some of my favorite video game songs and songs I grew up around.

Homebrewing meads and wines (haven't tried beer yet) - super simple to get started but lots of variables you can tweak to get something tasty. Takes a LOT of patience though.

Making homemade bread - it's like 10 minutes of actual work but it tastes so much better than store bought.

5

I’ve been trying many things over time but the ones that really became hobbies are the ones that just happened to me. And those are hiking, cooking and photography.

I think one problem these days is that we try too hard from the start. We hear about this interesting thing and then watch videos about it by some influencer and then we feel we need to learn this or buy that first but in the end none of that is necessary. If hiking is for you then you will enjoy it even in sandals and jeans. If not then it might not be a hobby for you. Eventually you will learn what you personally need to enjoy it even more and go to the next level. And then invest into it knowing exactly what you want.

Same with photography. You can take some serious photos with modern phones already and develop your skills with that. I took some back then with an iPhone 4 that I still love (although they look bad when zoomed in). The limitation is what makes you creative and you always have it with you.

Of course some things do have a steep learning curve and do need some initial investment. I just personally never got into any of those and I’m pretty satisfied.

4

Modding ipods and game boys, Collecting vinyls, firefighting in my community, biking in the mountains, I'm trying to learn how to properly swim a croll this year, roller skating is fun, boxing, and running outdoors are my current options. Hope something inspires you!

2

board games, not only its nice way to get to social gatherings, but theres bunch of games with solo mode. So instead of spending tons of hours on your computer you can play some board game

1

Gloryhole visiting. Not saying you have to participate, but maybe check off on a map all the holes you visit. Some shops may even have a stamp or something you could get as a souvenir. I'm sure it would be a memorable and rewarding endeavor, either way. Or, you know Pickleball is really picking up steam.

2

Music production, drumming, learning guitar, Sim racing, going for a motorcycle ride, homelab/self hosting stuff, capture the flag (cybersecurity challenges), woodworking, rock carving, listening to a record, 3D printing (I'm building an R2-D2), building something with electronics (I recently built a shifter knob for euro truck sim).

In the depths of my depression I had no hobbies and my psychologist said I should try everything, so I did, and continue to do so. You'll be surprised what sticks.

4

retro video game collecting just a warning it's expensive as shit be ready with your wallet

2

Photography. I bought a second hand camera body, a couple of adapters and have been building up a roster of cheap old 70s-80s lenses. I can bring my camera whenever I go out, or go on more specific photography walks. It makes me look at things more closely, and therefore enjoy them more.

Whenever I've brought my camera to events and gatherings, the response has been very positive and people really enjoy the photos being "artistic" and "dream-like" (on account of the imperfect vintage lenses and my often poor manual focusing).

It's been a fun journey of discovering what lenses I most enjoy using. For me it's been either 40-45mm for walking around snapshots or 180-200mm for portraiture.

Maybe I'll get some more modern gear some day, but then I'll know exactly what I want, and have the skill to use it to the fullest.

1

Fursuiting is something I have very alowly been getting into, as in have had 2 chances to do it safely. Wouldn't recommended unless interested/curious, furry or not, and you don't have any health issues stopping you from doing it. Suit heads get hot, airflow can sometimes be an issue, and vision can be a big problem. It's why I recommend fursuiting's cousin cosplay more for more people.

I got my head/paws ( separate purchases ) because I was going with a college club I'm a part of to an anime con and have wanted to do this for a long time, as a furry. Got a tail at that con. Seller told me he just finished that tail that morning, so I got lucky. Still learning my limits in suit, especially with regards to vision.

Thought about going to my cities local pride parade with my suit, but didn't feel like getting heat stroke. Also thought about going to the local comic convention in suit with my non-furry non-cosplayer dad, but I didn't know it was happening the same weekend as the parade, so I missed my opportunity because I looked it up the Monday after, curious when it was gonna be.

I have also been in the process of trying to get back into writing. Specifically by rewriting/updating some old fanfiction. I know a few people who think fanfiction is nothing but slop, bit I absolutely disagree. It's no different from fan art: another way to show appreciation for a show/book/franchise/whatever you like.

Kinda really got into fanfiction writing back in 11th/12th grade and started getting back into it more now because I think more people should appreciate and write it because it's fun and it's rewarding to read in general, fanfiction or otherwise.

This comment excludes the normal stuff ( gaming and watching shows ).

1

I’ll bite because I haven’t seen it yet!

Seems like everyone has taken up climbing which is awesome! Always love more people in the sport.

The one I haven’t seen is autocross. It’s a big empty space (usually a parking lot) with cones and your car one at a time. See how fast you can make it through the course. No, you don’t need some awesome car to participate! In fact, the more shitbox the better! We see old police interceptors, Miatas, Honda Fits, Chevy Volts, Porsche GT3’s, and everything in between.

I enjoy track driving as well but autocross is way more fun. You get out and learn the limits of your car and your skillset in a super safe and inviting atmosphere. No matter what you’ve brought everyone is excited when you get faster. Events are almost always run/work so half your time is spent chatting and setting cones back up when someone inevitably commits cone genocide.

Autocrosses always have instructors as well that are happy to ride along and give you pointers. If you’re comfortable, they’ll often even be willing to run a lap in your car to show you what it’s capable of. Usually going 80% of what they can do so it’s even more safe.

I got into autocross back when I was 17 and bought a $2000 Porsche 914 when they were highly undesirable and Porsche was almost bankrupt. I raced motorcycles after that for some years then got married and decided to give up the bikes. I wanted some more (safe) speed in my life about five years ago and found the local Porsche club running autocross in my area. No Porsche required! I took my Cadillac for the first few years and managed a third place finish overall my last year of driving it. Got the bug bad and a dream car crossed my path (Lotus Elise). It’s punishing and the electronics were horribly unreliable. I love it more than any other car I’ve owned.

Don’t be like me. Go buy a Miata like a sane person if you decide you want a dedicated autocross car! Parts are endless and cheap. Plus the car is near bulletproof to start with.

And that’s where we stand and how I got into then back into autocross!

1

Do you have any bodies of water near you? You could buy an inflatable paddleboard for ~$200 and just float in the middle of a lake reading, listening to music, or meditating. Or smoking weed. I’ve tried them all and they’re all great!

1

I play guitar and make music. I love it. It soothes my soul and I'm actually creating something instead of consuming. It's very fulfilling.

1

Farming and carpentry.

We have a flock of quail and about 1/4 of land being used for vegetables along with a couple dozen fruit trees and bushes. We have a lot of seedlings that are popping up so making sure they don't dry out has kept me pretty busy lately.

We have a big renovation of an old barn coming up in a few weeks. There's a couple structural beams that need replacing and reinforcement, a wall is leaning, and the whole roof needs to be replaced. Aside from that I want to turn the far side of the barn into a more finished temperature controlled area and section off part of it to be an indoor coop for the quail for when we get crazy weather like -10 degree weather, 110 degree weather or 300 AQI.

I worked on a farm as a kid, I was a framing carpenter from 16-20 and I loved all of it. Now I do computer stuff and it pays well, the farming and carpentry is what keeps me happy. Although people will often tell me to take a break and do something for myself which is funny.

2

I tried starting with making stuff out of paracord. Bracelets, key chains Relatively inexpensive as you need paracord, storm lighter and some clips.

Lots of tutorials on youtube.

I enjoy cooking. Finding recipes by reading and watching shows. I initially a bit expensive to get all the stock spices and ingredients. Also a decent knife and pans. But rewarding as you get to eat it. Also a path to a healthier life with less processed food (less salt among other things) and more greens. Can be an incentive to socialize more as well if you want to.

I also play Flames of War and Team Yankee. Building models and then painting them. Can be done with podcasts and shows on in the background. Bonus is that you can play with them.

1

My hobbies boil down to doing things that I have enjoyed enough to put in time and effort into them, with little regard for it beyond working out for me. I could go into more detail, but at the core it is all about it has to do with how I experience the world and how I engage with it, and that these hobbies enhance how I do that and thus make the time spent on them enjoyable, ensuring thus I keep doing them.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of things I do:

  • Reading, which the to read pile keeps growing.
  • Writing, both non-fiction and fiction
  • Video games.
  • Tech stuff in general
  • Every now and then I bike around, because I just enjoy it
  • Photography, every now and then

Why did I get into them? Because I enjoy doing them!

I like reading, because it's fun to read a story, and because it's fun to read about others perspectives, and because it is fun to learn. I like **writing **because I like putting my thoughts in order, and it helps me think, and it helps me communicate. I like being able to share something with someone else and feel like I managed to get something across. **Photography **also fits into this because it is a way for me to capture what I see (and often, what I don't see) and share it with others. And, often, it serves as a way to focus me onto what is around me in ways that I never would have otherwise.

Tech stuff? Well, I like gadgets and machinery. In another life, I would have delved into hardware instead, making weird gadgets and one offs. Instead, computer and software are my thing. Video Games are

Biking: because I get to go fast and be active. More engaging than walking. Not as awful as running.

I also recently took a look at Meshtastic, though that has been burning along in the background due to physical constraints. Radio things are fun, though in this case the driving factor was... worries about the world at large.

1

Trade is something I might look at while at work, but I'm mostly long term investing in dividend based companies with 10-30 % yearly dividend, so I will normally just review it after trade hours. But I have recently gotten into climbing with a friend that used it to get through his divorce, and I'm falling in love with it. Fascinatingly hard to master in any way, good training, social and fun. An absolute 10/10 recommend on climbing. Also played the hell out of Cat Quest 3 during my holiday before my apartment rose above 30° in the mornings before walking to the beach, and it is a lot of fun with great replayability and a lot of post finishing challenges that just keeps you going. Think I'm at 5 or 6 credits so far, and I'm still giving it as few more runs to get that Platinum.

2

After playing a few musical instruments (bass, guitar, keys) for a few decades but never having satisfying experiences playing with friends, I joined an adult band program at a nearby music school. It's been great! Three performances so far this year, and it got me in a separate cover band cuz one of the guitarists was in the same program, and we did an open mic night a month or two ago that was short but awesome, and we have a real gig coming up in a week.

Before 2025 I never performed music for anyone other than maybe a few friends who were already visiting me and thus had no polite choice to not listen!

The music school I do this with is a local "School of Rock" franchise but some other music schools have similar programs. Highly recommend!

2

Mine includes breeding birds, making software and self hosting.

2

growing succulents, specific the less common ones(not the ornamentals you see in peoples front yard like aeonium, pig ears cotyledon, jade plant,,,etc), not brought from stores. like lithops, or similar species, or some unusual echeveria, without killing it. also orchids. there doesnt seem to be much in orchid variety as most wild species are likely hard to grow in horticulture, or impossible(due to thier emphermeral nature, and rarity, specific habits, they are all mycoheterotrophic to various degree, fully MF is not likely to be seen in the near future of ending in someones garden.) ive seen people in my neighborhood did try to grow it outside, but they stopped because either neglected or it become too much maintenance/hard to grow them, mostly due to neglect.

1

Knitting and cross stitch. Both are very calming and if you start with small projects you quickly have something you can wear or display, so very rewarding.

1

Aquariums and fish keeping. Its as complicated as you want it to be from a simple tank and a few fish to a multi tank breeding setup for fish that need very specific requirements. It is one of those hobbies that will make you want more tanks than you have room for, if you get really into it.

1

I speak ill of foreign countries' presidents (so many choices currently)

15

I woodwork, set up servers, build guns, garden,play guitar, design furniture, and teach others to do each of those things.

I try to do anything that regular people have figured out on their own. If someone can do something without training, I can probably figure it out in a few weeks.

I don't watch things, and I don't use social media outside of Lemmy on occasion. Because of that, I seem to have far more time than the average person.

12

Barebow archery, penspinning, homelab / home network, misc. coding projects I rarely finish.

Penspinning started as a kid as a selfstimming activity since I annoyed people with bouncing leg and table drumming. Looking back, I don't know why it took 30 years to get ADHD diagnosis.

Barebow archery started by doing a team activity intro archery and I noticed it immediately cured my chronic shoulder pain. It turned out to be inferred pain from Infraspinatus, not shoulder per se.

Homelab/network just stem from my desire to have a carefully controlled environment due to deep distrust in... well, everything.

Coding projects usually start by me having a specific need or problem, then I start fixing it, and generally end up over-engineering it.

Archery, penspinning and coding are relatively cheap hobbies. Homelab/network doesn't need to be expensive either. All of these CAN absolutely be money sinks, especially homelab/networks and archery, but starting out is affordable.

12
lemmy.world

Fish tank, houseplants, vacuuming the floors, doing the dishes.

Two are passive hobbies that require more work but only once in a while

Two are things that need done that i treat like hobbies so something fucking gets done around here

I might have ADHD

9

I loved my fish tank. I gave it away when I moved cities and my current home doesn’t allow for it.

3

Resistance training is probably the biggest one currently. At first it was just for health reasons as i was getting overweight, but over time(almost a year) i started to like it more and more until now it could be qualified as a hobby.

I really like that it's something that heavily depends on me and has very little luck in it.

9
lemmy.world

Been playing video games pretty much all my life. Like with all forms of popular entertainment, there are so many genres that I'm sure there's something out there for you. If you want, I can offer some suggestions based on what devices you own and what you're interested in.

Other than that, learning to cook new recipes is always fun and pretty much essential to live haha. I've tried a few Ina Garten recipes and they've been relatively easy and tasty.

8
sandhureply
thelemmy.club

ya sure , im having dell xps > If you want, I can offer some suggestions based on what devices you own and what you’re interested in.

2
lemmy.world

Since you're using a laptop, I'd recommend some less demanding games. To check if your laptop can run specific games, use this site here. Below are a list of some I think you should be able to play:

  • Stardew Valley: one of my absolutely favorite games ever. There's so much to do and you play however you want. There are also a ton of mods for quality of life improvements, graphic changes, and expansions
  • Portal 1 and 2: super fun puzzle games with a great story and memorable characters
  • Skyrim: there's a reason this game has become such a meme and had been released on every system for the past like 15 years
  • Fallout New Vegas: this might be optimistic to run but it's a great first person role playing game set in a post nuclear war apocalypse
  • Terraria: like a 2D Minecraft that has a simpler crafting system and more boss fights. I actually prefer this to Minecraft
  • Celeste: fun and challenging platformer. You will die a lot but the revives are so quick and the controls so smooth it isn't too frustrating when you need to start over
  • Balatro: card game where you make poker hands to attack your opponent
  • Slay the Spire: another card deck building game but you use your cards to take turns attacking your enemies

There are some online games you could play too, but for beginners I would avoid them since the communities can be toxic. However, if you don't mind, you can try out League of Legends (will run on a potato), Rocket League, or CS GO.

There are also emulators you can download to play old-school games like classic Pokémon or Mario. There are too many of those to list and it's a lot more complicated to download and install. So I would recommend checking out videos on how to do that and what games/emulators people recommend.

4

Cs:go was one of the first online games, even if you can't play competitive, you'll probably have fun in the community servers play Surf maps or hide and seek or something

2
lemmy.world

photography, video games, film review, writing, cooking + making preserves, reading, book reviews, walking, running, genealogy, listening to music, transcribing on musescore and playing music.

if that sounds like a lot bare in mind i tap into each one on an ad hoc basis rather than scheduling it out. the only ones i technically do regularly is walking, music and video games, like most people.

also going to art galleries + theatre 👍

8

I think people sell themselves short when it comes to hobbies too. Like think about what games, movies or even youtube videos you specifically enjoy engaging with. True Crime? First Person Shooters? Romantic fiction?

Take one of those, and then you can really guild it as a hobby by taking your interest across multiple mediums and talking about it with others. I was into city planning games and maps, and then i got into historical architecture and the history of towns, then started to actually explore this via photography, and it informed what i decided to study at university.

Therefore this one interest is tapped into via video games, research (reading + writing), photography, discussion with other people.

some people might not see or understand that as a valid hobby or interest, i don't really give a fuck because it literally is and I know how much it connects across multiple things that i do and how much effort can go into it. when i feel like it, lol.


another example:

as for music, i just happened to have access to a piano in my childhood home and i was interested in seeing how good i could get without lessons - which leads to being made to take lessons, by your parents xD. I might have been lazy and left it there, i'm not as rigourous as other musicians, but because what i really enjoyed as a kid was videogames I got into trying to figure out some of that music by myself, and that reinvigorated my love of music and re-affirmed my own creative ability after the rigour of just learning from set pieces in books squashed it a little bit.

All music listed online tries to charge you money for looking at the sheet music so in order to better have access to new songs to play I started transcribing, and musescore made that easier. Now i can write my own stuff if i need to.


Photography and walking influenced one another and i got into them around the same time as covid so it was pretty easy, and then because i had access to walking it helped me get into fitness in other regards e.g running. (usually have to know where you're gonna run before you run)

See - hobbies work in loops. It's not about one thing you mind doing repetetively but something you'll carry across multiple areas of life. You probably already have your hobbies, question is what's the next step that relates to them? I would recommend getting into online discussions about your favourite shows. TVtropes is a good place to start

6
lemmy.dbzer0.com

I like exploring abandoned buildings, it's called Urbex (portmanteau of Urban Exploration) but not all the sites are in urban environments.

Photography also goes hand in hand with that.

Here's a website to see the sorts of places people do

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/

7

Doesn't have to be an abandoned building...

A train tunnel perhaps?

Many places have culverts.

Can be historical - what was your country like during ww1 and 2? Any heavy industry?

Be careful about going underground though

1
CameronDevreply
programming.dev

Do you have any legit resources for the first one? How did you get started?

3

Climbing/bouldering. As a not overly sporty nerdy type, I found this to be amazing. All the climbs are called problems and require you to think about how you're using your body to solve them.

99% of the community is amazing because it's not really a vs sports in a traditional sense. It's you vs the wall and even if you do something that is 'easy' for someone else if they can see you tried hard they will be pysched for you.

There are lots of beginner groups and meet up days or if you go on regular days, you'll end up talking to the same people about the climb you're doing so you build friendship as an adult which is difficult otherwise.

Also it's not in front of a screen which I love.

I'd try looking for your local gym and doing the intro course and seeing if it vibes with you.

6

I paint minis, focusing mostly on Warhammer right now and I'm telling myself I'm going to start playing.

I started with the Reaper minis learn to paint sets, they do a pretty good job of teaching you the basics, give you a couple minis to start with and a workable if somewhat limited set of paints and brushes.

It sounds a lot harder than it actually is. If you dilute your paints down right it kind of tends to flow exactly where you want it to.

Sourcing minis to paint can get pricey depending on what you like and where you get them from. To support that hobby I've also taken up 4d printing, if you hunt around a bit you should be able to get a used resin printer for pretty cheap (but don't skimp on proper PPE and ventilation, liquid resin is pretty nasty stuff)

I dabble in a little bit of woodworking. Nothing too fancy, I'm not doing intricate carving or anything, but once in a while I find a problem in need of a solution and think of a way I could build that solution myself from some boards and hardware and while I may not be saving any money over buying some off-the-shelf solution to that problem, I do think a lot of those thing I've made have ended up being better than anything I could have bought and they are certainly more satisfying to use knowing I made them myself.

I camp, hike, and fish a lot. These can get pricey if you let them, but you can probably get enough fishing gear to go catch some fish for like $50. Depending on where you live, you can hit a lot of trails with just a sturdy pair of sneakers, a water bottle, and maybe a pocket full of snacks. And you can probably outfit yourself for some decent weekend at a state park campground for about $100 worth of Walmart gear (tento sleeping bag sleeping pad,) and some stuff you probably already have at home (flashlight, matches/lighter, first aid kit, some pots and pans)

Reading of course is always a worthy hobby, and you can pair it with some of the others. (I sometimes joke that the reason I fish is because it sounds better than saying ”I'm going to go off into the woods alone to sit on a bucket by a stream and read a book”)

I also enjoy cooking, trying out new recipes and such.

I've dabbled in a little ham radio. It didn't particularly hold my interest, I liked tinkering with radios and it's cool being able to talk to people far away with your equipment, but that equipment can get really pricey (there are often good deals on used stuff but you need to know where to look for them and be patient) and at the end of the day you can really only talk to other hams, and they mostly fall into 3 main categories.

  1. Radio nerds- all they want to talk about is ham radio.
  2. Old guys who want to talk about their medical issues.
  3. Weird paranoid prepper types.

And since the whole point of radios is to talk to other people, and I don't particularly enjoy the kinds of conversations those people want to have, I never really got too into it.

6

My hobby is collecting items for new hobbies, lol. Mostly board games and various arts and crafts (miniature painting, clay sculpting, felting, watercolor, knitting, etc.).

Knitting: I knew a lot of people who did it and I wanted to fit in, plus it was something to do blindly and with my hands.

Mini painting: started from unpainted minis in a board game I bought. I fell out of the habit due to constant blurry vision for a couple years, but now my partner and I have friends who love mini painting so they came over once a month or so and we paint together.

Watercolors: I loved the fun and messy chaos I saw some artists make and wanted to do that. Instead I learned I’m way too much of a “color in the lines” person. But before learning that, I painted a pet portrait for my niece for Christmas and she loved it so much she asked for a new one every year. So a hobby I probably would have totally stopped has continued with at least one painting a year for five years now, and I have to admit I’m pretty good at pet portraits.

Felting: washing my cat’s favorite blanket once produced little felt balls of her fur and one looked like a little creature. I just had to put eyeballs and a tongue on it so I learned the basics of felting.

Clay sculpting: I wanted to make a figure of my then-boyfriend’s favorite LoL character for him. I’ve picked it up again whenever I’ve had a vision but it’s rare.

6

I had been sort of curious about weightlifting for most of my life. But was kind of intimidated by the prospect. Eventually I set my mind to it and it turns out that learning how to lift a barbell was easier than I imagined. Now I have home powerlifting gym and I've never felt better in my entire life. It's challenging and oh so rewarding, I recommended it to everyone

6

Reading (it takes the right book), stargazing, fixing things, breaking things when I thought I was fixing them, hiking, sitting on logs, weed/music, biking, dancing. It's mostly stuff I did or was exposed to when I was young. It's all most average skill levels at best. At some point, I realized my time is limited and it could end any moment. I stopped worrying about being maximally productive and stopped worrying about not maximizing skill/avoiding things I'm not good at. Do whatever brings you joy. I've tried to spend less time bumming on my phone since it's so easy and so empty.

I liquidated my investments years ago for a cash need. It's cool to be part of some money-making scheme, but I'd say in total, I don't miss addiction of checking performance of the rollercoaster through the casino. I felt bad when it was red, felt like I didn't bet enough when it's green. It never actually moves fast. Things improved when I limited myself to checking weekly. On average, the line will go up and to the right. I'll feed index funds eventually again, but for now, I'm just holding in a high yield savings.

6

My three long term hobbies: reading, crochet, partner dancing.

I also have a number of hobbies that I either cycle through or that were a part of my life for a while but I don’t do anymore for whatever reason: other partner dances, knitting, tropical fish tank, paint by numbers, dog sport agility (would love to get back into it but really don’t have the space or time), camping, hiking(in a meandering sort of way), embroidery, letter writing.

ETA: I have a "fermentation" hobby too. I brew beer with my in laws about 3-4 times a year and have a constant kombucha SCOBY in my pantry.

5
lemmy.zip

Playing guitar, cooking and recently started to learn chinese as a challenge to an aging mind.

5

I’m dying to resume Mandarin lessons in person. I already tried a local college course but it was remote only; I then used a tutoring website with real people in China which was excellent.

The problem for me is I’m already on the computer constantly so trying to pick up such a difficult language all while stuck on the computer was too maddening. I actually live in an area heavily populated with Mandarin speakers but everything I find turns into online classes.

3

I have a ton of abandoned or occasional hobbies but the main one I have atm is leatherwork.

Honestly I don't fully understand what lead me to it but I saw some videos and it was like, not only do I want to do this but I want to do it properly.

So I didn't do my normal thing of buying a ton of equipment, getting in way over my head and abandoning to the pile of failed hobbies. I booked a beginner course at a place near me and the rest is history. Been slowly building up my skills and techniques and getting really good feedback from people. Some of my recent items even have people saying that if I was to open a shop then they would be interested in buying or commissioning...

If you want to see my stuff then just have look at my post history, I should really just make a site or something at this point... Most of my stuff is small goods, accessories etc. but be warned I've just created a new community to have somewhere for the darker side of crafts (mildly NSFW) - but if anyone is interested in the spicier side of crafting then come join me there!

5

Drawing, model kit building, crochet, knitting, sewing, 3d printing, fishkeeping, plants/ terrarium keeping, games, homelab....

Lots of these have overlap. Drawing and model kit building started as a kid, and 3D printing (resin) is a natural progression from that, because I can build custom parts or scenes or whatever.

Fishkeeping / terrarium keeping came about a few years ago when I was living in a pretty shit place. I saw a video online of shrimp being chill and just eating algea and I went huh I wonder how hard it is to get shrimp. Went to the pet store and got some shrimp, failed to keep them, and researched how to properly care for shrimp and snails. That evolved into fish keeping, with multiple large tanks. Then I found serpa designs on YouTube and became hooked. From there I tried making moss terrariums and I want to branch into vivariums when I'm in a place to do so. I want to implement some of my modeling skills to make living scenes with things like moss and other plants.

Homelab came naturally to me after wanting to figure out how people did piracy nowadays and learning about the arrs stack. Taught myself docker and started tinkering with other containers and programs, which got me into learning programming.

Crochet and knitting are my weakest hobby - I was moving between countries and wanted to learn something I could do in my downtime that was travel friendly. Hooks / needles and some yarn can fit in a small carry case. I want to make stuffed animals but I need to learn more to get to that point.

5

Hunting.

Got into it via family that hunts, but I live in a part of the country where I'd eventually have slipped into it no matter what.

You never learn as much about nature as when you're out there. And then you never know if you'll be lucky or your prey will be.

5
lemmy.world

I do martial arts, play (and think about designing) boardgames and ttrpgs, historical reenactment, crafting (mostly sewing and leatherwork but I've been branching out into chainmail), play video games and poi. But all of these come in waves where I'm more active, I don't do everything on a weekly basis. But I still try to remain active in the communities I'm part of. It is a lot, but I've landed more in "I can't stop myself" over "I have to do this".

4

Japanese. Aikido. The hippie of martial arts - I do it to keep in shape and being able to take break falls. If you want something that is more realistically useful, go with muay thai or long distance running, but I'm having fun and can only recommend any martial art but definitely aikido!

1

Martial Arts, weight training,long distance rifle shooting, riding motorcycles (I have seven currently), gardening and growing my own food, fermenting. I used to hunt, but no longer have access to land to do so.

4

Textile work! Could be sewing, weaving, dying, etc. I love working with fabrics and making them into usable 3D objects. Recently, as in the last two weeks, I've started working with wool felt with the vague idea of making insect brooches but I ended up making a cat toy instead lol.

3

I've dabbled in wood carving. Stuff like whittling, relief carving, and my favorite kind was chip carving.

I also enjoyed doing some wildlife photography.

Maybe the weirdest hobby I ever tried was when I made a home-made furnace for melting aluminum.

But the thing I spend most of my spare time on by far is video game development (everything from the coding to the 3D modelling and animation and a little bit of sound design).

3

Repairing distressed audio equipment. I'm particular to early 80's to mid 90's gear.

Role Playing Games: I have three groups, two virtual and one in person that I play a variety of RPG's with.

Hiking: Mainly for health reasons, but I've always loved going out on a new trail and exploring. My days of backpacking are behind me, as I have a back injury now, but I'm still able to do day hikes.

Here is my latest electronics repair. It's a Carver TFM-15CB stereo amplifier. The power supply filter caps (two black with silver top cylinders in the middle of the photo) went bad. Which is just something electrolytic capacitors do when they get old. So I replaced all the electrolytics (13 in all) and replaced the meter's lights with LED units. The amp is 40 years old and is probably good for another 40 years. I'm actually listening to it as I write this post. As far as how I learned to do this, I'm self taught. Just read a lot of books and then started working on things that I didn't care if I blew up, or fixed. Then moved onto things I wanted to keep as my confidence and skills grew.

3

Just learning how vinyl cutters work. Cricut is the big one, but I picked up a Silhouette Cameo 5 Alpha Plus.

3
lemmy.world

Pyrography. Starter kit costs about $20. My favourite tool is still my cheapest one!

3

I started out by finding black and white images online, printed on a laser printer, tape the print onto wood, then use a heater (iron, but my cheap one came with a tool that can do it), remove the paper, then trace it. It's good I started, and I've gotten a few commissions.

Now I just do it for myself and family. It's an artistic outlet for me. I'll just do whatever I want. It'll change from portraits to flowers.

2

Racing cars. It ain't cheap but 10k gets you a racecar.

3 hours at the wheel going 10/10 running 6-8k rpms the entire time.

It'll change your life. You'll live for the few events you get to do each year.

3

Rhythm games, both in general and in terms of my main game. Don't think I can recommend it to most people though

Got into it... partly because osu was popular when I grew up, partly because I listened to a lot of "rhythm game music" growing up. This video game genre also always resonated with me quite well, I love extremely challenging video games so there's that

Reason I couldn't recommend it... First of all it is not an easy hobby to get into outside of Asia, and because of this finding a community (even for really popular games like maimai/CHUNITHM) will be tough. Secondly because of the first reason, getting into rhythm games outside of Asia can get expensive, between arcade visits and homecabs and all. It's also somewhat of an extremely all-encompassing hobby that leaves little room for one to do anything else. Finally there's a pretty significant risk of injury especially at higher levels, I've had a bone fracture before and several ppl I know have had serious injuries, despite the fact that there's little to no "payoff" (such as for-profit tournaments) like most sports

On the plus side, stomping it out on DDR/ITG (the latter much more accessible) is a really fun way to do cardio!

2

I play megagames! Large scale roleplaying/board game events. Maybe you would enjoy board games, role playing, war games, LARP, etc. Like many people, got into the hobby from one particular YouTube video that blew up: https://youtu.be/hN71v9H_gg8

1