Meeting people in a new city

This week I've been doing a lot of thinking about my plans for next year.  Since people from my cohort are from all over the country (and the world, for that matter), our "next steps" vary among those who wish to start working, those who are applying to Ph.D. programs, and those who are unsure of what they want to do.  Location is also a deciding factor, as some of us want to stay in/around Philly, and others want to move back to where they are from originally, or even explore new areas/countries.  

Right now I'm definitely going to work for a few years before thinking about more schooling.  I also want to stay in the area since my whole family and most of my friends are in New Jersey, or at least the northeast area.  However, that all depends on the job search, and I know that I may need to move and/or adjust my preferences depending on what happens after graduation.  

Anyway, I was thinking about the difficulty adjusting to a new city in general, since even if I stay in Philly, most of the people who I've met will no longer be here.  And, even though I've been living here since August, the time commitment of school and work have kept me from making many friends outside of the GSE community.  I've heard of a few different ways to meet new people that could be helpful.  I've never really tried any of them, but I wanted to post their websites and a bit of info about each of the three.

Meetup

Meetup is a collection of networking groups present in most major cities.  "Meetups" are social outings that people sign up for and attend to meet new friends with similar interests.  It is divided into different interest groups--for example, they have ones for fitness, politics, sports, outdoorsy things, etc.  

Grouper  

The way I would describe Grouper is online dating for groups of people.  They match up 3 girls and 3 guys based on questions that you answer.  You meet at a bar or restaurant and Grouper takes care of the reservation and the first round of drinks (each person pays $20 to sign up, so that includes the first drink and a service charge).  I could see how Grouper would be a good way to meet friends, maybe something more.  But it does seem like it could be awkward, depending on the group yours is matched up with.  It's also very easy for plans to fall through, since you're working off of 6 different schedules.  

Philly Sport and Social Club

I included this link because I have friends who have joined kickball leagues and other sports teams in various cities.  I'm not especially good at team sports, but it would be a fun way to get exercise and meet people.  This is something that I would try after reviewing the rules of kickball (bad memories from elementary school).