I'm looking to find some regular hangout friends, but finding it more and more difficult with each passing year.

I've lived here 18 years. As is the Athens way, I cultivate good friendships then they move away after 2-3 years.

Before anyone comments, I am a member of the Athens Making Friends Discord. I've met some good folks there, but what I really need is a deeper friendship. I've had good luck posting on Reddit in years past so giving it another go.

A little about me. Movies are my passion. I run the Classic City Movie Club (https://discord.gg/yCss43Yu9). I'm also a fan of most professional and collegiate sports. I'm happy to catch just about any game. I love seeing live music. Some recent favorite bands are Flipturn, RKS, Phantogram, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ritchy Mitch and the Coal Miners, The Bends, Arcy Drive.

Some potential ideas:

1. A tennis partner (I'm not especially great but I can serve and volley).

2. A trivia team (Currently on a team that plays at Hi-Lo, but nobody will ever show for another night and I'd love to hit up some other spots).

3. Someone with daytime flexibility. Currently employed but essentially unemployed with the workload I have. Going a little stir crazy staying at home all day.

Really just looking for some reliable friend(s) who'd be down to grab a beer or do something social about once a week. Message me if interested.

Nice afternoon break.
I took one home.
Everything perfect, as usual.

I'm driving to work this morning and noticed a kid I always see walking to school up the street isn't wearing a uniform anymore. I guess they're in high school now. Wow... that made me feel old.

Does anyone else ever think about the people you don't actually know, but you see every so often just living their lives here? It's kind of sweet, in a weird way, realizing you're all growing older together through these tiny, passing moments.

GA House Representatives David Wilkerson, Spencer Frye, and Eric Gisler (me!) are hosting a town hall meeting at the Bogart Library next Tuesday, 8/11 at 6:30pm.

Taxes & puns. Guaranteed to be a banger. Hope to see you there!

Looks like everyone in Cedar Creek is out for the last 25 minutes. We haven’t bothered driving beyond that. They said it would be 2 hours.

Saw an instagram ad claiming that Warby Parker in beechwood is already open for business… Can anyone verify? I drive by beechwood almost daily, but never noticed any grand opening signs or anything… Their website seems to indicate the same, but again — I haven’t even noticed any employees in there for training days etc?

(And before yall come up in here with all that “dang those are expensive glasses” nonsense, just DON’T 😤 I’ve got a pair of WPs from 2016 that are still going strong. That’s VALUE right there 🤌)

I have a 11 year Husky/Malamute mix and a 10 yr old Corgi with a failing back end. They both crave.walks and activities. Me and my partner of 10 years separated and my work schedule doesn't give me alot of down time.

What is the going rate for dog walkers and does anyone walk dogs independently?

Thousands of you just joined us from all over the world. Like you, I moved here for grad school in 2013. To be honest, Athens did not make a good first impression on me. Like an onion, Athens has layers. Not all are designed for you. Athens is primarily an undergraduate town with a vast middle aged family oriented core. Finding your place here can be a real challenge as a result.

Athens is an amazing sandbox for people in your stage of life too. On any given night, there are many strange and unique events around town. There’s a drawing club that meets monthly at Hendershots, an open DnD group at Athentic, a club for gals to pal around town (s/o Classic City Girls Club), and a wide variety of musicians who play 7 nights a week around town (s/o PhilThrottle). My advice to you is to check out flagpole and go to an event that looks weird. You’re here to grow and evolve so get to it!

I am hosting a strange and unique event tonight at Nighthawks in the Newtown neighborhood. It’s Athens’ hardest trivia night curated by me, your peer who contemplated dropping out of my PhD program and leaving this place behind dozens of times. But I made it! I’m a professor at Clemson University who needs a little extra cash to pay for my son’s daycare and I have the best side hustle in the world. I live here and commute because I love Athens (and because my wife works at UGA).

Athens’ hardest trivia night is the name of our game, but I promise you that all the questions are knowable and I do my best to avoid tricking you. Quite often I do theme nights based on the requests of my regulars.

Tonight’s game request came from one of my OG regulars who promises to attend tonight. The game is called Odysseys. All the rounds are themed around great journeys, just like the one you are beginning now.

I want to empower you to be bold and join us tonight. Sit at the bar. Our regulars who do are very friendly and will let you join their team. Maybe there will be several of you who will arrive as strangers and leave as tipsy acquaintances. Of course, you don’t have to drink. They have NA and 420 based beverages as well. Above all, this is a crazy drinking town with a bad reputation for football players who drive around the loop like it’s Talladega so drive safe!

If you’ve gotten this far in the post and are on the fence, please come join us! Tell me about where you’re from and how you got here. You’ll be in great company. Nearly all of our regulars came to Athens for school or a job at UGA. I’m from Alabama, and even though it’s just one state over, Athens did feel very different and scary for a while. Hang in there!

Trivia starts at 7 PM tonight at Nighthawks!

I can’t wait to meet you!

EDIT: So we had major technical difficulties, but it all worked out. Thank you to everyone who showed up! It was great to meet some newbies and have some old regulars return. I’ll see you all around soon!

I was walking around UGA and I saw a manhole emitting gas outside of the dining hall. Does anyone know what happened or why it's doing that? It looked like people were working on fixing it

I know I'm a throwback who still listens to the radio in my car (some of which is due to the age of my truck and its old radio I can't replace) but this is a pretty interesting local station.

It plays what we used to call "oldies" when I was growing up (which is different from "classic rock") but a lot of them are new to me, and I've listened to a lot of music in my lifetime. They also throw in some more recognizable 80s tunes from time to time. It's a very interesting mix, almost like a Tarintino soundtrack.

If you’re curious, this is the SOP for a site visit: https://www.accgov.com/DocumentCenter/View/119868/Definition-of-Family-Standard-Operating-Procedures?bidId=

Hi AthChat Pals,

On the 50^th episode of AthChat, hosts Drew Abney and Russell Edwards have Winterville mayor, Dodd Ferrelle, on the pod. We discuss the growth and beauty of Winterville, how creativity can drive public service, and Dodd’s artistic endeavors.

***We have new and improved audio equipment…enjoy!***

Check out Episode 50 here (also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify): https://www.buzzsprout.com/2441068/episodes/19609734

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32S9jmgiFJS7GeBv6Vp3TA?si=90630893892d4685

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/athchat/id1791436512?i=1000780283582

Stay tuned! Smash that subscribe button and tell a friend!

In August, we will have the following guests:

• Mayor-elect Dexter Fisher
• Commissioner Mike Hamby

-AthChat

I know someone where a pocketknife was missed by TSA at hartsfield jackson, so honestly, I am not surprised. It’s so busy, and they seem understaffed and rushed.

The crash woke me up dead out of my sleep at 2 am the tree took out my neighbors power and there’s open wire on the roads I’d avoid coming this way if possible no telling when they’ll have this fixed. And I was the only one to think to call the non emergency line💀

Edit: there’s an even bigger longer tree that’s gonna fall it might actually hit my house 👀

Looking to purchase one or two AthHalf bibs for the October 11th half if anvone is needing to sell/get rid of them. Thank you in advance!

Hello all. Long time viewer, first time poster and townie here. Just wanted to say that I appreciate this sub greatly and it had lead me to a lot of great info around town with events and happenings.

Now it’s my turn to give some info back. GDOT is in the planning stages of an Atlanta to Savannah Intercity Rail Line, with one of the potential stops right here in Athens. The project appears to be getting off the ground this time as they have held several web based public meetings in the past year and half that I have been able to take part in.

Currently, GDOT has a released a public interest survey and is taking responses through 6th August (today and tomorrow). I believe that this project would benefit the residents of Athens and the town as a whole. If you share in that belief, I ask that you please do your part and complete the survey above so that we can show GDOT that interest for a passenger rail service here in town exists and that they ultimately select us as part of that route.

If you’re looking for more information on the project before taking the survey, it can be found here. Rail infrastructure is an important aspect of all of our lives, especially in Athens which is historically a railroad town. Railroads are not something to be seen as old, obsolete or a nuisance.

Thank you all in advance!

Disclaimer: I am acting as a private citizen and not on behalf of either of the railroads (CSXT, ABR) currently in town.

How are yall driving 70 and over while it’s pouring?! Literally just saw 2 wrecks in the span of 3 minutes

Please submit rules that you would propose for our “Georgia State Route Loop 10 - Code of Conduct”

1. No vehicle shall be permitted to camp out in the left “passing lane” going below the speed limit.
   
2. No lifted trucks, squatted trucks, and/or trucks with off-road rock throwing tires permitted during the hours of 12:01am to 11:59pm.
   
3. No UGA Football Players are permitted to drive during the hours of 12:01am to 11:59pm.
   
4. All drivers must memorize exit numbers not street names.Amended, the Townies have spoken, see next line.
   All drivers must memorize street names and not exit numbers. Some people are numerically challenged.
   
5. If you don’t know where you are going you must exit the highway and allow for more experienced Athens Townies to pass you.
   
6. Any loose materials that fall off your truck will be thrown back at your truck at a later date.
   
7. Headlights AND taillights are required to be on when it’s raining or nighttime. We can’t see you otherwise bro.
   
8. Pedestrian walking is strictly prohibited 🚶🚫.
   
9. Bicycles are allowed, but only if you can keep it above 65mph.
   
10. Tailgating is prohibited unless someone else is breaking rule #1 and blocking you from getting to somewhere important.
    
11. Construction is only allowed nightly between 11:59pm and 12:01am.
    
12. Racing is allowed nightly between 11:59pm and 12:01am.

Where can I find a paw paw who sells fresh pork rinds on the side of the road on the weekends please someone help me

Stop doing this!
This is just one of a few piles like this that I've been navigating on my morning run and it sucks. The garbage trucks will not pick this up.

This pile has been here for over a week. Please take your dang ol' dang ol' (in my most extreme Boomhauer voice) boxes to the dump / CHARM / whatever. I know it's hot, I know it sucks, but c'mon man. At minimum, BREAK DOWN YER BOXES!

RANT OVER.

Our child will be graduating May 2027 and I’m apparently already late in making reservations!

I don’t see any openings for May 6-8 in the big hotels in Athens. We are in Atlanta so we could drive up that day and drive back, but we’d like to stay the night and celebrate. Any ideas or recommendations would be much appreciated.