Hi y'all! I've lived in Pakistan for the last 8 years, but I'm new to Islamabad and looking for people to do stuff with!

The list below is pretty comprehensive, but you definitely don't have to be interested in everything. If even one thing stands out, send me a DM and I'll give you my WhatsApp. Hopefully we can put together a few groups around different interests.

Fair warning: my Urdu is pretty weak. I'm trying to fix that, though, so I'd actually appreciate people speaking Urdu with me instead of immediately switching to English.

About me

I'm a 34-year-old guy with a background in computer science, currently building a small tech business of my own.

I'm pretty curious by nature and tend to bounce between technology, business, video games, films, (recently) sports and conversations about how society works.

I've also been making more of an effort lately to become culturally rooted. Improving my Urdu, learning more about Pakistan and my own background, and generally engaging more with life here rather than living in an English-speaking bubble.

Mostly, though, I'm trying to get out of the house more, get fit, meet interesting people and build an actual social circle in Islamabad.

I'm currently based in F-11, so I'd prefer stuff around this side of Islamabad where possible.

Stuff I'd like to do

Basketball

I'd love to get a group of guys together for casual 3v3/5v5 games a couple of times a week. I'm getting back into shape, so you definitely don't need to be an elite player.

Squash

I want to start playing properly. I don't know where the best courts are yet, but it seems incredibly fun. Happy to learn with other beginners or play with people willing to tolerate one.

Gym Bros

I'm getting back into shape and would love a few people to train with regularly. You don't need to be experienced or already fit—the whole point is to improve together, keep each other accountable and maybe add a little friendly competition. I'm probably joining Gritfit in F-11.

Chess

I'm bad. Like, actually bad.

I play online, but there's something much more enjoyable about sitting somewhere over a board and playing a few games. I'd also like to actually improve instead of just mindlessly queuing games.

Films / TV

Cinema trips, movie nights, watching something good and then discussing it afterwards all sound fun. You definitely don't need to have the same taste as me.

Developers / tech

I'd especially like to meet developers, indie hackers, designers, founders and generally anyone building interesting things.

Working from a café together occasionally, talking through projects, sharing ideas and helping each other solve problems would be great.

Business / entrepreneurship

Also interested in meeting people running businesses or trying to build one.

I'm less interested in formal LinkedIn-style "networking" and more interested in meeting interesting people, talking shop, exchanging ideas and seeing what naturally comes out of it.

Walks / hikes

Islamabad seems almost absurdly well suited to this, so I'd definitely be up for regular walks, trails and hikes.

I'm also completely open to trying things I haven't listed here.

Who I'm looking for

I'd prefer to keep the group mostly 30+, with no real upper limit. But it's not a hard rule—if any of this interests you and you don't mind hanging out with the boomers, you're welcome to reach out.

For the gym, basketball and squash, I'd prefer to keep the groups male. I'd especially like people who enjoy improving and have a healthy competitive streak. You can be a total beginner (I am) and totally out of shape (also me). I think the accountability and progress are just easier when you're doing it with other people.

Beyond that, there really aren't many requirements. You don't have to be particularly athletic, successful, extroverted or anything else.

If one or two things above sound good to you, DM me. No need to be interested in everything.

---

EDIT: Oh I forgot to mention videogames.

Big fan of MMO's like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. I played WoW pretty competitively and ranked top 1% most seasons.

I'd love to get into other games like League, Dota, Valorant, CS2. I have a bunch of games on steam, I love indie titles, souls like games etc. If you're into games we can swap steam IDs and chat there.

It's gonna be hard to find time to game though, I'd prefer to do the stuff listed above, but I'm a gamer at heart so might as well put it out there.