HOW ‘THE MERGE’ CAME TO BE
Like most of you reading this, I’m a San Francisco transplant. Probably unlike most of you, I didn’t know anyone when I moved. In 2019 I said goodbye to family and friends on the east coast and moved in with 3 random roommates in the Haight.
Because I didn’t have a friend group to fall into immediately, I sought connections through a variety of contexts. I made work friends who became weekend bike pals, went on Hinge dates with the secret intention of making friends, and met people at church who invited me to weekday small group dinners. And the number of separate groups I’m a part of has only grown over the past 5 years. There’s the Tahoe ski lease, kiteboarding carpool, Wine Wednesday group, Book club….you get it.
And it got me thinking: Having multiple, small groups of friends is not unique. But creating space to merge all of these groups is.
Enter: Merge the Herds. It started as a simple invite for my friends to bring their friends to a local brewery on a Thursday. We now host monthly happy hours in the Mission and are working on other connection events in the city.
Whether you’re new to San Francisco or have lived here for years, you’re welcome at the Merge! Check out our Instagram account @mergetheherds for all new events.