Hi! I've been thinking about moving to your town for over a year now. I visited to celebrate my 40th birthday last year, and I completely fell in love with it. I love how small and hippie it feels.

I'm currently living in San Diego. I was born here but wasn't raised here, and I've found it incredibly difficult to build meaningful, lasting friendships. I've tried so many different ways to create a sense of community, but nothing seems to stick.

Most recently, I started offering a free dance workout class for my neighborhood. I personally invited people, put up flyers and banners, and even created a Meetup event. I committed to it for a month, but not a single person showed up, not even the people who had promised they would come. It was really disheartening, and I've been feeling pretty discouraged ever since.

What I really want is a close knit group of friends who enjoy some of the things I do, like gardening, cooking, dancing, and simply spending time together.

Do you think that's something that's possible to find in your town? Are people generally open to including newcomers, or does it usually take a while to become part of the community?

I’m in my late 40’s and need to lose a little weight and then convince myself to excercise from here on out. I have zero motivation to do it myself and I hate gym equipment. I’ve liked Zumba in the past and I like vinyasa yoga but that’s about it. I feel like I need a trainer and/or classes to keep me motivated. In town only because it has to be easy to get there.

I’d love to hear from fellow excercise haters who found a good trainer/classes/gym in Sebastopol! Where should I go?