Okay, there's a clause I thought about including in that first quote which I should have included, as it relates to the second.

The whole thing makes it feel hard to date somebody who isn't doing these kind of things because of the amount of time it takes. Having those mutual activities seems like a way of mitigating that issue. So, not so much society (though holy shit I recently saw a picture of some folks back home and I am so okay not relating to what's going on there, elitist or not), as much as dating within society.

Ducks Unlimited is amazing, had no idea that was a thing! Okay here's a question - do you feel the same about this as you do as, say, coffee? Because I get a similar vibe.

Maybe I do these things in groups because the music scene here isn't very open if you're not in Seattle, my friends seems to move every 6-12 months, and if yr not living in Seattle, good luck having close friendships with people in Seattle (oh no - now I've combined talking about running with complaining about the Northwest. What a perfect storm). It's a stability thing in a way.