Alyssa Fagien invites people to come together through social events.
Shortly after graduating from the University of Florida in her home state, Alyssa Fagien moved to Atlanta in 2014. She found a job in marketing and loved being in a city with so much to offer, including warm weather and relative proximity to her family. As she learned more about her new home, she soon decided to share her enthusiasm with others. A decade ago, she created the connections site ATL Bucket List and has now expanded her circle with In Common, a social club. Here, she tells us about how both succeed at creating new friendships.
What’s the concept behind the ATL Bucket List?
It’s my love letter to Atlanta. I moved here not knowing much about the city, and I’ve gotten to see spaces like the Beltline and Ponce City Market transform it. I started as a way to showcase my own bucket list and all things I wanted to do before moving back to Florida, even though now I have no plans of leaving. People sign up, and we go to restaurants and have cool activities and fun events. And after doing it for 10 years, it’s now my full-time job.
How did that lead to your creating In Common?
I like to think that all great ideas come from trying to fix existing problems, and that’s where In Common came from. So many times over the years I’d get people in my DMs on Bucket List asking, “How do I make friends and meet people?” I tried to give ideas, but it’s not that easy; making friends can be awkward, especially in the post-COVID era. And since people aren’t going into offices anymore, it’s way more difficult to make connections in real life. In Common is all about meeting people in real life and making friendships. And generally speaking, we all have something in common.
How does In Common work?
We’re not a social club with a physical space where people go to connect, but we have an online community and host about two or three member events every month. We’ve gone to workout classes and new restaurants; we’ve chartered buses and gone to the North Georgia vineyards. We did a Friendsgiving at a private event space in Chamblee. We’ve had potlucks, game nights, casual pool parties and a launch party at Westside Motor Lounge. Instead of just creating Instagram posts, I’m now bringing people together.
What’s the membership demographic?
It’s geared toward ages 25 to 40, but we’re not exclusive. We ask that people be above age 21 because many events include alcohol. It’s a good mix of singles, people who are partnered but their partners don’t want to take part, and some husbands and wives. I’ve also noticed we have people going through life changes: Maybe they just moved to Atlanta, got out of a long-term relationship or moved from the suburbs into the city. Some say, “All my friends are married now with kids, and I want to expand my network.”
How does the membership structure work?
We have two membership options: quarterly for $40 or yearly for $144. That gives access to all our events and the online community as well. Happy hours are $10 once a month and include one drink; other events might range from $20 to $50. I do all the organizing: The goal is to have people just purchase a ticket and show up. And we also try to host community events every quarter that are open to everyone.
What’s the most gratifying part of the job?
Seeing people truly create friendships from this group is great.
ATL BUCKET LIST
atlbucketlist.com
@atl_bucketlist
IN COMMON
incommonatl.com
@incommonatl
