Hobby ideas

[PapaRubbery]

If you live in suburbia, considered woodworking? Restoring old furniture, etc.

Property investing isn't too bad - neither is becoming a handyman and being all DIY.

Considered Home Automation?

[two40]

I know you said woodworking might not be your thing but it's not really that hard to get into and it is rewarding making things with your hands.

I made this plane and I'm a total noob. http://imgur.com/a/1Wd4d

Making toys for your kids and watching them enjoying the toys dad made... priceless.

[Agg]

Learn guitar. Or go geocaching.

[fR33z3]

Why not do something for the community - 'paying it forward' so to speak. You will learn things that cannot be learned any other way. You will also meet people that you perhaps wouldn't expect. I've heard of some amazing opportunities that were opened through community volunteering.

I'm thinking of things like volunteer firefighting, SES, sea rescue, animal rehab, soup kitchens... I'm there a dozens more. It may not quite be a 'hobby', but i'm 99% certain you'll value it more highly than a hobby when you look back on it in a couple of years.

[Alpha2k6]

Originally Posted by Tiger Toast

Why does everyone suggest photography? It's hard to well and easy to be terribly shit at forever.

Take up painting.

Or reading ffs I bet there are thousands of essential books which you've never read.

Because painting is hard to do and Photo is easier
or maybe they are equally difficult to get very good at.

[SyN]

Originally Posted by Alpha2k6

Because painting is hard to do and Photo is easier
or maybe they are equally difficult to get very good at.

with photo you can pretend you're good by buying lots of expensive gear and talk a lot on forums etc

painting comes to raw skills and talent, easy if you have it and impossible if you dont

[Court Jester]

Originally Posted by maxwolfie

Hi guys,

Any ideas?

You could look at shooting / hunting it is great fun and is better than archery a little expensive to set up but once you do you are set for life a gun will out last you if looked after properly.

[Bad Wolf]

May I suggest board gaming?
I was in a similar situation last year, struggling to find a hobby. Then I found Game Lovers through meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com/Game-Lovers/) and I've been having a blast ever since.
Unplugged gaming ftw

[iNeLuKi]

Archery is cheap unless you want to go pro. IMO pay for a decent riser, either compound or recurve with some entry limbs. If you like it upgrade the limbs later on. Get/Make yourself a fletching jig and make your own arrows, it'll save you a lot of money in the long run.

Could try woodworking (making bows is fun :P), model kits, lego, quadcopters, painting, music, photoshop, 3d modelling/animation, birdwatching, gardening, caligraphy, pottery, golf (depending on clubs/green fees in the area), medieval re-inactment.

Give gardening a shot IMO. Even if it's just a 1m square patch to start you off, can be theraputic and rewarding. Volunteering sounds good as well.

If you prefer electronics how about making some speakers and a kit amp?

[k1ll3r]

Fishing
Billiards
Chess
Coaching tennis
Reading

[broccoli]

I also suggest gardening. The advantage to it is that you'll be getting fitness benefits at the same time. People pay money to go to a gym, you'll just get muscles and flexibility from doing the gardening.

[flareau]

Homebrewing!

We've got a sub-forum and wiki for it right here, a ton more forums on the internet and I'd imagine there are plenty home brew shops near you too.

Good fun, but not much use if you don't drink. Also don't just think you're limited to beer.

[pelmen]

Mini Z are great fun (I can recommend Kenon for readysets and upgrades). I'd suggest thinking carefully about how much space you have indoors and look at the chassis types, perhaps the AWD chassis with hard rubber tyres is a fun place to start giving you a fun drift car that can be used in small confines. My Mini Z has a few upgrades, does over 30kph and needs space to run. There is a huge after market for parts and upgrades for Mini Z so you can lose a lot of time (and money) in tweaking your setup, great hobby.

I've got a dNano coming (from a Thai store I can NOT recommend..horror order story still ongoing after 3mths) which should do nicely around the loungeroom floor. I've also got an Initial D drifter that was cheap but is the most fun RC car I have, very zippy and easy to control and dances around dining set chair legs with ease.

To complement your outdoor interests (and maybe foster interest in photography) take a look at geocaching. It's basically a treasure hunt with a GPS so you can plan a raid on caches via a bike ride, get some exercise and take the camera because a lot of caches are in interesting locations you wouldn't know existed in your area.

What about reading those books that your always wanted to read, or find a "100 books you must read before you die" list and work through it. Combine it with...

Wines. Acquire a taste, learn about wines, learn to enjoy them. Sitting back in a comfy chair with a book to read and a glass of something you enjoy is one of life's simple pleasures.

How about music? Ever wanted to learn an instrument? No? How about simply listening to music and enjoying it. Not just download tunes to your iPod but get some nice speakers or highend headphones, turn out the lights and just listen and enjoy the music.

Got any mates in the same boat as you? Form a bowling team or some other regular blokes night like going to see all the action movies the girls aren't interested in seeing.

Got anything you're really interested in? Learn more, become an expert in a field you enjoy. Don't be shy about what others might think (I collect stamps and I'm proud of it!), a hobby should be something for yourself...some "you time". If it happens to be something you can also share with your family in some way then great.

What about writing? Have you had an interesting life with lots of adventures you might want to capture on paper?

What about collecting fountain pens and inks? Take up caligraphy.

Astronomy? Get outside at night and observe. Learn the stars. Lay back on the grass with a pair of binoculars. Move up to a telescope (a never ending cycle, no telescope is ever "enough").

Cooking. While your fiance is studying you can whip up some gourmet grub for her. When you have kids you should be able to contribute to normal household duties since she won't get much time for herself anymore. Show her how helpful you'll be to your family.

What about fossicking for rocks, minerals, fossils etc?

What about picking something completely new you've never tried every month and give it a try.

Gardening is great, even a small window planter with fresh herbs to enhance your meals.

Trainspotting? Bird spotting? Plane spotting?


There are so many options available these days it's easy to get overwhelmed by the choice. Don't be afraid to give something new a try, if you don't enjoy it just try something else. Trying something different itself might become your hobby.

[tyga]

Did anyone mention porn star?

But seriously, if you want to be good at wood work, then you have to get in and do it. Doing it is the only way to get good at it.

Start a vege garden. You can learn an absolute bucket load of great practical information and feed your family while your at it. Win win.

[FqqTBawL]

LOL Buy a bong, find a 20 of weed. No Hobby Required.....