How do you get your sims out of the house?

I always try to give my sims some hobby they really like in order to give them more personality, so I’ll have them do that hobby with their friends who I think would participate.

Like I had one sim who loved karaoke, some who were really into working out, one who was a bookworm, so she joined a book club, one whose hobby was seducing women, LOL, so he went to lounges and bars a lot.

I’ll also come up with fun ideas for a house party, like housewarming for when I move a sim, backyard bbq, etc. I had one teenage sim who was in a band, so he and his band mates would play instruments while their non-musician friends listened (I think I temporarily moved the band mates in for that one so I could get them all to play at the same time).

I had one family in a group of sims who had the “fun” house, with foosball, darts, and a massage table, so people gathered there a lot, and another who was a party girl, so she had a bar and dance floor in her apartment, and her parties were fun even though they were mostly parties where everyone brought their kids (so cute to see dad and daughter dancing).

I also make lots specifically for groups of sims, like after-school teen centers or arcades. I had an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting room in sims 2, haha.

And if you have a photographer or painter, you can have them take walks around the neighborhood or different scenic spots and meet people that way. Even if nobody comes around you still get some good pictures.

"SomebodySomeplace;d-963922" wrote:
Lately, when I want my sims to socialize I make them go out to eat at a restaurant. This is getting pretty repetitive and expensive.

Not to mention time-consuming. Going to a restaurant eats up a whole day.

My sims go to the night club or gym in Willow Creek, or the bar in Strangerville. They usually go there to meet people, practice social skills, or hunt for mates. For some reason I don't make them go anywhere else.

It depends on the Sim and what they are doing. Adult Sims on dates go to restaurants, museums, nightclubs, karaoke clubs, cafes and bars. I have a homemade comedy club (run by a GT club of my best comedians) that serves as another great date venue for adults who watch the performers after completing the requirements of the date. I also have a homemade movie theatre (really a cafe) which teens and adults like to use for dates. Finally I have a park with a chapel and reception area that I use for all weddings and anniversaries.

My teens also go on dates or hangout at cafes, parks, pools, museums, at the local (homemade) bowling alley, at the skating arena or arcade (both also homemade) and at a local diner.

Everyone uses the City living festivals for outings (mostly groups of friends, except the Romance festival, where I only take couples). In Sulani, couples and groups go
to local festivals or the 1 bar. My kids go to parks for the playgrounds, to libraries (if they are teachers’ pets), to the beaches and restaurants (with parents) for family outings, as well as to the arena, arcade and bowling alley together. Elders prefer the spa, parks, libraries and museums. I love how many social things there are to do in this game; this usually motivates me to ignore the loading screens.

"phantasmkiss;c-17187395" wrote:
I have City Living, so I send them to the festivals that pop up. If you haggle with the vendors you can get food for cheap sometimes, and the Spice Festival has free food, so it doesn't cost anything at all. There's music and weirdly-dressed Sims, and I almost always go, despite my usual avoidance of loading screens.

I usually invite as many Sims as it'll let me, to keep up relationships.

I forget about the festivals! I think I kept getting GeekCon on rainy days so I stopped giving them a try; I'll have to try my luck with them again

I also, have never haggled at the food stands; I'll have to give that interaction a try

"QueenofMyshuno;c-17187711" wrote:
And if you have a photographer or painter, you can have them take walks around the neighborhood or different scenic spots and meet people that way. Even if nobody comes around you still get some good pictures.

Not exactly what my post was about, but I forgot painting was a portable activity; thanks for the reminder!

I do like your idea of making your sim's friends homes a kind of hangout spot, though. I always make sure my sims' friends have a home to visit, but I never really customize them to fit their personality/interests since I don't play as them; maybe it's worth it to do so.

I mostly use the club system and set the hangout as a place with a lot of different fun activities for multiple sims to do. I recently started having my sims go to the park more and redid the park in willow creek to include yoga, horseshoe throwing, and more playground equipment for kids. Sometimes I fill Newcrest up with many different types of venues and allow my sim to hangout indoors if it's cold or rainy.

I usually send mine everywhere usually. Festivals, karaoke bars, libraries, gyms plus to the secret lab since they all pretty much befriended Mother. xD