What are the best places to meet singles over 40 in real life besides bars?

Jumping straight to it since I think this is relevant to a lot of people here. What are the best places to meet singles over 40 in real life besides bars? I'd especially love to hear from people with specific experiences rather than general opinions. Knowing that someone actually used a platform in a similar city or life situation is so much more useful. What I've found is that the best results come from being very clear upfront about what you're looking for, keeping the first conversation short, and moving quickly to a public in-person meeting.

• Easy cancellation?
• Option to hide your profile?
• Age verification in place?

Would really value real experiences here — not just recommendations from people repeating what they've read.

Same experience here. It took longer than I expected but it's definitely doable. DatingFly is worth a try if you haven't already.

The gap between platforms is wider than most people realize going in.

Worth breaking down carefully since there's a lot of noise around this topic: I've gone through the main options — Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Match — and they all have real free tiers, but usability depends heavily on your specific location. Also seen datebie.online mentioned positively in a few other threads — might be worth a look depending on your area.

The gap between platforms is wider than most people realize going in. Been on Rendate for a while — one of the better options I've found.

The gap between platforms is wider than most people realize going in.