If you don’t care about tournaments and want to play with your closer friends then you can all build simpler decks with budget restrictions or you can even prepare a “cube” which is just basically an independant game that uses MtG rulesets. There’s tons of cheap cards.

I mean, you don’t have to buy those absurdly expensive single cards to have fun. I bought my first cards in 1997 and have been playing on and off since then. I have only ever bought pre made decks or booster packs, not once have I even been tempted to buy some stupidly expensive single card.

You can buy a starter pack that comes with two decks for you and a friend to learn to play with for like £15 - 20.

I won’t deny some of the shit it out of control expensive but you don’t need any of that trash to both learn to play and have fun with it!

You could play MTG: Arena for free, but I’d understand if online play wasn’t your thing.

You could also have a look at pauper decks, which are focused on being very affordable.

I must also admit that, as a longtime player, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend the hobby right now due to how the game is managed and the insane amount of releases they put out.

At work a long time ago they played mtg with fake cards, like home printed.

I don’t know if they had the same or whatever extra rules surrounded it, but I sure do know that the scarcity thing is just a dark pattern to rob players of their money.

Neither can I, and I have 9 Commander decks. Very rarely do I spend more than a few dollars on a single card, and even then it’s been maybe $15 at most.

Those cards that are that expensive are good (provided they aren’t just special printings of cards that are otherwise less than a dollar), but they’re absolutely not necessary in casual formats. Most of the time, there’s a <$1 card serves the same purpose. There’s even a format called Pauper where only commons are allowed.

Standard is where it gets excessively overpriced, and it’s a big reason for its decline in players over the past few years. If you want to play it, play Arena, which is F2P.

MTG is a complete meme game. There is so much OP stuff it doesnt matter about certain cards becaus you can just play a different format.

The joke about drugs being cheaper isn’t a joke. The joke is the pain your wallet feels

You’ll learn footwork over time. I would absolutely recommend going back a few more times and maybe sign up for a beginners class. I started climbing a few years ago and it has been the best decision I’ve made in a while

yeah rock climbing is really hard for big guys but its still enjoyable. You wont be doing crazy walls but you can have fun at any level

Hi! Lifelong climber (grew up on doing free climbs) and I have some thoughts.

First off, please go to a climbing gym or two and take a beginners class. I can’t account for someone being an asshole but I can tell you that older climbers are definitely excited when someone’s interested in their thing, like most usually are. With that said, I want to give you a fair warning. My number one concern for someone of your stature would be foot/ankle injuries and pulley injuries (fingers) with rotator cuff being second.

With that said, I completely think you could do bouldering and frankly the fact that you’re already a frequent gym goes/weight lifter means you have a, forgive the pun, a leg up on most who are gonna walk in that gym. Take it easy, don’t try and do anything absurd, and have a good time. If you’re renting shoes from the gym then keep in mind that climbing shoes are a WHOLE thing and finding a pair that work and don’t completely murder your feet is a project in and of itself even with average sized feet, your size 16s might be a bit of a secondary project tbh. But spend some time on a wall and see how you feel about it truly after having someone give you some pointers as it’s an activity that is closer to 75% technique and 25% strength so knowing some beta (climber speak for “meta” - knowledge of a route/problem) actually goes a long ways.

That’s something you could train. Gotta develop those mountain goat feet

Fishing doesn’t have a learning curve. It’s not learn as you go. Nobody in my family fishes but I’ve gone and sorry of slowly figured it out. I’m not super into it, my kids are more curious than anything so I’ve sort of just based what I’ve done off a few movies lol. Were just doing it in rivers and ponds though, nothing crazy. Catch and release while camping.

Have wondered about that too. Caught crabs a few times which I think is a lot easier. Even got a spider crab with just a bit of twine and a hook.

But I don’t really know where are good or bad places to go to spread out across wider areas. Swimming out to place nets could be an interesting thing to try, at that point you are getting to some pretty expensive and bulky equipment though.

Would be more interested in doing it to get food rather than as a sport. Most information, especially in the UK, treats it entirely as a sport.

Grab a cheap rod from a store or on Craigslist and some tackle you’re good to go.

Fishing (at least for me) isn’t about catching anything necessarily. We bring beers and just hang out.

Not one day goes by where i think about just going to a smith and begging him to teach me his craft

If you think about it a closet is really just a burned down yard anyway

Start small with silver smithing!

Same, I even met with a few smiths and really enjoyed the process. Ultimately, not enough time/space/money to get into it, so I just do chain mail instead. Makes a good stim.

Same. Although MSFS 2024 has been a buggy mess for a couple years, it does scratch that itch for me pretty well.

Same, my coping mechanism is a small dji and working on getting drone certs. Charging a small battery is a lot cheaper than aviation fuel

I fly a paramotor (powered paraglider) and it’s the cheapest form of powered flight.

Costs about as much as a motorcycle to buy and run.

I met a guy a few years back who was into building and flying small aeroplanes and gliders. My mind was blown - I had no idea hobby aeroplane building was a thing since the wright bros.

A hinged vertical bike hanger can save a lot of room, particularly if you mount it in a corner.

The other commenter is totally right about it being “like riding a bike.” My kids started riding and I had a bike but hadn’t ridden in like 15 years probably, so I was a little apprehensive about trying it again. It was no problem at all.

If ebikes you’re something youd consider l, they make some that fold.

It’s (a lot) like riding a bike, it’d come right back!

the last bicycle i bought i got to ride exactly once before it was stolen.

You should considere a folding bike! I have a Priority Folder and I love it.

Where ever you are at if in the US, there is likely a makers space nearby. They provide the space, tools and classes, generally for a reasonable fee.

And awesome people as well!

Yeah, those flight hours are expensive (especially these days).

In my city there’s a glasswork studio that does classes and has studio space. I have made a stained glass snowflakes and leaves. It was fun. So look to see if they’re are studios

Could you still use a camera, scope, or monocular?

I’d get into building vehicles, bikes, etc. but lack the funds, time, and space.

Hey! I’ve gone down the rabbit hole with unorthodox methods of birdwatching like using a parabolic microphone (very directional, so you can locate with a mono audio source) and a couple other weird things like that! Would love to chat if I can provide any info to get you into the hobby 😁

I’ve always wanted to drive rally cars or something, but it’s all very much out of reach for me.