Where are the best AA Meetings in the USA?
 

May I ask a question? What area of the country has the best fellowship, the strongest recovery and the most fun? If you really wanted an extra ordinary AA life, where would you go? Please advise......

I honestly think it depends. There are all different kinds of meetings and all different kinds of people. Some people like certain meetings and others don't. It's all about personal preference. I preferred to open style meetings to the speaker or big book meetings but some people strongly prefer the latter two.
Sorry that probably isn't very helpful and other people can probably give you better answers but I think it depends on the person. I like the meetings from my hometown Boston, but I don't like the meetings upstate because I don't feel like I relate to those people as easily so I think where your'e from is part of it too. Maybe it's just a coincidence for me but I felt most comfortable in meetings where I was surrounded by "townies" like myself.

the Big Book Step Study meetings are the very best I have attended.They originated out of the Northeast in the early 80`s and have spread,slowly,over the East and down into Florida

Chicago seems to have the best AA i have found so far.

When I was a long-haul truck driver, I found the meetings around Akron Ohio to be the best meetings. But then again, I was dependent on getting rides as a result of calling the local AA hotline and Akron seemed to have the best group of people working a hotline.

There were many other cities were the local hotline was apathetic towards people like me. So even if they had "The Best Meetings", I never got a chance to see them.

Any meeting I'M AT!

lololol.... couldn't resist.

Some of the best meetings I've been to I was the only person there..... the meeting was playing on my ipod, through my headphones, while I was cutting my grass. Most of my favorite "meetings" have been listening to open talks downloaded from the net.

I cannot answer this, but the AA and other 12-step fellowships I see described here often seem to have little connection to what I have seen in dozens of meetings over 7 or 8 years in Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Florida.

I suspect there are huge regional variations. Even down to reading that some meetings serve sandwiches and run over an hour. Some meetings provide new members with phone lists with numbers (if I understand that correctly). Some meetings are welcoming of the newcomer. Others are much colder until the newcomer has proven a commitment. Some meetings have over a hundred people others regularly have less than 10 in attendance. In some meetings the chair comments on each share, in others the chair does not.

And those are just the superficial differences.

I do not think it is possible to say what is the "best," because the "best" will be different for different persons with different needs and tastes. But it would be interesting to hear more about what the regional variations are.

DayTrader, I have found soooo many great speaker meeting online, I agree with you on that.

Miamifella, thank you for the feedback. Would it not be wonderful to win the lottery and travel the USA and try different groups and write a blog on it? Also you could cruise around and do all the conventions. Now that would be amazing. Just a dream, but wow would i love that.

Portland, Oregon has some of the most diverse meetings I have been to and still gets a poweful message across. It seemed like every neighboorhood had a different style of doing things.

Of course that is where I started now it seems that if I am focusing on the solution and my step work it does not matter.

The great thing about that AA comunity in Portland is they had meetings at all times of the day and most important were always open for business at the alloted time. Been places where the meeting on the scedule was not in operation. Not good at all!!

I am moving to Minneapolis in two weeks and looking forward to the strong AA represented there. If anything thier quantity of meetings available is top dog.

Thanks Firehazard, i am in Southwest Florida, and we get lots of snowbirds from MN, lots of oldtimes from MN come down for the winter. You'll like what you find there I hope. Best wishes

I have a real good sponsor in the Washington DC area. That area seems to be good.

I have attended meeting in 16 states and 3 countries and with the term being very subjective I will say that based on my experience and certainly the only impressions I have are of the particular meeting or meetings that I attended in each locale, my observation is as follows.

NYC and Washington DC more formal in the manner they were conducted than some in the Rocky Mountain States. The Utah and Arizona meetings were full of wonderful sobriety and some interesting sayings, "I'll take another 24."

Hawaii somewhat closer in casual approach to my home state, but no clapping as we do in our meetings in California. Southern Cal (of course more relaxed, what did you expect?) Michigan very warm greetings and full of fellowship. Texas, big meetings and quite structured. I felt very included.

Point being, the differences were superficial, I was with "MY PEOPLE" no matter where I was and I have always felt welcome. I hope I added to each meeting when I was present.

Jon

PS. In my opinion, the best meeting was the one I first attended that turned out to be the one just after my last drink in 1999.

I heard Hawaii has some good meetings on the beach and Canada has alot of Native American Indians and very spiritual and I would love to go to both one day. Although, have only been to meetings in Texas...but one of the best meetings I went to was out of town. It was in a bad part of town/downtown and I was not familar with the area...was really scared to go in. Prayed about it and went to the meeting...the meeting was GREAT and alot of people and alot of good sobriety...the topic was about Unity. Unity is in any AA meeting anywhere.

Thank you everyone for the feedback!!!!!!!!!!!

Here in Delaware we have round the clock meetings any time of day which I think is really awesome. :)

The best? my home groups....
First in D.C. then Fl. and now Ga....:)

New York has the best meetings I think. Of course I haven't been to meetings everywhere.

Any insight appreciated.

Most meetings are online now I suspect. Have you checked any out WisteriaLane?

D