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My supervisor (who is drop dead gorgeous woman) was telling me how great it was for her using this when she moved to a new place. It's not a dating site though. She just made friends.
I've used it for years, it's a great site caters to varied interest and for sure not a dating site, but I've known people who did date even married after having attended some of the groups, but, that's not what most of the groups are geared toward. They do have some groups that encourage it, but they advertise it that way, so you know ahead of time. I would say most I know looking to join these groups are like you, they attend for the common interest in certain activities or just to have others to socialize with in general. The ones hanging around like they're at the bottie call convention, usually disappear rather quickly or sometimes are shown the door depending on the makeup of the group.
Almost all of my experiences with meetup have been positive, one of the groups I miss most after relocating to another area is the hiking/camping/kayaking group I was involved with, they were the best. I've had a pretty full movie calendar over the summer with friends I made from one of my groups, we get together as part of the group and outside of the meetup group. Often, if you don't have family in an area, you'll find some of the groups have holiday gatherings those with or without are welcome to join together on for those days some will sign up to help out at soup kitchens as a group instead. Not every group will be a perfect fit, some will have you shaking your head, but, over all, it's one of the best things I ever stumble upon some 12 years ago.
Tomorrow, I'm attending the opening of an art center; I'm going for the free snacks. j/k. Friday, It's going to be Karaoke with my women's meetup group. I'm looking forward to watching them make fools of themselves while I snap pics
Join a WAKA kickball league if they have one in your area. I wasn't looking to make new friends but joined a league with some friends just to try something different and it was blast. You do not have to be good a kickball (when I joined I had not played in almost 15 years) but I would suggest being in decent shape as it can get competitive at times. I do recommend this if you are a social drinker, as you drink beer while playing and then there is a designated bar you go to after. You don't have to drink but the league (at least in Orlando) is sort of focused around it. Anyways I met of a bunch of cool people a few who I have became friends with outside of the league. I know people who have had success with this in various places all over the country.
You need to recognize that MeetUp is NOT a dating site, or a social network or such.
It's a website that facilitates running a club or group. That's it.
The character, the convenience, the details ... everything else, is dependent on the Group Organizer (the "host" of the specific MeetUp Group).
I'm quite involved with a bunch of MeetUp groups. Some are for Singles, some are for just going out and doing interesting and fun things, some are for specific hobbies / interests. Each group will be as different as the Organizers are different.
I think the MeetUp concept is great as it is an effective way to do all the above. In some areas, like mine, there are hundreds, if not actual thousands of different groups. So I can find a group interesting in pretty much any topic or interest.
I wouldn't use it just for dates. I do it to meet people (casually), but if I hit it off with a lady, I'll see if she's interested in dating. Or maybe just not with me I also do it b/c I'm interested in the venue or event, and have often enjoyed them.
People are generally friendly, but it sort of reminds me of work... while I've met and heard of stories of *******s at an office, some of them may not like you, but for the sake of getting stuff done, not hurting feelings, incidents, and lawsuits, folks will put up with other folks, fake smile if need be... etc. At Meetups, there's this sort of unwritten rule that everyone has to be friendly. If you rub someone the right way, they probably won't be honest enough to tell you to your face.
I've met some friends on MU, but I feel like unless you exchange contact info, talk and do stuff outside the MU events, then they never transcend beyond "meetup acquaintance".
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I've had a pretty full movie calendar over the summer with friends I made from one of my groups, we get together as part of the group and outside of the meetup group. Often, if you don't have family in an area, you'll find some of the groups have holiday gatherings those with or without are welcome to join together on for those days some will sign up to help out at soup kitchens as a group instead. Not every group will be a perfect fit, some will have you shaking your head, but, over all, it's one of the best things I ever stumble upon some 12 years ago. 
I also do it b/c I'm interested in the venue or event, and have often enjoyed them.
