3150 Sublette Avenue, gwrymca.org/locations/south-city-family-ymca
The South City Family YMCA isn’t a regular gym that is mostly devoted to physical fitness. Yes, you can develop washboard abs or up your V02 max in the weight room or fitness area (newly renovated), at spin class (so popular that you need to reserve it), running laps around the indoor track or swimming them in the pool, or even shooting hoops. But there’s a lot more here than all that. It starts with the games in the community area in front of the changing room entrances, or the childcare for members or the coffee machine at the front, where people like to stay and chat, even if you do sometimes have to ask for a cup from the front-desk staff, who have hidden them so the kids don’t get caffeine wild. The south city location is also the perfect size: It has everything you’d want to work out, and there generally aren’t long lines for equipment, but it’s not so large that you aren’t constantly running into your neighbor or your college friend whom you haven’t talked to in years. Plus, all those classes and care are built into the price, which is on a sliding scale so that absolutely everyone can afford to take part. —Jessica Rogen
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