well..... so many options and opinions.
It all depends of what YOU feel comfortable with. Groups are fine... but so can just two people sharing an evening of dining or theater.

When I left one life at 38 and began a new one, I was lucky in that I had an *interest* where it was easy to meet 'people' I enjoyed being around... folk music... I made NO attempt to 'find' someone, and it took about a year or so before one of the women in the group began ,,umm... showing some interest. We chatted, we laughed, and somewhere, an excuse came up to visit at her place to sing and chat. I still made NO assumptions about where it would lead, but a couple of months later, after an event, she made some remark about "long bus ride home". I said my place was walking distance, and she was welcome to stay there. She said fine, but I STILL made no absolute assumptions about where it would lead...though I obviously suspected. Once home, options were discussed, and we shared my bed. Next morning I discovered she had brought her toothbrush.....hoping.
So we 'dated' for several months, enjoyed each other's company and each learned something about ourselves. It turned out we were not suited for a permanent relationship, but we remained good friends. In my 55+ years as an adult, I have remained more or less friendly with almost every woman I have ever been close to... even when the relationship was non-sexual (one can't keep up with everyone of course, but I can't think of any that I would not like to catch up with.)

Upon analysis, I realized what had always been been my 'technique' or just simple rule, for meeting women: "Never go to bed with someone who you wouldn't enjoy being around if you were NOT going to bed with them!"

Later, after another few months, I met another lady in the same setting and a friend of the first one who had met me had 'suggested' to her I might be a nice guy.... conversations ensued, followed by a trip to a museum and sharing a couple of folk events on a 'date'... and suddenly we discovered we did not want to be apart. 35 years later, we are still glad we met thru a shared interest and avoided want ads and dating clubs, etc.

These days, I know people who have actually met on internet chat situations... and that is one way to clear up some ideas and compare notes.... (read into that all the necessary stuff).. but there have been happy, permanent relationships that way.

There is NO simple, universal way to proceed, but I always suggest that shared interests is the best starting point... whether you do it in an established group or not... and 'shared interest' MUST include honesty about important things. It's hard if you both like folk music, but have totally different ideas about food, children, politics... and of course, sex. (It shouldn't be necessary to say that you also need to be honest WITH yourself ABOUT yourself and what you are looking for.)

And obviously, much depends on where you live and what activities are available.... I was lucky to move to an urban area with many, many choices.
...finally, in America these days (and as my history shows), it is common for a woman to show 'enough' interest to get things started... using basic common sense about safety.

People are complicated... relationships involving two or more are synergistic... more than twice as complex as a single personality.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained"