Expensive hobbies

Hobbies that cost $300 or more to start, or $10,000 or more once you get serious, with what each costs at both stages. 43 hobbies, grouped by type.

Sports & Fitness

Backcountry SkiingYou climb it yourself, and nobody is patrolling what you ski downTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $10k–50k
Figure SkatingJumps and spins do not happen without a coach watchingTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k
FreedivingNo tank: how deep you go is decided by how well you relaxTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
GolfOne swing, and people spend decades trying to repeat itTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Horse RidingLearn to sit first; steering the horse comes laterTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $50k+
Ice ClimbingSwing tools into a frozen waterfall, in a season only weeks longTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
Ice HockeyFull pads, and you still need enough people to make a teamTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
KitesurfingThe power is up in the sky; you are just the end being draggedTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
MountaineeringThe summit is half of it; the descent is where things go wrongTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $10k–50k
Road CyclingWhether the bike fits you matters far more than what it costTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
SailingYou read an invisible wind off the water and the sailTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k

HuntingLicence and safety course first, with seasons and quotas set by lawTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
MotorcyclingTake the training course; the first year is when people crashTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $10k–50k
Off-RoadingNever go out as a single vehicle; recovery gear beats horsepowerTo start: $2k–10k · Going deep: $10k–50k
RV TravelDrive something you can sleep in, and stop wherever the night finds youTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $50k+
Saltwater FishingGet on a boat: the fish are bigger, and seasickness is its own problemTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
SkydivingYour first jump is strapped to an instructor; solo is a separate courseTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
TravellingPlan your own trips, and the places you have been start forming a mapTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k

CelloIts range overlaps the human voice, which is why it sounds like someone talkingTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
GuqinSeven strings, very quiet, and never really meant for an audienceTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $10k–50k
PianoTwo hands doing different things: that is the whole difficultyTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $10k–50k
ViolinNo frets on the fingerboard: every pitch is found by handTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k

Ballroom & LatinA dozen dances inside one system, with graded exams and competitionsTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k

Car RestorationTake an old car apart down to the shell, then put every piece backTo start: $2k–10k · Going deep: $50k+
GlassblowingGather molten glass from the furnace and shape it, turning, as you blowTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Model RailroadingLay track, get a train running, then build the world around itTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
QuiltingPiece the top, add the batting, then stitch all three layers as oneTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k

EspressoNine bars, thirty seconds, and a small error ruins the shotTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k
Wine TastingDrink systematically and write it down; months later you can place a region blindTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k

Backyard ChickensEggs every day, and cleaning and shutting the coop every day tooTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $300–2k

Coin CollectingCleaning one destroys its value: original surface beats shinyTo start: Free · Going deep: $10k–50k
Sneaker CollectingGetting a pair is only the start, and the soles decay by themselvesTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Sports Card CollectingThe same card can be five dollars or five thousandTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Stamp CollectingCollect by country or by theme, and an album is the whole setupTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Trading Card CollectingCollecting and playing are two different hobbies; decide whichTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Vinyl RecordsYou listen to a whole side, in the order the artist choseTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
Wenwan CuriosThey change with handling, and that slow change is the pointTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k

Amateur AstronomyA telescope on a mount steady enough to hold Saturn's rings stillTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k
AstrophotographyStack long exposures until a nebula appears that no eye could seeTo start: $50–300 · Going deep: $10k–50k

PokerNot about reading faces: it is position and pot oddsTo start: Free · Going deep: $10k–50k
Sim RacingA wheel and pedals set the ceiling; the screen matters lessTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k

PC BuildingAssembly is an afternoon; choosing the parts is the actual workTo start: $300–2k · Going deep: $2k–10k

Incense AppreciationNothing is set alight: charcoal warms the wood through a thin mica plateTo start: Under $50 · Going deep: $10k–50k