From 1979 to about 1985 I played in Veenendaal, the town where I was born (but don't worry, inbetween I lived in a nice small village, Renswoude). After I had become club champion three times in a row, I moved on to the next club:
Until 1991 I played at a club that used to have an ugly name (Utstud, for "Utrecht Students"), until a famous and quite popular Estonian chess player died in 1975 and his name was used: Paul Keres (Utrecht). On Saturdays we played in the national club competition, and after those rounds we played Trivial Pursuit and, inevitably, chess, in chess cafe 't Ledig Erf.
For just one year I played at LSG in Leiden, so there isn't much to say about that, you would think. But there is. That year a famous physicist visited the university there, and he brought his grandson to the chessclub, a little boy with the name Alexander Grishuk. That boy now is a Grandmaster ranked somewhere in the top 20. Moreover, I beat Joop Piket, father of GM Jeroen (who I actually beat when I was in Veenendaal, but that was, obviously, when he gave a simultaneous exhibition).
No matter how small Garching is, their chessclub Schachclub Garching 1980 e.V. is one of the largest in Germany. I managed to become club champion for one year, and enjoyed playing in the Bavarian competition with my team members. There's even a game from 1995 I commented on (in German!). There are several physics institutes in Garching, and around 1994 it was their turn to organize the sports tournament for atomic physicists, the Atomiade. One could compete in pingpong, athletics, swimming, etc., but also, in a hidden corner, there was a chess tournament. To my surprise I won it, ahead of several Russians, Hungarians, French, and Germans. Afterwards, there was a big party in a big beer tent with big sausages and big tables. Yep, that was big fun.
Playing in the US is different: you have to bring your own board, pieces and clock. Moreover, there doesn't seem to exist a competition between different club teams. Nevertheless, I can recommend you to play chess at the Pasadena Chess Club. Now, being stuck in New Jersey, I go every now and then to the Westfield Chess Club.