Let’s face it, meeting new people and making new friends is hard.
We’re all busy, and it’s not easy to just come across people with similar interests. That’s why it’s difficult to make friends after college, or when you move to a new city. Still, sometimes it’s just about finding the right places or activities that suit you, whether you love nightlife, or less stressful online or quiet in-person activities. Let’s build a list of the best ways to find and connect with whom you’ll likely share interests, and want to make friends with.
Don’t get us wrong—there are lots of places to meet people. Work is an obvious contender, but making friends at work can often come with drawbacks. Online communities are great for online friendships (and many become strong meatspace friendships too!), but we want to get more specific. Which communities? If work is your suggestion, how do you handle the drawbacks? How do you go about making new friends?
Let us know your preferred method in the discussions below, like this:
- Include a picture! Anything to add a little visual interest, especially if your suggestion is a website, a place, or something like that.
- One suggestion per comment please! Let’s keep it simple and easy to read—if you have multiples, and we hope you do, add them as separate comments! We really want each thread to be about one great way to make new friends.
- Try not to repeat suggestions! If you see someone who’s already suggested your idea, click the star and reply to their comment with your own personal story. We still want to hear it, just make it part of the thread!
- Tell us your story! Maybe you met your best friend though a specific online community, or offline event, or at a place or program—whatever your suggestion is, tell us how it all happened, and why you think it’s a great way to meet people you’ll actually want to be friends with, as opposed to random acquaintances. Tell us what worked for you!
So then, let’s begin! We’ll get you started, but we’re really interested in yours, so fire away.