We can all agree that moving to a new area is difficult as we get older. It’s not like school where a bunch of strangers are thrown together. It’s easier to make friends then as everyone is new. I haven’t switched jobs and none of my coworkers have suddenly gotten younger. But, there are lots of opportunities for me to make some new friends with a much larger town.
I now present to you my 10-point plan to make friends in my new area:
1. Put a post on Craigslist asking if anyone is interested in starting up a book club. I have already done this, but no one has responded (the CL board here is a little slow). But….I did find another girl who posted in a different section and we are going to join forces. Now if we could just find a few more ladies….
2. Join my town’s “Newcomer Club.” It’s a non-profit social organization that holds book clubs, new mom events, Bunco* and other activities for people new to town. I’m hoping that it is not a snobby Stepford Wife-type club where I won’t meet anyone fun, but I have already sent in my $40 and am hoping for the best.
3. Join Meetup.com and head to some events.
4. Try to get a happy hour going of all of the relative newbies to my job. There are a few of us under 40 so why not see if they are interested in hanging out after work? Now that I don’t have an hour commute home I am more interested in hanging out.
5. Get out and about as much as possible. Moving is difficult as you are unpacking for a while and thus inside your house, not enjoying the neighborhood. I have been trying to take Fuzzy Britches on nightly walks around our neighborhood (so far I have gotten a few waves from people driving by). I also went to a nearby park this past weekend. Fuzzy Britches and I ended up run/walking 4 miles and she got a lot of compliments (of course). :-) Because it is so close to our house I would love to become a regular there.
Okay so it’s not a 10-point plan, but I’m halfway there!
Anything else I should be doing?
*What the heck is Bunco anyway? I have only ever heard of it on the Real Housewives of the OC.
10 comments:
It's a game for senior citizens. Haha I'm kind of joking... it's a dice game, but I've only played with older ladies.
This sounds like a great plan. I will say that the number one way I've made friends in Denver is through my blog. So if you have any local readers and/or read blogs of other local bloggers, suggest a meetup!
Those are really great ideas! Good luck :)
Dog park.
Bunco is a great excuse to drink. There's something about dice, and some rules I don't remember, but the important part is drinking. And eating.
Bunco is super fun! It's a dice game where everyone is encouraged to be loud and rowdy.
Another suggestion is to volunteer somewhere. I'm not sure how big your town is but there may be some non-profit organizations that need volunteers. Or go to the library, city hall, the parks department, etc. I've met a lot of great people through volunteering.
All of your ideas sound great!
Dogs (and kids) are a great in-roads to meeting people. We've made great friends with our dog-owning neighbors in our last condo as well as our current one. Keep going on long walks with FB ... repeat your same walk and you'll begin seeing the same dogs ... see if there's a dog park where people bring their dogs ... even doing yard work in your front yard will offer opportunities to say hello to people walking by!
Glad to see you're so hopeful about the friendship possibilities in your new town!
Wow - it sounds like you got it all covered!
I was also going to suggest volunteering, or taking a community sponsored class...but it sounds like you will be too busy reading and playing Bunco.
Good luck with the new friends!
Sounds like a great plan. I keep meaning to do things like that ,but get sidetracked...ok, I'm too chicken to do most of those things. You'll have to let us know if anything works--maybe I'll follow in your footsteps.
Sounds like you have a great plan. I've been living in my current town for almost 6 years now and don't currently know anyone other than my husband, his friends and his family. I wish I was as motivated as you are but I always convince myself that I have "enough" friends and I don't really need any more! Sad...I know!
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