Making New Friends in a New Place

There are many difficult things associated with moving to a new place, but one of the hardest is leaving friends behind and having to make new ones. If you find yourself in this situation, then this post is for you! Below are three simple tips for making new friends when you arrive in a new city.

1.      Take lots and lots of pictures. When you attend an event or a party, make sure that you bring your camera. Taking pictures gives you an easy reason to follow up with the people that you meet and get in touch with them later. Let’s be honest, everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves. Bringing your camera along gives you an opportunity to ask the people that you meet if they are on Facebook or have an email address where you can send them the pictures. By connecting on Facebook or email, you have created a means by which you can communicate to get together again sometime.

2.      Dine alone. Often times we avoid eating alone in public because we are embarrassed to be by ourselves. Don’t do this! Instead of ordering takeout when you are alone, try eating by yourself in public. When you are by yourself, you are much more approachable than when you are with another person. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in conversation with someone else. If you feel uncomfortable, bring a book. In fact, this is a great way for others to start a conversation with you if it is a book that they have also read.

3.      Get involved! Think of something that you enjoy doing and join a group. It could be a sport, yoga, book group, sewing class, church group, etc. Continue an old hobby or take up a new one! This will give you an opportunity to meet new people that share your same interests, and then to see them on a regular basis. You will automatically make friends when you share the same interests and are forced to see each other again and again.

Moving can definitely create some challenges when it comes to having to make new friends. We encourage you to look at it as an adventure, and as an opportunity to meet people and expand your social network. After all, you can never have too many friends!