Bostonian and residential moving and packing expert. Blake Shaw enjoys bar-hopping, music, and writing insightful content.
Making Friends in a New City Can Be Easy – If You Know Where to Look
Science has spoken – a good friend will reduce your stress and make your life longer. This is why making friends in a new city should be one of your priorities, because not having a friend can even be dangerous to your health. Loneliness can lead to depression and unhealthy habits that can harm your health greatly. But even though we made approximately 396 friendships in life, only one out of 12 last.
Still, finding a friend after a long-distance moving can be challenging. Not only that you are separated from your friends and family, but you also have to adjust to unknown surroundings and a style of living in a city. Lucky nowadays, finding a friend has never been easier if you learn what to do and where to look up.
Make a Housewarming Party
If you wonder, “How do I make friends in my new neighborhood,” the quickest approach is to throw a housewarming party and to invite your neighbors. This is an excellent manner to find folks and even to make friends in a new city. The party will be at your home so you will be comfortable and relaxed to engage in small talks and to mingle with people. So ensure that your new apartment checklist has some champagne glasses on it, assuming you haven’t already packed your dishes for relocating and don’t plan to. On the other hand, if you haven’t moved yet, make sure you pack your glasses, and if you don’t know how to pack fragile items, you can always hire a cross-country moving company for a packing service.
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Grab a Drink With Your Colleagues
If you have a job in town, a workplace is the most logical place for meeting pals. Go on a drink with colleagues after work, whether it is a happy hour on Friday or lunchtime during the week, and try to mingle with folks. Don’t underestimate small talk during your breaks, either. These moments are excellent to get to know somebody and to decide whether you have common interests or not. On the other hand, if you are unemployed, getting a job in a new city is definitely your number one priority. The first thing you should do is to start sending your resume to every job opening you see.
Go on a drink with colleagues after work
Adopt a Dog or Some Other Pet
If you are relocating to another state alone, it can be hard to learn how to live on your own. So, if you are an animal lover, adopt a dog or cat or other pet of your preference. Not only will that animal keep you company, but you will have something to occupy you and present an excellent opportunity to connect with other animal lovers. With a dog at your side, you will have to go for a walk around the block. In this manner, you will explore your surroundings and maybe find other dog owners or dog lovers. Find a dog park to take your furry friend there, and you will see how to make friends in a new city easily. If there are no dog parks near your neighborhood, you can use the meet my dog app and socialize through it.
Connecting to other dog owners might be a path toward meeting locals
Take a Night Out and Do a Bar Hopping
If you wonder how to meet new people in a new city, one of the ways is a night out. And what is the better approach to having a great time and connecting with a variety of folks than bar-hopping? No matter what your reasons to move, whether you moved for love or relocated for a job opportunity, go on bar hopping at least once, and find folks this manner. Who knows, maybe you get to know someone, and you decide to meet again. After all, socializing in bars and taverns is probably one of the oldest ways of making a friend. The bars and coffee houses were invented solely for this purpose. In fact, back in 1650, it was illegal not to have taverns in towns in the American colonies, where travelers would gather over a drink and food.
Also, one of the significant factors in socializing is mobility. And what better way to move around than by car? So, whether you’re relocating with your family or alone, you should opt for auto transportation. With your trusted four-wheeler by your side, getting around to find a job or to socialize will be much easier. Just make sure not to drive under the influence and have a designated driver once you form a social circle.
Grab some beer with strangers - you will have fun and maybe find some pals too
Connect With Your Mates’ Mates
Spreading your social network through your mates is also a good way to find fresh ones. So, even before you start making your relocation to-do list inform your chums that you plan to relocate to a particular state or town. Who knows, maybe they have some old college buddy there. Of course, you can do this after your relocation as well. There is a great chance that your friend’s friends will be compatible with you too. They can give you some guidance and advice on where to go and what to see. Also, if you are relocating without a job, they can recommend you somewhere.
There is a huge chance that your mates’ mates become your pals
Use the App to Meet People
One of the original and modern ways on how to meet friends in a new city is using an app called Meetup. With this app, you can find someone with the same interests as yours, and you can easily scroll through thousands of topics where people share their opinions, interests, and tips. They also arrange meetings, so feel free to attend some. On the other hand, if you can find a topic that interests you, you can create your own “room” and see who will sign up.
Join a Local Facebook Community Groups
Local community Facebook groups are an excellent way to find some new people and to check if some events are happening in the town or your neighborhood. Finding someone to hang out at a big event during a coronavirus pandemic can be tricky, but who knows, maybe there is some barbeque at your street you can attend. Be prepared to follow every group that is connected with your local community. Also, you can search events near you on Nearify.
Local community Facebook groups are an excellent way to find persons of the same interests
Find and Join Local Club and Gym
You are probably wondering, “how do guys make friends in a new city.” Well, one of the easiest ways is to join a local gym or a club. If you’re into fitness, ensure your workout equipment is on the list of the things you’ll keep, and if you have a thing for some hobby like fishing or hunting, remember to bring the gear for that. And here’s where professional long-distance movers can come in handy. If you are not sure how to relocate fishing rods or your firearms, contact the company that provides long-distance moving services and ask its employees for advice. While you probably already know how to pack your shoes, there is no harm in asking for help from professional movers. They will give you some packing tips you probably never heard of, like how to relocate your piano and a number of other relocating hacks. But before you start searching for long-distance movers near me, make sure to find out how to avoid moving scams along the way.
Sign Up for the Best Dance Lessons in Town
If you love to dance but never went to dancing classes, now is a great opportunity to do something you always wanted. Dancing will benefit you in so many ways – not only will you exercise, but you will get rid of all the stress you probably have after relocation. And of course, there you will find someone to talk to and maybe even hang out after a lesson.
Find an Art Class
Signing up for art class is also a good way of meeting pals and have fun along the way. Even if you don’t have any talent in painting, you will learn a couple of tricks and techniques. And who knows, maybe you have an undiscovered talent you never knew about. Art lessons are not just painting. You can learn to sculpt, photograph, or write. Even if you are not good at any of the things we listed, you will definitely find some interesting folks.
Join a Book Club
If you are not interested in doing some arts, you can always enjoy reading. Go online and find if there is any local book club for you to join. Not only will you expand your vocabulary and knowledge, but you will also be able to discuss and interact with other folks about common interests. Discussing some books is an excellent way to see others’ attitudes and if they are compatible with you. But we are not saying that you should only hang out with like-minded persons. In fact, it is never a good thing. But you’ll learn how you create a social circle in a new city and how to exclude toxic persons whose presence will only harm you along the way. Check out this video for more tricks and tips on this topic.
Visit Museums, Zoos, and Aquariums
If you are relocating to a metropolis, they probably have ZOO and aquariums. Create a plan to visit them during the weekend. If you are relocating with kids, they will have an amazing time there, and you can meet other parents. Museums are also great places to mingle with folks. Especially if you go to some special exhibition openings since these kinds of events lure more people to visit museums and your chances of meeting someone will increase.
Day off at the ZOO will be fun for your kids and might help you to find some parents to talk to
Get Yourself a Bike
Riding a bike is an excellent way to explore a town. Not only will you be eco-friendly, but you will also get to feel the town vibe from the first rows. Go online and look for bike paths or, if you like adrenalin, find some offroad paths. Riding a bike is not only good for your health, but you can save some money, too, if you use a bike for commuting. Also, you can ride to and from work with some of your colleagues or a person from your neighborhood.
Hike With Locals at the Nearby National Park
If you love nature and enjoy spending time in green surroundings, then you are in luck. If you like hiking, you probably already know how easy it is to connect with the person on a trail. Nature lovers support each other, and there are probably some Facebook groups or local clubs for nature enthusiasts where you can join. If the town you just relocated to doesn’t have national parks, you can probably explore some smaller parks in the area.
Hikers and nature lovers are always open to newcomers
Making Friends in a New City Is Possible With Some Effort From Your Side
Now that you learned how do you make new friends in a new city, you can start exploring the town. Some of the things we listed above can be done before your relocation, like joining clubs and local groups and research the surrounding area. Once you move there, you will have time to unpack your belongings and implement some of your apartment ideas or, if you are relocating with a newborn, to baby-proof your home. Either way, there will be a lot of things for you to do once your movers bring your belongings to your front door. So do some preparation in advance, and you will find some buddies in no time.
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