Moving in, Making friends

I have, as you may have seen, recently moved across the country. Now next week I'm going to add more about moving tips because as a recent grad, a lot of it was a huge learning curve for me too. However, one of the most important things to our health is socialization. After moving to a new city sometimes it's easy to get lonely. I know that I am a huge social butterfly, and normally I just adopt friends of friends and people within my extra-curriculars.

Being fully immersed in the workforce and not involved in much besides work can put a stopper in creating new friendships, so here are some tips from me on how to meet people when you've just started over:

1. If you have friends (old, acquaintances, conference connections, classmates) , or friends of friends who live in the area shoot them a message.

Sure you might not get a response, however chances are likely that getting a cup or coffee or going for a drink might not seem outrageous. All you need is to get your foot in the door.

2. Join in on office plans.

I know this might seem obvious, but your office is one of the easiest places to make friends. You don't have to be best friends with your coworkers, but these are the people that you're going to be seeing most often, and being friendly with them can't hurt your relationship. You may end up finding your social circle that way. Or being directed to other people you may have never met otherwise.

3. Meetup

So far I've been looking a fair few places, but meetup seems to be a phenomenal way to go out and meet new groups. They have groups for anything that someone could possibly dream up and if they don't you can start that group yourself! And the best part is, you don't have to join in conversation or go to events if you don't want to but you have the opportunity to see what's going on.

4.  Try looking for a book club, maybe even a cooking or dancing class.

If books aren't your thing that's fine, however they are probably one of the best ways to meet new people in town. The best part there are all different kinds of book clubs, for different genres, those we only discuss, those who go out and get drinks, those who host at their homes. You can find these in a number of ways, meetup, or websites. My favorite way? Go to your local book store or library they are going to have the best recommendations and know the people in the area around you.

5. Go to the gym, no I'm not kidding.
Not only is it good for you to work out, and it makes you feel happy too, but going to a gym on a regular basis or taking classes you'll start to see the same people around. Maybe after yoga you could talk to the person rolling up their mat next to you and see if they want to get coffee. Or on the treadmill next to you. That way you know you have at least one thing that you enjoy in common.

All in all, when moving to a new city it's scary and intimidating. And in a new city, you have to be the one who pushes the envelope. That can be incredibly scary, but scary can be worth it. This is who you want to be, and how you want to build your new life and you have the right to do it however you want. Go out for a coffee friend date and it doesn't click? You don't have to go again. Being an adult and being social can be harder than it was in college, but everyone needs to have their people.

If you have any tips for meeting people in a new town I'd love to hear it!