How to Make Friends in Your City with City Girl Network
Making friends in a new city as an adult can be difficult. When I moved for university, I found it overwhelming! If you're looking for ways to try and meet more like minded women, whether it’s a new chat over a coffee friend, walking friend, travel buddy or a new housemate, keep reading on to find ideas that will help you, whatever city you're in!
Get to Know Friends of Friends
Even before you move to your new city, it’s so worth reaching out to friends and family to ask if they know anyone you could meet up with. Think of it as match making friends! Your loved ones will know your character and interests, and are a great resource for finding people you will get on with.
You can then arrange to meet - be that for drinks, a coffee, or a walk in a local park. When I moved to my city, several people I met up with were people my friends knew. This way of meeting people is great if you’re more introverted - you have the comfort of knowing that people you know like them, so it’s likely to go well!
During coronavirus, you may not want to meet up with friends of friends, but sending a DM or friend request is an easy way to test the waters. You might even become friends with their friends too!
Join a Class or Club
This is one of the most versatile and effective ways of making new friends. Every city has a massive list of activities, to match any interest! So whether you’re an aspiring yogi, a wine lover, avid zumba addict, or you just want to try something new, local groups and classes are brilliant for finding people you’ll get on with - and you already have a common base of something to talk about.
So many of these groups have a presence on social media, meaning you can browse beforehand and see if you like the look of what they do. It also gives you the chance to chat and engage with people before you go, and you can have a friend to go with once you start.
Get Proactive on Social Media
Lots of neighbourhoods now have dedicated pages to cities, specific streets or areas, and these are a great way to meet and befriend people who live near you. Not only is it a chance to make friends, but it also familiarises you with your new city, the best places to go, and locals in the same position as you. What better way to get to know someone than exploring your new city together?
The best place to get started in searching for these is on Facebook, and looking for pages with your city or street name in the title. For instagram, searching relevant hashtags to your area often churns up a handful of pages to follow, and posts to engage with. Once you’re part of the page, it’s a fantastic way to meet new people, and meet new friends!
Volunteer
Helping out in your new city introduces you to people with a passion for the causes you love - a perfect foundation for a friendship! Whether this is your local charity shop, an fundraiser that inspires you, or you want to set up your own charity - it’s a fantastic opportunity to meet people, socialise and meet friends. Signing up to walk local dogs is a particularly brilliant idea - dogs are great for making contact with other people.
Volunteering is a great way to get to know your city, as it promotes a strong sense of community, which will make settling in so much easier. The causes and foundations you care about will be a great conversation starter too, so no awkward small talk with fellow volunteers!
Join City Girl Network
City Girl Network is a great way to make friends, travel buddies, find roommates and explore the city you call home. We are based in 14 cities across the UK, and have active social groups for you to interact with - and meet people in your city!
Part of our aim is to organise meetups in our base cities, to enable girls like you to meet and build (socially distant!) friendships.Visit our website to find your city. If reading and communicating online is more your style at the moment, City Girl runs book clubs, and post regular magazine articles, so your reading list will never be empty again.
If you want to add your voice to the mix, City Girl offers the chance to submit articles, reviews, recipes and more - joining this community is also a guaranteed way to build new friendships!
What Now?
There is a way to make friends to suit everyone, whatever your interest. Get googling and searching on social media for what’s going on in your city, and join groups that match your interests to meet people like you! Be sure to visit the City Girl Network website, along with our instagram, @citygirlnetwork, for information on meetups near you.
Written by Catherine Peet
Help us keep the City Girl Network running by supporting us via Patreon for the price of a cheap cup of coffee- just £2 a month. For £3 a month you can also get yourself a Patreon exclusive 10% off any of our ticketed events! You can also support us by following us on Instagram, and by joining our City Girl Network (city wide!) Facebook group.