Making New Friends

In 2007, when I first moved to San Francisco, I was lucky.  I had a boyfriend who had a very large group of wonderful friends.  I was taken into the fold.  But after our relationship ended, I was uncomfortable being around that group of people.  I had to make my own way and meet new friends on my own.

San Francisco is an interesting town.  The people are nice and it is a town full of transients.  But the groups of friends are quite clique-y.  It can be tough.

Now, after being here a little more than four years, I have my small group of wonderful friends.  I admit that the past year has been a challenge.  I've been more focused on being a newlywed and dealing with other personal things than spending time with my girlfriends.  But, as I've been saying goodbye to the people who have been a part of my life for the better part of the last four years, I'm going to miss them and I hope that my friendship with them will continue over the distance.

While I still make my marriage a priority, I know that being proactive after we move to Seattle will be important for me to making new friends and meeting new people.  I don't work in a traditional sense by going to an office nor do we have children, where I would be in situations where I have the chance to meet new people, so I need to be extra outgoing and make the opportunities to meet new people.

I think it's a lot harder to meet and make new friends at this age.  Most people either have their set of friends already well established or they have children and are deeply involved in their lives.  So, I have a plan and I hope it works!

Our apartment building has a gym in it so we don't have to join a gym but I might find a yoga, pilates or other exercise class that I want to take.  I also plan to sign up for a different sort of class - I haven't yet decided if it will be a creative writing class or an art class.  I love to write and took a creative writing class a few years ago, here in SF.  When I was in high school and college, I took a number of drawing and painting classes and loved them.  My options are wide open and I'm excited!

I'm ready to meet and create a group of new wonderful, women friends! I know that it will take time but I hope in the coming years, I'll be able to create a circle of friends who know each other as well as the girls from Sex and the City (maybe that dream is unrealistic?)!

Source

If you have moved to a new city, how did you make your new friends - outside of work and school?  Any tips you can share?