If painting is your thing, go to a local art class. If you’re a dog lover, volunteer at an animal shelter. If there’s something that you’ve always wanted to try, but have been hesitant about, now is the time. Anonymity is actually a wonderful gift, because in a new city, no one will even know if you make a fool of yourself trying something that you’ve always been curious about. When I moved to New York City, I knew hardly anyone.
All you need to do is sign up, search for the hobby or activity that you like to do, and go to one of their meetups. It’s that easy to avoid loneliness and make friends when you work from home. Sure, in 2021, it’s much easier to have your right-swiping do the talking when it comes to making a partnership. The city you just relocated to may be close to one of the 58 national parks in the United States.
The 17 Best Ways to Stay Connected While…
Flag football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf – the list goes on and on. Many amateur sports leagues organize monthly or bi-monthly tournaments – the perfect opportunity to meet like-minded people and befriend them (for life). Look online for educational institutions and organizations that offer foreign language classes in the new city. Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese… you can’t go wrong with any foreign language you’ve always wanted to learn. It won’t be long until you learn that signing up for various classes is one of the best tips on how to make friends when you move to a new city.
If you weren’t sure how to make friends when you work from home, your baby or fur baby might be the answer you were looking for. Although children are a handful and can take up a ton of your time, they’re a great way for you to meet other parents. Whether you’re going to a scheduled mass play date or attending your kid’s sporting events, you can chat with other parents. At the very least, you have something in common as an icebreaker.
Join a social slack channel—or create it.
One of the easiest ways to meet new people is through people you already know. Ask existing friends if they know anyone in the city you’re moving to. They might have former classmates, colleagues, or family members you’d get along with or that could show you around. If you do find one or two people who seem more authentic than others, don’t hesitate to reach out (in an appropriately contemporary way, of course). It might seem strange to strike up a conversation when you’re working out, but sweat working has proved to be a legit way to make business contacts and meet new friends.
Facebook and Meetup are great places to find offline groups too. Partaking in community events is another surefire way to make friends how to make friends when you work from home in a new city. Stay up to date on all the happenings in your area through social media, flyers, or the good ol’ local newspaper.
Visit Local Shops
She even went to a “going out” meetup group, despite her reservations about flying solo in a sea of strangers. No, you’re probably not actually insane, but this definition applies to an assumably large amount of lonely remote workers. If what you’re doing hasn’t yielded a new friend, acquaintance, cohort, partner in crime, or crony, you need to try something new. So learn to cook, play an instrument, or try the downward-facing dog at yoga in the park. Making friends in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond isn’t an easy task, but as long as you don’t expect any miracles and stick to these tips, you should find a person with common interests.
- That said, like most things in life, finding a new friend group is often easier said than done.
- Community events happen more often than you think, and they’re a really good time.
- Stepping out of a comfort zone can be scary, but it will be worth it in the end.
- Lastly, seek out shared activities, or events where you’ll be forced to work with others.
- When I moved to a new city right after college, I went for a year without having any hobbies besides happy hour.
Ruth Sangree, a law student who recently moved from New York to Seoul, South Korea, suggests using Facebook groups to research popular apps in the city you’re moving to if you’re heading overseas. Things like ride-share apps and chat programs can differ in different countries. “For Korea everything is centered around Kakao, so having that is a must,” she writes. Living in a new city can be really exciting and fun, and it can also come with challenges. “There may be times while you’re growing your network that you feel very lonely,” says Kane.
Initiate virtual coffees or cocktails.
You took a class with them, met them at intramural sports, heck, your parents set you up on playdates. People are busy with work, family, or whatever else life has to throw at them. They flake, ghost, or worse they don’t show up in places where you can even meet them, making the task of meeting new friends seem almost impossible. If you want to kick the difficulty up a couple notches, try making friends in a city you just moved to.