Making new friends, especially as an adult is hard. And this can seem harder if you are moving or travelling to a new place. I’m super glad that my best buddies are always a text or call away, thanks to Whatsapp and the likes. But, if you are travelling solo or don’t know too many people in your current city or your friends have moved out of your city, you’d probably love hanging out with like-minded people in real life, share a lively conversation or discuss your interests. In fact, travel is all the more fun if you get to connect with some of the locals. From my past experience and talking to some friends, here are a bunch of ways to meet new people sharing similar interests and make friends. Let me know what has worked best for you and what you would add to the list!
First of all, I’d just like to reiterate that it is important to be comfortable in your own company. There is magic in being alone, not lonely.
Secondly, don’t keep to yourself the whole time but take the initiative to strike up conversations with people you meet. You never know if the person sitting next to you in the train or flight might have similar interests or if the person sitting on the adjoining table in the cafe might inspire you with their stories! Be open to conversations and see where it goes.
READ: When a wrong train led to the right destination
Venice,Italy: The only city where I was greeted with a view of the lovely blue waters soon after exiting the Railway station. Also, I made a friend in the train to Venice and we still keep sending pictures of our travels to one another.
Join an activity of interest
Perhaps a language class , a dance meetup , photography workshop or a volunteering day at a local institution would get you in touch with others sharing your interests. You could also volunteer for events at the local University or a professional group or even a cultural association to gain experience and make friends. If you are wondering how to find such events or meetups near you, (apart from a basic Google search for your location ofcourse), here are some online platforms, groups and apps you can consider:
1. Social media websites like Facebook and Reddit can be used to locate groups of your interests. For example, if you are an Indian who recently moved to Europe, you could look up groups like ‘Indian events in Europa’, ‘Indians in Germany’, etc. Or if you a travel loving girl, you can connect with others like you in the ‘Girls Love Travel’ or ‘Ladies gone Global’ group and look out for any local meetups. If you are in India and are looking for some specific information, you could also post a request in groups like ‘Put me in Touch’. ‘Globetrotting Girls India’ is a lively group for all travel loving girls from or visiting India. If you are an expat, join expat communities and groups in your region. You get the drift. Personally, I have met many interesting people through expat meetups, Facebook groups for my city and even made friends because of taking the initiative to talk to the people next to me in flights/trains/carpools/tours.
Street art in Berlin! This picture was taken by a girl I met through one of the Facebook groups. We became good friends, met each other whenever we happened to be in the same city and still keep in touch.
2. Couchsurfing– couchsurfing.org brings together travelers and like minded people. Couchsurfing is a great way to meet up and stay with hosts, while getting to know so much more about the place. You can also join the weekly meetings or events in your city and meet new people. All you need to do is, create an informative profile, look for events in your city or search for hosts available on your desired dates in the city you are planning to visit. You can also host people when they visit your city/town, or offer to show them around. However, don’t just think of it as a way to stay for free. The community functions on the basis of respect and trust. So,meet up with Couchsurfers,spend time with them and explore your destination beyond guidebooks! Although this is a global platform, I think in India it is active only in a few cities so far.
READ: When Couchsurfing sparked and shaped an idea
ALSO: Remember when I couchsurfed in Barcelona and shared a toilet with a shower loving cat? Check out the Unexpected things that happened in Barcelona and another account of my long-term friendship with my Barcelona hosts.
Dinner on my first night Couchsurfing in Barcelona. It’s been three years and I have met this lovely couple atleast thrice since- in Spain as well as Switzerland. People you meet really make all the difference. Isn’t it?
3. Cuddll – Cuddll (referring to informal social gatherings) is a new app that I believe has recently been launched only in India. It seems like it will extend to other countries but as of now, people in a few Indian cities have been active on it. The idea is for people to create or find events / activities of their interests and meet new people while doing something they like. It is possible to set the privacy of the events such that they are open to everybody or only to those having the link. So, it might also be a way for friends to create a private event or keep it limited to friends of friends. I personally have not used the app but I have used similar ones like meetup in Europe to learn photography and meet people sharing similar interests. However, many apps that are active in Europe or elsewhere might not have taken off in India. So, if you live in India or are planning a visit/move in the country and looking for ways (beyond dating apps) to meet new people, this could be worth a shot.
4. Meetup.com– Meetup is a great website that lets you join groups based on your interests and attend meetings and events in your vicinity. This is something I have used a lot in Switzerland for finding professional as well as hobby events and love it. However, as I mentioned, it doesn’t seem to have taken off in India.
5. NanoWrimo- For people who love writing, NanoWrimos are people who devote the month of November to writing as much as possible, with the aim of publishing a novel. There are writing groups in different cities, that generally meet at coffee shops like Starbucks, to get together and focus on writing. This could be a chance to meet fellow writers and build bonds or atleast meet other writers virtually!
6. Internations– Internations is a website bringing together expats and locals, and the city ambassadors often organize a lot of events. You could join groups of your interests, participate in online discussions, contact people living in your city and meet lots of new people.
Once you have met people sharing your interests and hit it off with people you feel comfortable with, it is of course important to stay in touch, help out and connect people, be a good listener and build long term relationships- especially if you have moved to a new city and are planning to stay there longer. I feel grateful for living in this age of technology and connectivity, making it so much easier to stay in touch with people. But, the key is, taking the initiative and wanting to maintain friendships ofcourse.
Now, I am no life coach but here are some articles and theories I found interesting:
Hope this post provided you with some useful resources or ideas. Comment and let me know what your experience has been with making friends as an adult.
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