Where have you met some of your friends as an adult?

[Onlyjonley]

I'm kind of in a weird place. I am 23 and just moved to a new city last August to start a new job. And I have realized it's a lot harder to find and make friends once you're out of college and starting life as a young professional.

 

Back home, I had a handful of close girl friends I had known forever. And I had met a ton of people through school and my job.

 

Not so much now. I still talk to a couple of my closest friends from home on a regular basis, but rarely talk to the others as time has gone by. I work with mostly women over 50. There are girls in other departments close to my age, but we rarely cross paths.

 

My boyfriend has a large group of friends, but only 2 have significant others, and BOTH are living out of state right now.

 

I just would like to start building friendships in my new life, and would like to hear your experiences on making new friends as an adult. I've thought about joining a yoga class. I also looked into joining a women's networking group, but they normally only meet on lunch hour, and I work too far away to make it.

 

Though I'm not a huge fan of church, there is that option. Other ideas?

[writergal]

Check out Meetup.com

 

It's a great option because you can find multiple social groups to join, based on what your interests are. For example, if you like horseback riding you can find a Meetup group that meets for horseback riding. Or if you like tennis, there are tennis Meetups. Check it out.

[MooBear]

I met most of my close girlfriends at work. Others I met through other friends. One I met because she ran into my car and we ended up being friends lol. And another one I replied to an ad for a flatmate and we ended up best of friends for many years now.

 

I can vouch for meetup.com as well - I didn't make any close friends from it but that was because I was slack and only attended 2 events. The girls I did meet though were lovely.

 

Also, if you're into them, things like reading groups, craft groups, things like that are also a good way to meet people with common interests

[Art_Critic]

My wife has met tons of friends going to Mom's groups meetups and things to do.

She has done MOPS and many others..

So of the events I've gone to and met a few people as well.. nobody I would call my friend but they are still acquaintances.

Most of my friends I met thru work and school as well as the neighborhood I live in.

[january2011]

Another vote for Meetup.

 

Other options: day trips run by tour companies, volunteering, local community events, courses (further/adult education, professional qualifications), personal and professional networking groups, work, while travelling (train, plane, bus), through friends/acquaintances.

[denise_xo]

Work, hobbies, and voluntary work for me. The latter can be a good way of finding people with similar interests.

[sonrisa]

I'm the same age as you, I've made a lot of friends at my gym and also at my job.

[Seductive]

Meetup.com is a great networking resource. People say meeting those from online is weird, but I've met a lot of great people through that site. Meetup groups are based on people that share similar interests, like hiking, coffee, dancing, etc. You could easily find meetup groups for young women your age looking to meet new friends. Most people are friendly.

[carhill]

I met my best friend for the first time about 20 years ago when I turned his company's credit application down for lousy credit. We still joke about that. (His credit has always been superlative but I got a bad referral)

 

Most of my friends were historically fellow racers, cyclists and customers of my business. My best female friend and I met at her parent's restaurant.

 

Since the advent of the internet, many friends were met through forums like LS but more focused on activities. As examples, I met friends whom I would get to know IRL on travel forums, auto forums and from the dementia forum I started back in 2005 while caregiving.