Every year you tell yourself “I need friends” but at the end of the year, you’re still alone with no friends at all. It’s just you and your pet.
This year you’ve told yourself that same thing but I’ll try to help you make your year end differently but the effort is up to you. Making new friends isn’t quite easy (I understand), where to meet them, what to say when you meet them and how to keep the conversation going is quite important but this article focuses on where to meet new friends.
It is fascinating how many places we’ve never considered can be opportunities to meet friends and develop long-lasting relationships. Next time you go to any of these places, try to strike up a conversation with people and make new connections.
- Volunteering
Your passion to help and to give back might just land you awesome friends who shares same passion with you. Volunteering is a great way to meet new friends, you just need to Find the perfect volunteering opportunity for you, not only do you get to spread kindness and warmth, you meet compassionate people with a cause.
- Join a sport club
Start a new hobby by signing up with any sport you find interesting. It’s another good place to meet friends and network. You’ll meet different classes of people so it becomes your choice to find the kind of friend you want.
This helps you not just in the “making friend” department but staying fit, helps kill time, have fun, and relax
- Gym
Being a member of a gym is a great way to stay fit and get social. You may find a friend in your workout partner or a member. Kill 2 birds with one stone
- Join a Networking Group
Joining a business group or professional group is one good way to not just build your network referrals but to learn and also make new friends. These serve as central avenues that gather like-minded people, People who start off as network acquaintances can turn into lifelong friends, the passion shared, scope of work and other things can help build and keep good friendship.
- Trips
Trips provide you with the opportunity to meet people and get to know about the culture and traditions of the place. When you are on a trip, select activities where you can meet new people
- Church
It’s a community of like minds who will support and be there for you, no better place than finding one or more friends here
- Hospital
Good memories don’t come from the hospital, people don’t really look around and think about meeting people but the hospital can be a place where you find people who can understand what you’re going through and a place you can share what you feel.
You can be friendly with people, listen to them, Strike up conversations and offer words of support. It is nice to stand beside someone in their time of need, Let them know that they can ask you for help if needed.
- Wedding
A wedding is the classic event where a large number of people come together to party and mingle. You may be celebrating the new couple, but you also have a great opportunity to get to know lots of new people who have mutual friends like you.
- Airport
When you get stuck at the airport, talk to your fellow passengers if he/she doesn’t mind. You might meet foreign nationals who may have things to talk about if you start up a conversation; it’s a chance to learn about their country, its customs and way of life. You might benefit from the association and meet a friend for life who might just invite you over for a trip
10. Support a sports team
It doesn’t matter where or who you are, been part of a sport team automatically gives you a family because you’re never alone.
This is one of the great ways to meet friends online and offline, you can easily hook up in a bar to enjoy a game or two.
11. Take your pet for a walk
If you own a pet especially dogs, walking them is an instant conversation-starter, people get attracted to them and would definitely want to say hello and enquire about the breed or something. If you love dogs and the outdoors, taking your dog to the dog out is definitely one of the best ways to meet new friends.
- Go to the beach or pool
Go Relax and soak up, don’t stay out of the volleyball game or whatever beach game is going on, join in the fun. Don’t say “hey, I don’t know them”, isn’t that the point? To know them? Spending time at the beach or pool is a fun activity by yourself, but it creates lots of opportunities to meet new friends.
13. Video Games and Mobile Games
There are tons of people playing video and mobile games, so you could meet thousands of people from all over the world just by playing. You enjoy a hobby and the benefit by making new friends but you don’t want to become dependent on it.
- Join local Facebook Groups
Another fun making avenue is to join a facebook group in your area. Use the search bar at the top of the home page and select “groups” to narrow down results to your liking.
Try using your city’s name as part of the search to see local results.
15. Bars, events, festivals or game nights.
I’ve met quite a number of people at the bar and at event. You see someone you like or a person sits close to you, strike up a conversation.
If you love game nights with few friends and strangers, hell yeah! In between the fun and games, make introductions, talk to people and exchange contacts.
Festivals are very communal, centered around having fun, and often include group activities like games, competitions, and demonstrations. It brings everyone out for a good time, no fun person should pass up on festivals, No one!
So get talking.
Conclusion
Life is less fun when you have no friends, you just stay cuddled up all day wishing you had someone to talk to or share a glass of wine. You can get a lot of handouts on how to make friends but where do you find such friends? That’s where this article comes in handy.
Be confident, be yourself, and be open to new social connections but what do you say when you meet a one? My next article sheds more light
