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• At times, finding friends in a new city requires a bit of creativity.
• While it’s still advisable to keep some parts of your personal life separate from work, there’s no rule saying you can’t hang with your coworkers at all.
• If you see someone who looks like they may be new around town, welcome them.
• Michael, an immigrant from Syria who moved to Phoenix, can attest to the importance of being flexible.
• Making new friends in a new city doesn’t need to be a struggle at all – friendships can come naturally when you’re friendly, polite, and respectful to the people in your neighborhood.
• Slack, Zoom, and other online collaboration tools have made working from home a more social affair than ever.
• Start asking around before you ever set foot in your new city.

There will inevitably come a time when you just can’t do it anymore. No more surface-level conversations about career, travel, and weather. You’ll be so over this whole transition thing that you’ll spend all your time Netflix-ing and researching flight deals to your old hometown. Don’t let the peak of the mountain prevent you from stepping on the trail. Also, don’t be afraid to be honest in sharing that you’re actually having a difficult time.

Let Your Backgrounds Do Some of the Talking

This could be raising money for the local animal shelter, making food or donating old clothes to a women’s shelter, or helping at a local soup kitchen. Volunteering will also surround you with like-minded people that are easy to bond with—it’s a natural, organic place to start. Though there are lots https://remotemode.net/blog/tips-on-how-to-make-friends-when-you-work-from-home/ of great reasons to relocate—a new job, a relationship, graduate school, cheaper rent, a thirst for adventure—relocating to an unfamiliar place can be disorienting and isolating. You’ll have to navigate a new grocery store, learn a new street map, and scope out a new coffee shop or go-to dive bar.

Joining local Facebook groups is an easy way to connect with others in the community from the comfort of your couch. Start by searching the name of your city followed by a buzzword. You can try phrases like “newbies”, “transplants”, or your neighborhood name. You can get more specific and search for specific things you love like “book club” or “Golden Doodles”. From there, you might have to request permission to join the group, but simply follow the prompts and don’t be afraid to attend one of their meetups.

Schedule time blocks for socializing

In that vein, expand your interactions with the people you know from work, the gym or your other daily activities. Just this week I recruited my book club to go see “Wonder Woman,” figuring a feminist book club might just be interested in seeing it. She recommends getting involved in the kinds of activities that make you happy. Or use the initial lull in your social schedule to take up a new hobby, like learning a new language or instrument — the sort of thing you’ve maybe always wanted to do and hadn’t had the time. Eventually, after I’d set up an apartment, I started plotting how I was going to make friends in Louisville. “Making friends is going to feel more natural when the environment is full of familiar things you know you can talk about,” says Elliot.

Whenever I’ve met a fellow transplant, I’ve stuck out my hand to say hello. After all, being in a new city is a common struggle. Whether it’s a recreation league at the gym, a running club in your neighborhood, or the hot yoga studio with https://remotemode.net/ the best reviews, friendship has the potential to blossom where people gather to workout. Pay particular attention to flyers around the studio or gym, too. Many will advertise special workshops, guest teachers, or other social events.