Moving to a new town or city when you’re an adult can be a pretty daunting experience, especially if it’s your first time since university. Having spent decades in a place that you know like the back of your hand, and are surrounded by people you’ve formed countless strong relationships with, you’re suddenly flung into a totally new environment, and have to start the process all over again. Though you may feel isolated now, this is easy to turn around with the right approach…
Conquer Your Fear
Seen as you’re reading this, I’ll assume that the whole concept of getting out there and talking to strangers is a little bit daunting to you. You may be concerned about making a great impression, saying the right things to make the other person like you, keeping the conversation going, and all kinds of other niggling uncertainties. The more you think about it, the scarier it will seem, and the more likely you’ll be to sit around at home twiddling your thumbs. The first step to forming a new social circle is simply acknowledging the fact that these fears are all in your head, and more importantly that all those strangers are going to have the exact same fears when meeting someone new. Conquering your fear of other people’s opinion is the first hurdle you have to jump.
Get Yourself Out There
Just as people who want to learn to swim will have to jump in the water at some point, if you want to make friends in your new area, you’re going to have to make that first step and plunge yourself into the surrounding social environment. Luckily for you, it’s almost 2017, and there are countless technological resources for doing this at your fingertips. Meetup.com, for example, is a unique social networking site, which will connect you with other people who have the same kind of interests as you. A simple Google search should also point you towards various workshops and courses in your area which can be a great way to network with people who are into similar hobbies and pastimes. If you feel you’re ready for a relationship, then check out apps like Tinder or a local chat line service. The internet has given us much better means for meeting new people; make sure you’re using them.
Keep an Open Mind
This is pretty good advice for any aspect of life, but I think it’s especially important when you want to meet people in an area where you don’t know anyone. If you’ve come from a place where you had a close circle of friends, then it can be easy to go to a new place with a preconceived notion of the kind of people you want to get close to. You might want them to have a similar educational or professional background, the same hobbies, or be into a specific list of movies and books. It’s great to meet people who are passionate about the same things as you, but don’t isolate yourself by keeping the criteria too strict.
Mia Guerra
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