To be feeling incredibly sad about not having a cohesive friendship group/wider circle of friends?

Me neither! I have about 4 or 5 individual friends but none that know each other if you see what I mean.

Therefore, I never socialise in a group of people together. That format only happens at work events with teams of colleagues.

I think this is a really healthy place to be, in terms of friendships.

You have longstanding friends with shared history.
You have local friends who you can do things with.
You have friends you enjoy hosting for.
You have people you can meet after work.
You have people you can do different things with (hang out all day / meet for coffee / go to the theatre).

It seems the only small thing you seem to be missing or yearning for is group you can all get together for a bigger party. In truth I don't think many people have that. Those that do will either have a large number they can invite from one thing (so many of the guests will already know each other), or feel comfortable inviting lots of individuals from separate parts of their lives.

Most of my friends don't have that sort of group - I'm in my 50s now.
I haven't really stayed in touch with any friends from uni, but then I didn't meet my 'tribe' there and although I had good friends while there, that didn't last much of out of my 20s (partly to do with distance).
I made the majority of my friends in my teens where we did have a cohesive group from around age 15-18 (uni age) and I kept my good friends from that era (there's no 'big group' anymore although when I have parties they are all pleased to see each other and know some of my other friends too).
Others are from previous workplaces, school mums (although now DC are adults this has dwindled massively - was nice when it lasted).
So my soical life is probably the worst it's been for a while, but I have DH and some good friends, also some health issues which means it's not as easy to go out as it used to be and often I do it to please others (DH).
You're still young so I would try to find some type of group hobby where you will naturally have something in common.

I don't think that's a common thing to have a huge friendship group.

I'm in a similar situation OP - I have quite a few friends that I meet individually, but I'm not in a big group. My husband does though - he has a big group of old school friends, though they are all so scattered geographically now, they only really all get together once or twice a year. But they have the continuous whatsapp chat etc.

I sometimes feel a bit regretful that I don't have that too; but then I am quite introverted & I find mingling & networking situations in large groups quite stressful; so I suspect I would find the idea of big group friendship more appealing than the reality!

My friends will only meet at my funeral if I pre decease them. I have a lot of friends but I always prefer one to one interactions. I have had a couple of big parties over the years and invited them all.

I haven’t been part of a big broad friendship group that does a lot together since school and University. I find conversation so much better one to one.

So you have friends....but you want community? Or maybe different types of friends/ better friends.

One thing I've realised as I've gotten older...there are lots of people in the same position as you, but it's kind of taboo to talk about not having enough friends. I guess the advice in relation to this is...if you can try and spot the signs that someone else is in this position and be brave and reach out and suggest a social activity you might be successful.

I also think if you can find some kind of hobby or interest that is meaningful to you...then you are more likely to build a community of like minded people. What are your interests?

Well, make this broader group? Invite friends from different parts of your life around for dinner, or suggest a group of you trains for a 10k or marathon or something.

A friend who is very much a one-on-one person recently made a WhatsApp group of all her individual friends. I don’t know any of the others, but there’s been a bit of chat periodically and there’s talk of us getting together for a drink at some point.

That’s very invested! Do you not have a life?

We’ve moved round a lot so didn’t have a wider group since our uni days. We’ve got into exercise. Running and CrossFit. They’re both massively social sports! Our gym and running groups do lots of activities that everyone who’s a member is invited to. Groups full of single people and those with partners - some of whom both are members and some where only one is.

I think this sort of wider friendship group is often different in real life to how it seems when people talk or post on social media about it. And if it helps, I am in my forties and nobody I know has this anymore - at most people might talk about a smallish group of female friends from school or Uni. And maybe an NCT group of friends if they were lucky. But even then people drift apart as they get older.

Made my most fun friends post 38 - big local group always got something on. Uni friends are lovely but turned into real home bodies and I want more excitement so the z”old friendships job done” model is not necessarily ideal anyway

There’s still plenty of time to build close friendships - through work, social events/interests. If you meet a significant other they may have a group of friends that you become close with.

I’ve been friends with a group of people since school (around 20 years ago) - it was great in our teens/20s, going out getting drunk/holidays etc. but as we’re getting older, there’s babies & marriages and people are definitely drifting/have other things going on. Also realised how bitchy everyone is - if you’re not there, you’re probably getting talked about.

I’d say you’re better off having a couple of close friends!

I don't really have anyone I would call a friend.
I don't really like getting close to people as they let you down.
I'm happy with this- made peace with it over the years (after being let down by everyone)

Yeah, I'm the same too, I think moving around quite a lot has not helped either. I did at one point have a group of friends while the kids were younger for a few years, but then the kids found their own interests and some of them fell out, there were some relationship break ups and the friendship group broke down, but it was perhaps the happiest I've ever been socially. I do know groups of people who have made friends later in life as neighbours, but I agree the key is to have a regular event that you're able to bond over as there is a better chance of forming a group, but again this isn't a given. I also agree that friendship groups can be full of drama!