Friends

[lanzarote1]

Hi,

Any ideas on how I can make friends??

I’m 51, married, with 1 grown up son.

I have no friends.

I work full time. So evenings and weekends are my free time.

Feel lonely most of the time.

Help please x

Do you have any hobbies/could you take on any activities? E.g choir, rambling, book club, art class, craft class, dancing, golf etc?
Or looking into volunteering?

What do you normally do in the evenings and weekends? If you take up a new hobby you might meet like-minded people.

Join the WI and some local clubs that interest you.
Join some online forums, or Instagram and Twitter, and join in with subjects that interest you. Just get chatting to people.

Definitely explore hobbies and groups locally.

Does your village/town have a community centre? Parish council? Fb page? They’re good sources of information

I think this really depends on your interests. Look at what they are, and then think about ways that you could meet people that way. Or if you could give an hour or two to volunteer in an area that you’re interested in that might be a good way to meet people.
How confident do you feel when you meet new people?
Good luck x

Agree that you'll need to go out there, and try a few clubs / hobby groups. Even trying ones where the subject isn't obviously your "thing" .... the concept of meeting people might be more important initially than the sport / craft / good cause etc.

See what organised groups there are in your area e.g Rotary, Inner Wheel etc. Inner Wheel's aim is promoting friendship ... so there's an obvious one to try.

How confident would you be in going to meetups? When I moved to a new city I used www.meetup.com and joined a dining club and went to a few pub quizzes, it was great!

As a pp suggested could you join the W.I? Or a exercise class? Just try and throw yourself into as much as you can and I’m sure something will stick! It’s rotten feeling lonely but I’m sure it’ll turn around soon

Meetup.com is great. I joined a hiking and day out group. I’ve been to a couple of events and they’ve been good.

St john ambulance is good for volunteering if you’re into that. Likewise church. Or try a book club? Set yourself a new challenge that is social: rambling, ballroom dance or pottery spinning maybe?

I did a cake decorating course once a week at the local community college. Lots of different ages, great laugh.