no friends after 4 months in new city

[Sarah510]

so I moved to a new city 4 months ago and still don't know anyone. Apart from work I don't have anyone to meet up with at the weekends. DS is the same. He has a few phone numbers from friends in school but they seem to be always busy. I'm at a bit of a loss how to make friends. "join something" -but what. Anyone any ideas. Am so depressed and wondering if I've made a massive mistake by moving :(

Have a look at the Meet-up site, it’s great for local groups, depending on your interests. Eg I follow a local one that is based on French language and cinema.

Are you on Facebook? Many local groups have meet up sessions, eg I sometimes attend a local humanist brunch (not as bad as it sounds ) and a local mums coffee group.

In terms of your son, I’m presuming he’s a teen? I think it can take a bit longer to fall into a group, and in my experience boys are not as good as making plans! Would he consider joining Scouts or something similar?

No direct experience but friends have used Meet Up when moving to a new city. They also volunteered a couple of times a month at a local MH cafe.

It's weirdly harder in a city, I think.

Park Run is a good one to do with kids - they can run with the friends they make and you with yours. And you don't feel like a nob just running on your own before you start meeting people - that's also quite normal.

I joined the local choir when I moved here - that was a good one - and then through that volunteered for some local outdoorsy things that are too specific to detail here .

I've got a specific skill that is in high demand so volunteering is always a bit of a risk for me - mostly people just want me to do my day job, but for them and for free - but if you don't have this issue, then helping your local community is a way to make them like you, tbh! Transactional but true.

Someone where I live has just set up a walking group for people who work from home as this can be quite isolating. Perhaps there's something similar near by. Or join a club/sport with DS - my friend takes his DD's to family karate sessions and they train together.