to want a fresh start and ask you for help?

[soopedup]

Lockdown and Christmas have made me realise how lonely and unhappy I am where I live. I want a fresh start, somewhere with a lovely community where I can get involved and make friends. Community. That’s what I want. I live in a south east commuter town and it’s fast paced and cliquey and everybody’s just so busy all the time.
Where can I go? Where do you live or have lived that’s a largeish village or small market town with community involvement at its heart. Book groups. Running groups. I want to live somewhere where people want to make friends not where people say things like “I’ve got enough friends already”

I don't live there but Bridport in Dorset is lovely. Lots of groups, friendly people and quite cultured whilst being close to the sea.

Hi OP, I could've written your post. This Christmas has been shitty, and I have never felt quite so alone before.

I don't know if the place you describe actually exists. I also live in a SE commuter town, neighbours are friendly enough, but I've been here 11 years and haven't really made any friends.

I'll be watching this thread with interest, though sadly, I'm not in any position to move at this point

Do you want to change jobs too? Where can you work and do your current job?

Come to Folkestone! We moved here eighteen months ago and are so happy here. Even my somewhat solitary partner has ‘mum friends’ and I’ve made a lovely little collection of kind and hilarious friends for horse-riding, sea-swimming and coffee-going excursions. It’s wonderful here.

In all seriousness, if you want to move somewhere and make friends, look for locations where lots of other people are moving there too.

Op, have you ever tried meetup? Great way to make new friends (though you might need to persist with events for a while) and try new things, whatever place you move to

@meetthewildes are lots of people moving to Folkestone? It sounds lovely. Is there lots to do?

@soopedup there's a large 'DFL' (Down from London) population. In non-Covid times we are ALWAYS busy - the children adore visiting the Coastal Park and the other playgrounds, the theatre, engaging in the various artsy workshops hosted by Creative Folkestone and we spend a lot of time in local independent restaurants and coffee shops. This year has been rather less exciting, but we swam in the sea almost every day during the summer and have taken some lovely walks along the coast with periodic coffee-and-cake stops. We have a Whatsapp group for parent meet-ups and the children are always surrounded by company and very rarely bored, and likewise I've never had to swim alone and usually have a little gaggle of friends to drink coffee with on the beach. We absolutely adore it here and are so happy that we were brave enough to make the move; we wanted a local community more than anything, and the children are surrounded by people who know them here.

@meetthewildes this sounds brilliant and just what I’m after. Thanks

I moved to Somerset 3years ago. Very nice community. I don't really want any more friends but if l wanted to l could be doing loads of stuff. My daughter loved here for 6months this year she got involved with swimming groups and park run made friends very easily