I see in threads here all the time “start a hobby, join a walking group, go to festivals/museums/etc, do a course, etc” and you’ll make new friends in no time.
I’ve done all these things and, unless it was someone who was somehow already a friend of a friend, I didn’t make new friends. I might have met some acquaintances and it inevitably fizzled out, but nothing lasting. Otherwise, I’d make friends at work.
in my home country (in south america), this would be more likely to happen. People there are more gregarious, the weather is more suitable for outside interests, etc.
romantic relationships are the same. I ended up meeting DP on OLD.
some of this is me, really. Social anxiety, am waiting for autism assessment and have always felt like I didn’t fit in most places, people often look at me with a face-> 🤔, like I’m talking nonsense.
but I also think there’s something about the environment. And, although I’ve been in London for almost 20 years, went to uni here, etc, making English friends is even harder. Just doesn’t happen. In the rare cases, when I met the other friends of an English friend/boyfriend, they were all English too, with rare exceptions.
so, how do people actually make friends???