How many good friends do you have?

[jinn2025]

Hi obv as you get older and navigate through parenthood your circle gets smaller. It would be interesting to know how many good friends people have. That they speak to daily, weekly, fortnightly and meet up on the regular. We’re not taking meet ups once or twice a year.

I would say I have 4 good friends. How often we speak can vary from week to week, but a rough estimate probably 2-3 times a week (three of these friends are in the same friendship group so we’re messaging in a group chat rather than individually).

Really really good friends, honestly 2. That I would speak to/see regularly and be involved in their lives. I have people I’m friendly with that I would socialise with occasionally but they wouldn’t be true friends.

As I’ve gotten older my circles definitely gotten smaller. My tolerance for people and their shite gets lower by the day so I genuinely only spend time with people who I like (family not included!)

One regularly. That will change as my kids release me though, I hope / think. I have a couple of "groups" of friends, one local and one not but we are all drowning in work, children and dying parents at the moment so it is a season of not being in touch much. We will be again, though. My best friend from when I first started secondary is someone I love with the fierceness of suns but I only see her once a year at the moment. When our lives are different I know I will see her much more.

and how old are you? I’m mid 30s with a solid 6. I’m happy my circle is small because I don’t have to put up with fakery anymore and I trust these 6 with my life

Also to add I actually have a group of mammy friends from an online pregnancy group from
many years ago. It’s whittled down over the years so it’s only a smallish group of us. We’re from all over the country but we aim to meet up every year or two. Even though we rarely see each other irl I’d consider them true friends

I would say 8 regularly (but this is helped by the fact that all bar 1 live v close to me)
I also think that if you are single as I am then you do make more of an effort to see people regularly as you’d be on your own all week and weekend if you didn’t so I do think as a single person I am more reliant on them. DCs are older now so don’t need me nearly as much

I’m early thirties. I do have other friends as well but I wouldn’t call them “good” friends; our relationships are more superficial in that we enjoy spending time together and have fun but I don’t confide anything deeply personal in them, if that makes sense?

I wouldn’t describe 6 solid friends as a “small circle” that’s probably more than most people have at our age!

Five and delighted with that. All different friendship groups, I’m not a clique person. I used to think there was something wrong with me cause I didn’t have large groups of girlfriends. But, I’m now content with the way things are and very grateful for all my good friends.

Five good friends

I am 48, I don’t have any close friends and I’m happy like that.

I have colleagues I’m friendly with and acquaintances who will come over for dinner or invite us to theirs, but I’ve kind of dropped my friends along the way. Not sure why…I became less tolerant.

I’m 58. I have 6 that I chat to and see regularly. Different friendship groups in the main.

3 very good friends, all individual relationships. Shortest friendship is 20 years, longest is over 30. Speak every day in some form, messages, emails, lots of voice notes. We see each other as much as life allows but fairly regularly and that includes holidays and weekends away together.

I’m 47. I have 6 good friends, who I’m in touch with regularly (several time a week) and who I meet up with quite regularly, given we all live in different parts of the country. I’ve known most of the group since we were at primary school; the others for more than two decades. I also have a wider group of maybe 6-8 others who I see and hear from less frequently, but who I meet up with and stay in contact.

I have five very good friends and I’m 44. Ones that I speak to all the time and see a lot.

A handful.

I have my best friend, who I've known since school. We text every couple of days and see each other every other week or so.

Two very close friends from my first job, see each other every month or so, text throughout the week.

A very dear friend from uni now lives abroad, we see each other a couple of times a year but we FaceTime each week.

My husband's best friend, who is also a very good friend of mine. See him less often because he's in the navy and away a lot but when he's home we see him lots in a short period of time.

I then have a wider circle of good friends who I see less often but am still close to.

I also have a large family I am close to; my sister and SIL are my dearest friends and I chat with them throughout the day most days (by text) and see as often as possible.

8 very good ones, longest is 52 years, 2 are quite short just 2 years and close to a year. The rest are minimum 20 years with most being over 30 years. I have also had 3 very close friends die in the last 7 years which has been very tough. One was my closest we had known each other from 12 to 54.

Also have a few acquaintances that I go for coffee with. I’m very lucky and find it easy to make friends. I’m a positive glass half full type and good at spinning a yarn.

I d say very close pals - c 5/6.

i have one pal I speak / message with to daily who I’ve known got 30 years.
I have c. 2-3 pals I see twice a month or thereabouts. I have known these pals - one for 5 years very well, the others for 20 + years but have recently reconnected.
I have 2-3 other pals who i can rely on for anything and they live in another city - I see them now 4 -5 times a year but we are close.
I have another close pal who is a little like my sister who I haven’t seen in maybe 4 years but soesk: message multiple times a week.

in my late 40s

3 really really good friends. A few others who I keep in touch with. That’s it and suits me just fine

i have one friend from nursery school, who lives in Oz, but we communicate daily. I have 2 sisters, the youngest one I have more in common with, and we spend time together, she lives in the same village. And DH. And that is it. I’m not very good at maintaining relationships, I am very precious about my free time, (as is everyone I’m sure) DH and I have a cafe in The Lakes so when we are home we are done with people. I’m 57.