Making friends after 30

[user892734543544]

All my friends were made before my 30s. All friendships that have arisen post-30 have either fizzled out or ended badly.

The friends I made in early to late 20s are absolutely lifelong and real. I know I can make friends because I have a few of them and not minor friendships either.

I've heard it said that we don't really make proper friends after 30, so I'm interested. It's like they just don't stick.

Have you made real, true friends post-30?

Yes I have. I moved to this city when I was 34 and so all my local friends are people I've met since then. They are mainly people I met via my kids and their schooling or through the sports that I do.

Yep. All through work (in two different jobs).

All my close friends came into my life after that age.

Also made friends thru kids

Yes. My life and I have changed hugely since my 20s. I’d feel very stuck in one place if I only had friends who knew me from that time in my life.

Im 60 and with the exception of one friend all my others were made post 30 and have lasted.

Yes - I’ve made a bunch of real friends through work in my 30s, and then when I had kids I’ve made some very close friendships through my kids locally in my the last 2 years. I also have some looser friendships I’ve made with the people in my building. I think you do need something to “bond” over though otherwise it’s hard.

I met one of my closest friends at the age of 39.

Haven’t made any real lasting friends since about the age of 27,( now 50) now I’m too cynical and untrusting to make proper friends I think

And you'd invite them to your wedding (for example), call them in a crisis, you'd lend them £500 (comparable amount per your world) kind of friends?

That's the type of friendship I'm asking about.

I have mum friends from school but they're not actual friends you know? Like I don't call them up or check in on them independent of the functional relationship we have around our kids going to the same school.

I've even had a few cuppas and gone the shop with a school mum friend but she's not a friend friend.

yeah work is a big one. I've not worked in a large organisation in 10 years but even when I did I didn't make friends who stuck. I went to a birthday party of one and we chatted all the time in work but I don't know her now for example.

All my close friends were made when I was 16-18 and we're now in our 40s. Last one was made when I was 25.

I think connection just happens or not. I either immediately click with someone or don't.

All my crisis or wedding friends were made post-30. I’ve made better, more well-matched friends in my 30s than in any decade before. Most friends from school/teens/20s have drifted away.

Same here.

Definitely made more friends in my 30s and 40s, through various sports clubs and shared interests and fellow parents. I still have some solid university and school friendships but the most recent ones are definitely built on a stronger foundation than most of those made in my 20's.

At the age of 45 I joined the local Rotary group and quickly formed a very close friendship with a woman, the type of which I have never experienced before. Earlier this year I switched bridge clubs and am now in a relationship with a woman from that bridge club. I am introverted and through mush of my life have failed to make much of an impression on people, and I do not have the kind of aura that attracts people immediately, but I generally get on with people and can form relationships. From my experience you can make friends after 30, it has never been easier with online platforms like DownToMeet or Meetup, or even look at the noticeboard in your local supermarkets for volunteering opportunities. The opportunities are there if you are prepared to look.

Yes, mainly through women’s rights campaigning & to a lesser extent through volunteering.

I agree its difficult.

I've made friends with workmates and still see them now even though we no longer work together. They're a different type of friends than the ones I've known from younger.

Before that I've been friends with people at work but not stayed in touch after leaving.

Yes, I made some through volunteering and one through a walking group

I made a few friends aged 30ish after I had a baby. But boy now I’m 44 I’m finding it hard to make friends.

Yes not easy. Im 50s. People back working full time and busier. I def find they dont commit to plans. Yes its disheartening. My circle is small

I'm 27 and I have never made any lifelong friends. I've made friends at previous jobs and when I was at school, but none of them have lasted more than a couple of friends. The only friend I have now is my partner

Some of them - yes!