Making friends in a new community

One of the greatest challenges facing those who have moved into a new community is making new friends and social contacts. Most experience feelings of loneliness with friends and family far away, and a lack of face-to-face contact with people in their new location. This is especially true for accompanying partners who may not be able to work and thus do not have a natural opportunity to meet and interact with others on a daily basis.

The best starting point in making contacts in a new environment is to realise that the people you meet have already got established social networks – they have a group of friends and there is no need for them to reach out and include you. It is up to you to take the initiative in meeting people.

How is this done? A great way to meet others socially is to join a group of people with a shared interest. Find out about classes offered in your area – a language course is always a good idea, and many communities offer interest courses such as dancing or scrapbooking. Dust off your old equipment and join a social sport club, such as football, squash, etc. This is probably the mostly easily available type of club. Find out if there is a club dedicated to a hobby in which you have an interest, e.g. model airplanes, a book club, etc. Churches and other religious institutions are usually extremely welcoming and often have regular meetings for specific groups such as young adults, mothers, businesspeople, etc. Consider volunteering for a few hours a week at a non profit organisation. This will involve you in the community and in a team environment. Ask colleagues and neighbours about clubs they know of, and peruse community notice boards, newspapers and internet sites. You may need to develop a new hobby or interest!

Try to move regularly in social areas where people have the opportunity to mingle, such as parks, beaches, markets and libraries. Introduce yourself to your neighbours, and if appropriate invite them over for a visit. Work colleagues can become friends, and are often your main social contacts, especially in the early stages of a move. If there are regular office social meetings, consider joining these. Remember though to be wary of allowing your entire social network to consist of work colleagues, as there are certain topics and problems that you will not be able to discuss, and this could leave you feeling isolated and lonely.

Involving yourself in social situations will increase your opportunities of meeting people, and go a long way in helping you to build new relationships.