Making Friends in a New City

Moving to a new city where you don’t know a soul can be an intimidating, but the best thing for you to do is to get out of your comfort zone, get out and go make new friends!

I was lucky to have moved in with my college friend, Rozen, upon arriving to SoCal. He had been encouraging me to move to California for years and had just bought a house in Orange County. I thank him for allowing me to get on my feet at the beginning of my journey.

My closest friends here – Melissa, Heather, Evie, Simi, Payal, Rozen, John, Ana, Rosy and Denise – I love you guys, I don’t know what I would do without you. We have so many fun and crazy memories together that I will cherish for the rest of my life!

Here are some great ways to make friends:

Join a Meetup Group. Meetup is the ultimate source for meeting new people. I met my close friend Evie by doing this. We were both from Minnesota, so it was nice to connect with someone from my home state. From her, I met Ana, Simi and Payal! You can search by your interests within a mile radius to find groups who have similar interests as you. I’m part of a few singles groups in the Ventura County area and we grab a bite to eat, paint, go trampoline jumping, watch movies, go dancing…the list is endless.
Attend networking events. Networking events are a great way to mingle with people that have the same career goals and values as you do. Who knows when you can help each other out with a business venture?
Go to a bar or restaurant by yourself. Brave the uncharted waters, sit down on a stool and start talking to someone. You never know who you might meet!
Go on a tour group. You can meet a ton of fun people on a tour bus! While In Ireland I met Kris, who was traveling throughout Europe and was about to start working in Australia through a visa. We connected through social media so that we could discuss different travel adventures and keep updated with one another, which leads me to…
Get connected through social media. It’s the best way to stay in touch with your friends and even get introduced to new ones through your current friends! I like to use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Whats App. I use Whats App and Facebook Messenger frequently when the girls and I want to discuss plans for the week. I’ve connected with so many business professionals and friends that I also met at events on Facebook. My Twitter and Instagram I mostly use to connect with random people from all over the world and discuss various topics.