You At The Center – 11 Ways to Make Friends In A New Place
You’re here in a new place, in a new surrounding, and in a new adventure. Just like the spokes of a wheel holding the wheel together, your relationship with the people, environment, and things around you forms your ecosystem, with you at the center of it. Who you hang out with, the people you speak to, and the environment you spend time in determine your happiness level.
Starting to build relationships is a daunting task, no matter how social you are. Taking those first few steps to connect with the community and the area you live in can be challenging, especially if you don’t know where to start. Here are some ways to get you started:
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Building Your Happy Environment
Start small
Moving to a new place because of a job or college is one of the easiest ways to form your circle because you already have people looking to make new connections and friends. But what if you don’t fall in either category? What if you decided to pack up and move to a new place to start a new life and you’re relatively alone in this new place with nobody you know, a short phone call away?
Well, there are plenty of things already on your plate when you move, so the last thing you want to fret about is making new friends. This is why mentally telling yourself to start small is your first step. It’s ok if you haven’t met anyone you’d like to hang out with within the first few weeks- it’s normal. After all, we don’t live in a fairytale or a movie where things fall into place immediately. So start small and take time to get to know your area, where the nearest grocery store is, and even where the park is.
Start online
Building relationships one at a time is an excellent way to start, and online is one of the easiest ways to connect. You can begin by joining interest groups (find them on forums or Facebook), or you can just start talking to the folks in your building.
You can also become part of online communities and join meetups when they have one. Go to Facebook and click on “Events near you” to see what activities are happening in the community. Fairs, Sunday markets, open-air workout sessions are all great ways to get to know your community and meet like-minded people.
Be friendly
It may seem self-evident, but a smile or a nice word can make someone’s day. Your apartment building or neighborhood is one easy way to connect to people. Say hello to your neighbor, work out in the neighborhood park or join a community class. You can find something in common with the people around you because everyone is just like you- they want to have close connections.
Ways to make friends in a new place: ask questions
People love talking about themselves and about what they like and what they think of certain things. See your neighbor at the dog park? Ask them about themselves. When you ask someone about themselves, take the time to listen, and this can definitely make them a fast friend. Maybe you’ll find that they love wearing kaftans as much as you, and you can share some excellent sites to get kaftans, such as from https://kaftko.com/.
Tell people about yourself
As much as you ask questions, you must also be open to telling people about yourself, too, because this is a way to establish trust. People will trust you unless you are willing to trust them with the information about yourself.
Go places and try things
If you want to make friends, you need to go out and be at places where people are. Join picnics, fundraisers and parties- go where you will meet people.
Accept people for the way they are
This is especially true when you uproot yourself to a new place- new places come with different cultural norms, different ways of doing things, and different rituals and different ways of dressing. You do not have to agree with everything all the time in order to form a relationship with your community or with certain people. People do not like to be judged, so keep that in mind. Just because they do things differently than you is not wrong, so immerse yourself in the different experiences you encounter in your new place.
Assume that people want to form a relationship too
Not everyone will be ready and open to developing relationships. Still, even the crabbiest of people is a lonely soul hoping to form a bond with someone. That said, as much as you want to make friends, give people space and time to reciprocate your intent to make friends.
Overcome your fear of rejection
We all fear rejection at varying degrees, and the only way to get rid of it is to get over it. If you want to form connections and relationships that are beneficial for you, put yourself out there. If you get rejected, it is their loss. But as they say- there are plenty of fish in the sea so if one connection doesn’t work out, try another one.
Be persistent
Most people are shy, and not everyone is extroverted enough to make friends and start talking. It will also take a while to win trust. That said, form connections anyway, and faith will come when you stick with it.
Ways to make friends in a new place: Get involved
Many of us are looking for opportunities to meet other people who share the same common goals. So, you get involved and also invite people to get involved with you. They will be flattered that you asked them to join. Join pottery classes or volunteer at the community shelter.
Enjoy the company
Having people around, talking, and making friends is a lovely thing to do. If you genuinely enjoy having people around you, others will feel this energy and be attracted to your attitude. They will also be more likely to be around you.
