Okay, here’s my blog post about making friends in NYC, written from my personal experience:
Alright, so I moved to NYC a few months ago, knowing absolutely nobody. Zilch. Nada. It was kinda scary, to be honest. I’m not exactly the most outgoing person, but I knew I didn’t want to be a hermit in this amazing city. So, I started a mission, operation: make friends.
Step 1: Getting Out There (The Hardest Part, IMO)
First, I forced myself to, you know, actually leave my apartment. I started small. I went to a local coffee shop instead of making coffee at home. I sat there, pretending to read, but mostly just people-watching. No friends yet, but baby steps, right?
Step 2: Finding My “Things”
Then, I thought about what I actually like doing. I’m a big fan of, board games, and trying new foods. So, I looked online. I used a search engine to find some stuff.
- I found a board game meetup group.
- I discovered some food tours happening around the city.
Step 3: Taking the Plunge (and Feeling Awkward)
Okay, this was the nerve-wracking part. I signed up for one of the board game meetups. I showed up, feeling super awkward, like I was crashing a party I wasn’t invited to. But guess what? People were actually pretty nice! I introduced myself, a few people did too. We played some games, I laughed a lot (mostly at my own terrible strategy), and it was…fun!
I also booked a food tour in a neighborhood I’d never been to. I met some other tourists and a few locals. We walked around, ate a ton of delicious food, and chatted about everything. I even exchanged numbers with a couple of people.
Step 4: Rinse and Repeat (and Actually Following Up)
The key, I realized, was consistency. I kept going to the board game meetups. I tried another food tour. And, most importantly, I actually followed up with the people I met. A simple “Hey, it was great meeting you! Want to grab coffee sometime?” text worked wonders.
So, now? I actually have, a small group of friends here. We meet up for games, explore different neighborhoods, and just generally hang out. It’s not a huge circle, but it’s mine, and it makes NYC feel a whole lot less lonely. It is still not a big circle, but it is real.
It is an on going work, but I am happy to share with you. I think I will get more and more new friends.
