Friends – how do you meet them?

Wherever I am in the world and whoever I speak to people are always telling me how they would like new friends but they can’t meet them.

It seems that everyone would like someone more on their wave length.

Just tonight I read a blog about someone who had just moved and wanted new friends and spoke to a friend who would like new friends.

Then there’s my friends who are always telling me how much they miss me and want me to come home – understandable really, I am pretty cool.

There’s heaps of dating websites and apps to help you find new prospective dates but what is there for finding friends? There’s apps where you can decide if someone is hot or not that is in the same area but how do you find a friend that also likes long walks on the beach but not in a romantic way? Perhaps I just don’t know about them? I did hear of one called Meetups but I’ve never really taken the time to look into it and don’t know how popular it is in other places like New Zealand or Australia.

These days it is unusual to strike up a conversation with a stranger. In fact, when it does happen, we often tell people about it as it is such  an unusual occurrence.

A little friendly convo at the bus stop or waiting in line for coffee can make someone’s day or make someone really uncomfortable – how do you tell which is which? I think it is usually the former but people seem to be so suspicious of people’s motives these day sometimes they assume there is another reason.

Personally, I have never had an issue with meeting people and making friends. I guess that comes with travelling often and just being open and receptive to other people. My best mates are generally people that I have lived with or worked with – you get to know these people on another level. Highs and lows – you’ve shared them.

Since I moved to Vancouver I have met friends in all different ways and places. I have an amazing close group of girls (all bloody Aussie’s mind you but nonetheless) here – we all met at an Australian Club watching footy. I have met people through work and living situations but I’ve also met people in other situations. For instance one chick I met at a club – it’s unusual for a drunken-you’re-my-new-best-friend liaison to pass one night but 3 months later we still hang out. I met a wicked Kiwi chick at my fave shop – she is the manager there and picked up on my Kiwi accent. I have met numerous people through twitter – I am reasonably active on it and have been invited to a few meet-ups through it.

How do you make new friends?

Ps. I have found that wine sometimes helps 🙂
Pps. By sometimes I mean always.