Hobbies and friends

[H-S]

I'm 21and moved to a small ish town and want to make new friends. No one at work is my age and I have nothing in common with anyone there, I live in a street full of older people and at the gym not one person talks to each other. I would like some ideas of new hobbies (I'm not awfully sporty) that I can do on my own but also different ones with people and ways to make friends in this new town.

[4getmenot]

tell us where and see if anyone on here is nearby

[ethanryan]

how about an evening college class, you meet lots of new people there.

[Doolallygirl]

Try smiling at people at the gym, not in a creepy way in the changing room, but if you are waiting at a water cooler or to use a machine or something.

Find out where young people hang out, try the local pubs for a start! I know it is quite daunting getting out on your own, but if you chat away to the bar staff, they are usually quite friendly and can give you some tips on where to go. If you keep going to the same boozers etc then you will become a known face and people will start talking to you. If you take an interest in what they say they will remember you and talk to you when they see you again.

[H-S]

I've moved to Grimsby and after work all day don't really want to go to college for more work lol and definitely don't have the confidence to go to a pub on my own. Everyone seems really un friendly here, i tried chatting to a woman in a cafe but she wasn't interested and everyone is older at the gym

[4getmenot]

oh too far up tut north for me :-)

[:Ace:]

Are you male or female?

ethanryan is right, night classes are a good way to get to know people and they're only one or two nights a week.

I think going to a pub alone would be alright, just sit at the bar and chat along with the bar staff, if there's a telly on, make a comment about the football or whatever...

[~max~]

When I moved to Belfast, I made the decision literally overnight, and arrived with just a backpack! I met a couple of people in the youth hostel I was staying at, but most people I met at my new job. Although, I went to the pub the hostel recommended the second night, and ended up meeting a few people who, like me, had just moved there! Don't worry, it'll happen, just give it time!

[gucciman]

i moved from my home in birmingham to live with my fiancee in swansea, south wales. im a keen bodybuilder and joined the local gym, i felt exactly the same, no-one spoke to me and they didn't seem to speak to each other. 2 years down the line theres a group of people at the gym i now chat to and most people say hi as i walk in.
perhaps you need to make the effort to say hi to people as you pass them and that may break the ice.

[eyeshade]

Gucci, you are probably right, sometimes it only takes one person to say good morning or hello to someone and that's really what everyone else wants but doesn't take the time to do so.

Check out your local paper for advertisements for clubs, choirs, martial arts etc. join something and you may find a good social life behind it. Not all sports needs to be competitive, you can join in just for the fun.

[smurfchops]

Hi H-S sounds from your thread that you have a baby, surely you should go to a mother and toddler group? That would be the best way of meeting other young mums like yourself. When other mums look at you, just smile and they will smile back ! Easy ! They are all there to make friends, just like you are. Good luck.

[spudqueen]

Dance classes
Bird Watching
Real Ale (Camra)
Book Club
Foreign language class (good for your hols)
Keep fit class

Basically, anything you are interested in. You could always ask at the local library for groups that meet locally. Also, check out the local newspaper for what's going on.

Or, you could always get a job in a local pub a couple of nights a week, that is a great way to meet people.