Why is it so hard to make friends after moving?
Regional hostility and deeply entrenched local social circles make it nearly impossible to connect with people independently. Even individuals who have never struggled socially find themselves isolated for over a year, leaving them entirely dependent on family for interaction.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Joining local groups like art collectives, run clubs, concerts, or drum circles
- 2Volunteering for a cause reflecting personal values
- 3Ignoring online forums and meeting people through face-to-face hobby or sports groups
- 4Moving back to where they originally lived
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Posted a couple times about advice for certain things and I got “go back north” “we don’t want you here Yankee “ it’s wild to me that people can be so unkind over a state!”source ↗
“Making friends independently of our family was basically impossible.”source ↗
“I’ve moved to SW Florida 14 months ago-I have no friends, but I do have family here. I’ve never in my life had a hard time finding or keeping friends... It’s been incredibly hard here.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How to translate my foreign work experience for a new job market
- 5How to help a child adjust to a new city after moving?
- 6How to choose where to move to raise a family
- 3How to help a shy child make friends
- 2How do you actually build a professional network from scratch?
- 3How to find people to travel with when friends can't go