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.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Joining local groups like art collectives, run clubs, concerts, or drum circlesDid this help you?
- 2Volunteering for a cause reflecting personal valuesDid this help you?
- 3Ignoring online forums and meeting people through face-to-face hobby or sports groupsDid this help you?
- 4Moving back to where they originally livedDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, 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
- 14How to translate my foreign work experience for a new job market
- 3Why does moving away for work feel so lonely?
- 14How to help a child adjust to a new city after moving?
- 14How to choose where to move to raise a family
- 2How to set up a daycare playdate when you never see the parents
- 3Is moving to the country worth a pay cut and a bigger mortgage?