How did you actually meet your friends?

[Arkhangel]

Next year I'm looking at the strong possibility of moving countries again to conduct research for my thesis. Unlike the other times I've moved, I won't have a built-in way to meet friends through work or school, and I'm a bit worried about being lonely. I've heard all the suggestions about joining interest groups and that kind of thing, and I'll certainly give that a try, but I wonder how many people actually met their friends that way as adults. Well-meaning advice aside, how did you really meet most of your friends?

[MinDonner]

On the internet! And I don't just mean you lovely Westeros people. When I moved back to Brighton about 15 years ago, there was a good rock/metal community in town who mostly congregated on a local website, with messageboard for advertising gigs or clubs, arranging meetups and generally chatting. I have a bunch of mates here from previous jobs etc, but most of my close local friends (including my ex-husband) are people I met online. That particular site got trolled to death shortly after, and my mates who ran it lost interest and gave up, but I'll bet there are a bunch of similar sites for all sorts of communities in all sorts of cities.

[Nymeria10k]

On the internet too, I have met people from various forums, facebook, and games. I am better at socialising online than irl. Although my current friends irl I met in college through the anime society or are colleagues from uni, except that one guy I went to school with and still meet like twice a year, and yeah met my current bf online too

But mostly online yes

[brook]

All but one of the friends I've made in adulthood have come through the internet too, or through them being friends of people that I initially met online.

The one that wasn't I met through work

[Gillio]

I have made a lot of friends through walking the dog.

A bunch of us are off to a winery for lunch tomorrow! (without the dogs)

[Silverstar]

Aside from those I met at uni or through work, yeah, mostly online through various shared interests, or through other friends.

Though I do have a friend I met because we lived in flats opposite each other, and she stuck a note underneath my door one day introducing herself and asking if I wanted to have a coffee one day. And we played 'note tag' under the door for about a week until we finally managed to actually meet.

[Theda Baratheon]

Online, school and work.

[Mark Antony]

Mostly all of my friends I know from growing up together/school. Making new friends is rare for me, if I do its usually just through a mutual friend.

[Larry of the Lawn]

I met them because they are chained up in my basement.

[Hello World]

I feel like I should finally make some friends just to participate in this thread.

[Eponine]

If you're used to making friends in a place where you see the same people *every day* and you enjoy having people around in that way, it can be hard to adjust to getting to know people through a once a week or once a month activity. A subgruop of my once a month book club (Meetup) really started getting to know each other more when we began going for tacos/drinks after the actual meeting and I've been amazed at how connected I feel toward people I see so infrequently.

Grad school was a built in group but a lot of people I hung out with moved away after school. I have a group of BWB friends (and we do watch GoT together, but also normal friend stuff). I am very social while I'm at work, and have one work friend who's become an outside work friend. And I'm in the place where I need to follow up on a randomly met in real life acquaintance - she lives in my building and we met watching the Iron Bowl on the shared TV. The last thing is where I struggle - all I need to do is text and ask if she wants to do this or that - and I find that hard. Having a group of friends who are open to outsiders or an activity that's easy to join in makes having more friends much easier - the bar is set lower if you can invite someone to do a group activity than if you have to ask them to do something where you have to fill in large holes of conversation just the two of you.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

Let's see - my best friend and I were introduced when I was 8 and he was 7. We were so close back then, when we were barred from visiting each other, we'd play pokemon through the fence in the backyard.

Most of my friends I meet at various wrestling events and on college campuses, though.

[The Fallen]

I've never met anyone through the internets.

My oldest friends I've known since I was 13 yrs old. As an adult it's been through work or mutual friends. Although I would say I have more acquaintances than friends.

[all swedes are racist]

We're all chained together in some guys basement...

[Larry of the Lawn]

We're all chained together in some guys basement...

Hey, quiet down there!

[sologdin]

on the barricades.

[Robin Of House Hill]

In recent times, the internet. Long ago, bookstores.

[maarsen]

Let's see - my best friend and I were introduced when I was 8 and he was 7. We were so close back then, when we were barred from visiting each other, we'd play pokemon through the fence in the backyard.

Most of my friends I meet at various wrestling events and on college campuses, though.

Who was the bad influence on who?

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

The Internet, karate class, neighbors

[Athias]

I met most of my friends in school--some with whom I still joke on how we first met. I don't keep in touch with a lot of my childhood friends--which I do think is a shame. As for how to make friends, I'd suggest striking up conversation with anyone who you think might be interesting. The gym, the store, school, the bus, the internet, etc. You can make friends anywhere.