Where did you meet your friends? Apts or Work (Chicago: high school, college)

[long101]

It can be an akward experience to make new friends. Say you go to a bar sit down and have a conversation for a while with the people around you. Well when everyone is about to leave how do you say "would you like to be friends?". Even the simple "hey can I get your # and we can hang out sometime or get a drink together" can sound a little foreword/wierd to someone. If you live in a complex just be friendly to everyone and ask someone "what do people do around here for fun" or ask if they wanna go get a drink and the first rounds on you. **** I would take you up on that offer.
There are tons of sport clubs and interest groups you can become a part of in Chicago. I would bet half the people that join those kind of things are looking to meet new people.

[long101]

speaking of drinking... I didnt know there were so many alcoholics here. We all need to get together and drink

[hank0604]

I have the same problem. I'm actually looking forward to that movie coming out about the guy trying to make a friend so he'll have a best man. Best bet is to make sure you are up to date on your sports news, then go watch a game at a sports bar. That's when guys are most open to conversation, when you're talking sports at a bar

[hamiltonra25]

Yea i agree with most of the comments. It will just be a new experience i suppose. Like i was saying the dorms and college forced you to meet people. And with the city and a job i figured it wont be the same. Guess ill have to sign up for some lacrosse and baseball...

[Lookout Kid]

1. My wife has lived here since 1996, and I came a few years later. She is very social and already had a huge network of friends.

2. A whole slew of my college friends ended up here, so I already had a built-in network of friends.

3. I've met several friends at work.

4. I've become good friends with a few others who live in my building.

5. I'm meeting people through activities involving my daughter (i.e. other parents).

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by hamiltonra25

Yea i agree with most of the comments. It will just be a new experience i suppose. Like i was saying the dorms and college forced you to meet people. And with the city and a job i figured it wont be the same. Guess ill have to sign up for some lacrosse and baseball...

There are a bunch of mens lacrosse clubs in the city - some more competitive and requiring a greater commitment than others. So if you're any good, that would be a great way to meet some new people with shared interests.

[At1WithNature]

Real friends at school or from the neighborhood. I tend to keep things at work at a business level. but this is because I'm the youngest person here! so i don't want to hang out with a bunch of people who want to call it quits at 10pm on a Friday Night.

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

1. My wife has lived here since 1996, and I came a few years later. She is very social and already had a huge network of friends.

2. A whole slew of my college friends ended up here, so I already had a built-in network of friends.

3. I've met several friends at work.

4. I've become good friends with a few others who live in my building.

5. I'm meeting people through activities involving my daughter (i.e. other parents).

where are you from originally? inquiring minds want to know.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Real friends at school or from the neighborhood. I tend to keep things at work at a business level. but this is because I'm the youngest person here! so i don't want to hang out with a bunch of people who want to call it quits at 10pm on a Friday Night.



where are you from originally? inquiring minds want to know.

It's one profile click away.

[Gelasia]

Making friends is easy.

I dont see what the big deal is.

[quadrokeith]

I'll echo the sentiment that a lot of people have already said. Join a group, a club, volunteer, play sports, just do something that people are doing for fun and/or satisfaction.

I'll give a few examples of some non-traditional things that I know people have done.
- if you feel a connection to your ethnic or religious group, find an event and volunteer there. My buddy connects strongly with his Irish heritage so he volunteered to work at the beer tent at the Irish Heritage Festival.
- find something that you really enjoy that is a little more niche. A coworker of mine really likes going to museums, but doesn't know many people who share her fervor. She started a museum-crawl group on the internet. Every few months she organizes events where these random people get together and go to a museum together.
- see what's happening in your community/neighborhood. There are all sorts of events that happen all around us all the time in this big city. Get involved somewhere where you are forced to interact with people.

Making friends is not as hard as it may seem, you just have to put yourself in a situation where you are forced to interact with people. In college, that was by living in a communal setting. If you're not in college you just need to find other outlets... go where the people are. You don't even have to be a great conversation starter. People will talk to you, you just need to open up a little bit and use those opportunities. Good luck! Hope Chicago treats you well!