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Becoming a regular at a restaurant, cafe or bar you like can help you naturally get acquainted with people. I have a dog and have met some friendly people at the dog park that I go to.
You can do what my wife and I did for fun; sit in a mall and observe all the stressed out people with children in tow.
We laughed and we laughed then went and got a bite to eat then we laughed some more.
Your entertainment is right in front of you. After your done you can go home to a quiet and peaceful house and sleep soundly.
We are a 50 year old couple, no children (no regrets). We enjoy the spontaneity of going when and where we like without the drama and preparation that our friends with kids are encumbered with. Frankly, I have stopped inviting people with kids because it takes a congressional vote and hours to prepare, then we have to take two vehicles.
Sometimes we overnight in Asheville, ride the Swamp Rabbit trail on our bikes, explore the Lake Lure area or ride the motorcycle in the mountains.
My wife and I are in our 40's and do not have kids and have no regrets about it. Most of our friends do have kids and we do have them over occasionally for dinner, join them for events and stuff. While it is fun, we have been trying to get out to meet other people because they are always tied down with soccer practice, drum practice, church events at night, etc.
It is hard to find other people with our interests without kids so we do a lot of stuff on our own (biking, hiking, vacationing, wine tastings). There are times we wish we had more playmates but there are more times that it is very satisfactory just playing with each other. We did meet an older couple recently who just moved here and they show promise and now that the holidays are out of the way, we will be meeting up with them soon.
This is an interesting topic because we have faced very similar issues. We're late 30's, married 11 years, and childfree by choice. We don't attend church. We've met some great people through Meetup. We have a few neighbors who have become friends mainly because we entertain frequently. It's taken a long time to establish true friendships for a few reasons: 1. We don't have life-long friendships as may of the locals in this area enjoy. 2. We don't attend church or have children in school, so those very strong avenues of building friendships escape us, and 3. I feel you can only establish workplace friendships to a certain extent.
Like the original poster mentioned, it's hard to maintain relationships with parents of young children because their priorities are often pointed in new directions, and rightly so. We've found most of our friends recently to be quite a bit younger or quite a bit older than us, either pre or post children. Two of our best friends are from England and only a few years younger than our parents.
It's taken time, but we've finally met some good people through hard work and honestly making a strong effort to meet new people. That all being said, we're certainly interested in meeting more people of like mindsets. We enjoy dining out, meeting for drinks, movies, NFL football, and several others. We have a home bar and theater and entertain regularly.
That all being said, we're planning a matinee of "Les Miserables" on Saturday 1/5. Depending on show time, we may go to lunch before or dinner after. If anyone is interested in joining us, please send me a message!
Ribarth- you sound like people I'd like to meet once we live there! I attend a few meetup groups here, and I have no problem relating to many of the people who I meet, even though they are sometimes 20 or more years younger than I. If I hadn't already seen Les Mis, and of course if I were already living in Greenville, I would love to join you!
I would like to mention, as well, that I have a good friend whom I have known for 15 years, since my children were small. She does not have children but has two schnauzers. I don't mind listening to her talk about them, and she doesn't mind me talking about my kids!
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