Is it easier to make friends in a small town or in a bigger city? (person, member)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In a small town, you are more likely to run into the same people more frequently due to limited variety of stores or people etc. Even if you don't know one another personally, it is likely you'll have mutual friends. Or if you don't, there can be a "familiar stranger" you see frequently around town due to close proximities.
In a larger city, there are more people to meet but that also means less chances to run into the same person due to larger numbers of stores, shops, etc, which can increase animosity. Likely in larger cities, friendships are made through the workplace or "networking". It's also generalized that people in bigger cities aren't as friendly or outgoing.
In small towns some of the locals can actually be quite anti-stranger. Small towns, everyone knows everyone as they say. But I remember going to a teeny prairies town & everyone in a local restaurant turning to stare. I was a stranger. Unknown. And you'd think not only did I have two heads but horns & a tail for the you-don't-belong-here attitude unspoken though it was.
In larger cities there maybe more options to use but people will still go to the most convenient grocery store, the most convenient coffee shop, etc. This means you are likely to run into the same people at the same corner store. Not to mention that you're exposed to more people which means more potential to connect.
I feel like the sweet spot is cities with around 300k-1mil in the metro area --- it's not so small that everyone knows each other and newcomers are rare, but it's not so large that people are flaky and bored because they have so much other exciting stuff to do and you have to really work for their attention.
In a small town you get what you get. Outgrow friends or having a falling out? Oh well lol You know everybody, there's never (rarely) anybody new. Same people, different day.
In my experience, it's easier to make friends in a new city of any size by getting involved somehow rather than chance meetings. Volunteer at church, school, neighborhood groups, charities, meet friends at work, etc.
In a small town you get what you get. Outgrow friends or having a falling out? Oh well lol You know everybody, there's never (rarely) anybody new. Same people, different day.
I think that can depend on a lot of factors. Some friends of mine moved to a small town about two years ago, but it's just close enough to a military base that some of the families move out to their town, or some of the other small towns around the base. So from what I can see, there's about five (maybe six) small towns in that area that might be seeing a fairly decent rotation of new people in their area.
I would say it’s harder in a small town, at least in my experience. It’s not because of being unfriendly or unfriendly, the they tend to be closest with those they grew up with and it’s hard to join that clique. I now have some good friends, but they are like me a transplant.
It depends. If a person spends their formative years in a small town, and doesn't leave it, except maybe for 4 years of college, that person will be socially well connected.
If a person transplants to a small town at some point in adulthood, that won't be a good thing for that person's social life.
A person that repeatedly transplants from big city to big city every 2-5 years might do ok in making friends in a short time in a big city, but the depth of that person's social circle will be lacking.
It is always more difficult to make friends in adulthood if you are not in the same geographical region where you were when you grew up, and you had the good fortune of spending all of your K-12 years in the same geography.
As a previous poster said in a large area you go the places that are near and see the same people. You also have more to do in a large area so you will meet more people with the same interests as you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
