Where have you met your friends in NoVa? (Alexandria, Fairfax: low income, transplants)

[marie5v]

I never really made any friends here until I had a baby. It's been much easier to meet people since then. The only people who seem to really want to meet people are moms with small children - we all want our kids to play with someone, even if we don't want to. I think you'll be OK - there are lots of moms groups of all kinds and I think people with kids are generally more interested in getting to know someone new than singles are. Neighborhood makes a big difference too - ours is very friendly with its own play group and lots of neighborhood activities.

[jpktch]

I am thinking about the very same thing. Hubby and I are both in our late 40's, he is a government employee and I am a teacher, and we have a rising high school sophomore (boy). We will be moving into our TH in Herndon next Monday and we have always been to busy to make a lot of friends (couples/families) in the past, even though we have each made our own friends through work. We know that church will be the biggest place to meet them other than work, but we also are runners and have other interests that we hope will help us meet other families. We especially want to help our son make friends before he starts his new school.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by jpktch

I am thinking about the very same thing. Hubby and I are both in our late 40's, he is a government employee and I am a teacher, and we have a rising high school sophomore (boy). We will be moving into our TH in Herndon next Monday and we have always been to busy to make a lot of friends (couples/families) in the past, even though we have each made our own friends through work. We know that church will be the biggest place to meet them other than work, but we also are runners and have other interests that we hope will help us meet other families. We especially want to help our son make friends before he starts his new school.

If you like running, there are several running groups in Reston/Herndon. RestonRunners has been around for many years and is a pretty popular group.

[scottfs]

I've honestly had trouble in this endeavour...I've tried making friends around this area, but everyone seems so absorbed in their own world here, too busy to make a new friend. My wife hasn't made any friends around here either so far. Seems like most people around here center their interactions with others around some kind of defined activity be it a bike club or running, or whatever, your best bet is probably to get involved in an activity. I haven't done that, I'm just not that into any one specific thing to go that route.

[hilsmom]

A thought - we meet people in our neighborhood who either have kids or have dogs. If you have one and/or the other, you will be out and about and talking to people.

We honestly didn't meet many of our neighbors until our daughter was one and we needed to get out of the house more.

[arielmina]

been here about 18 months and have tons of friends, I also work from home. BUT I do have kids in elementary school - that helps - as well as great neighbors and a hobby. Also, my kids hobbies...as long as you have an outside interest, you will have no problem making friends.

That said my husband is a writer (read solitary hobby), doesn't do much of anything outside of work, and is not the most social of people, and he really only has a few friends, mostly at work. He has started doing karate which has helped him get out and meet people.

Alot of it depends on you and how outgoing YOU are. The folks here respond in the same way anywhere else they will. If you make an effort, they will as well.

[tgbwc]

I'm guessing much of this depends a lot on where people live. For those of you who have difficulty meeting people, what type of neighborhood do you live in? What areas? I don't find that people are absorbed in themselves. In fact, most of the transient families that I talk with say that this is one of the most friendly areas in which they have lived. We moved from Manassas to West Springfield a little over two years ago. In both neighborhoods we have met a lot of people, but we've been very active within our neighborhoods too. It's been better here in Springfield. Within days of moving in we knew most of the neighbors and ever since then my son is always outside playing or at somebody's house. We have monthly block parties. People wave as they pass while driving. Through the pool we have made a ton of good acquaintances and a good number of friends. It is the hub of activity in the summer, but socially it branches out throughout the year. My wife and I both have friends from work with whom we go to happy hour or attend get-togethers. When somebody new moves in all the neighbors are quick to greet them, offer help and invite them over.

[Riley09swb]

My DH grew up in this area so we are friends with people that he has known for years (and that I met 15 years ago now) and we all have kids now. We still keep in touch with our old neighbors as we left the area 5 years ago and came back with two young kids.

We live in Purcellville now and I also work from home (though my office is located in Reston near Reston Town Center).

Join a mom's group (though I think you may already be a member of one - I recognize your screen name I think).

How old are your kids? Preschool? Elementary? You can meet the parents that way too.

Pool in the summer is a great way too. There are meetup groups as well. Does your company have an office in the area?

[Alley01]

Initially, we met all our new friends in our neighborhood and when we would volunteer at a few local organizations but then I discovered that both of our Alma Maters have quite large alumni organizations and my husband and I have been reunited with quite a few classmates in the area. We have met some friends through local dog clubs too. I have found most people in the area to be quite friendly. It hasn't been as much of a shock moving to the area as I had expected. It isn't easy being the new kid on the block, so to speak but when you live in an area where the new kids outnumber the rest it isn't too bad.

[xboxhaxorz]

use the meetup site, i say is the best option