What are some ways to meet people?

[teenster3]

I swear I have no life!
All I do is work, come home & play with the dogs a bit, talk to hubby a little while, watch tv, eat, get on the computer & go to bed.
That's all I seem to be doing with my time night after night.
I'm so pathetic, I'm 29 with no children. You'd think I'd have all the time in the world to do stuff, but the problem is I don't know too many people. I have very few close friends but even then, I haven't been spending a lot of time with them either because they DO HAVE KIDS & it's hard for them to find sitters.
I feel really lonely at times & just wish I knew people so I could get out more. My hubby has no interest besides coming home & playing his bass guitar.
So, where do you meet nice, interesting people?
We even had to cancel our Halloween party this Sat. because the people we do know & invited all have plans or can't make it for whatever reason!:(
I sure hope things start to look up soon! :rolleyes:
Tina

[slleipnir]

Honestly, a bar. lol. You don't have to drink, but you meet a lot of people...I work at one and I've met a lot of ppl (I don't drink) a lot of people go for trivia and don't drink either

[binka_nugget]

I've met a couple interesting people at dog parks. Become a regular, and I'm sure you'd make new friends in no time.

[Logan]

Tina, some of my best friends in Greenville, I met through my daughter's buddies. Of course, that doesn't help you since you don't have children, but for me, when I moved up here with Helen (she was 5) and we were quite alone, knowing no one except my boss, it helped so much to get to know the parents of some of the children in her kindergarten class. They are good friends to this day and she is now 13!

I'll tell you the other place that has meant the world to me from a friendship standpoint, and that is my church. I don't know your religious views and I don't need to. There are many different settings in which to worship and enjoy fellowship. It was the source of much peace for me in the years that I was single and didn't know anyone. I have made many good friends and formed wonderful lifetime relationships, not only when I was single, but even now that I am married. In fact, I met my husband at church, in Sunday School!

If you have any hobbies, see if you can find groups in your area that have similar interests. Get involved in rescue if there are any local rescue groups (cat, birds, dogs, whatever). I have also found many friends through my rescue work. I don't socialize with many of them outside of Golden Retriever activities, but I would if given the opportunity!

I hope you'll get lots of good ideas and branch out a bit. You are so kind and sweet, and I know you would be a good friend to have.

Logan

[catnapper]

All the people I've been meeting and becoming friends with are through the cat rescue I've been fostering for. Its ideal for me because its something I love and meet like-minded people.

So that said, figure out what you like to do, or what is important to you. Do you like to sew? Then join a quilting bee (yes they still exist!) Do you like to run? A lot of local sports shops have organized weekly runs for the regualr shoppers. think about something that really interests you and plan a way to meet other like-minded folk. You could volunteer or join a club, etc. :)

[Katiesmom]

wow:eek: This is a good post for me! Tina, I am in the same position but instead I have a son and none of my friends have kids except one and she works all the time and I don't work just go to school so all I do is sit here go to school, play with my son, talk to hubby and get on the computer. I can't really join anything because all my money is going into the house that we are building and I don't have a dog yet so I don't go to dog parks and don't go to clubs because I will not go alone. So I feel lonely alot, I mean I know I have my son but sometimes I need adult conversations I mean its getting to where I don't even know how to talk to adults like an adult because I'm always having kid conversations...lol does that even make any sense:o

[teenster3]

Katiesmom....
YES......it makes perfect sense!
Geez, I wish we lived closer together!!!
I am married too but he usually does his own thing.
I do have 2 dogs but DON"T take them to the park in fear they might bite someone or another animal.
I don't care about going to the bars. I'm like you I WILL NOT go to movies, clubs, shopping, etc. alone. Once in awhile I'll be fine shopping but not for long periods of time.
And ya know.....you need "girl" time. It's really difficult if you don't have a lot of girl friends though!:p

[Katiesmom]

Tina I couldn't agree with you more!
My husband works all the time so he usually doesn't get home to til late. If I go shopping alone I'm like you its not for long. Its a shame that we have to live so far apart:rolleyes: Sounds like we could really get along...I mean I always have a babysitter he constantly stays at his grandmas house...I think I'm his second home;)

[slleipnir]

Sorry my suggestion was stupid. I really don't have friends so I'm a bad one to talk. My mom always talks about bars been great places to meet people though but anyway..just a though. sorry.

[Katiesmom]

Oh no audrey that is a great place I met plenty of people there when I didn't have kids. Thats not a stupid suggestion at all.

[Miranda_Rae]

Lol....I am in the same boat as you. :o I don't have a lot of social situations...in a way I tend to avoid them because I don't like myself so therefore I dont feel comfortable in them. :(

Anyho, here are some suggestions:

Doggy Obedience Class
Doggy Agility Class
A certian kind of group- such as a mosaic group, a sewing group, a photography group etc. and they could be classes too! :)
Church-I don't know if you are religious or anything, but that is also a good way to mee people :p
I don't know if you are shy or not, but if you live in town you could walk around, and i know this is going to sound really lame but you could start a conversation with people you meet like comment on how beautiful their flowers are, etc. I dunno, probably a dumb idea. :o :rolleyes:

Anyho, I hope those help, but if they don't, well Sorry! I hope you get to meet some more people. And maybe you and your husband could have some people over for dinner or something? Just like another couple from his work or your work. Just a thought. :)

[Tonya]

I met my husband and a few of my closest friends on the internet. I only have a few friends left from highschool. I think my closest friends that I talk to often came from my son's kindergarten class. I invited his whole class to our Halloween party last year and became friends with some of the moms through that. It was really good for me because I didn't have any friends with kids. Now it is nice to be able to hang out with someone while our kids play instead of having to get a babysitter everytime my friends and I want to do something.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by slleipnir
Sorry my suggestion was stupid. I really don't have friends so I'm a bad one to talk. My mom always talks about bars been great places to meet people though but anyway..just a though. sorry.

I didn't think it was a bad suggestion at all. Mike and I have a few friends that we've met in the bars. We don't really hang out with them outside of the bar, but we'll hang out with them when we run into them.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Tina, I totally know how you feel. I am 22 and married with no kids. My two closest friends are much older than I am, one is 60 and the other is 41. I love them dearly but sometimes it's hard because of the age issue. I don't like being away from my furbabies too much, but I want to get out sometimes. Justin (my husband) has a few close friends that he goes out with a couple times a month, but it's a boys night out. Two of his friends aren't married and neither even have a girlfriend. The other two are married but live a couple hours away and I've never met their wives, in fact I've only met them once.
I also suffer from social anxiety. I have a very hard time talking to new people. I can't go out to eat with new people. I'm also a little over weight and very self conscience about it.

[cloverfdx]

A dog Obedience class may be a great idea, especially if you are having doggy problems. Alot of my friends i have met either at the park (Fellow dog walkers) and at our dog club. Is there someone from school you have not talked to in a while, maybe look them up and give them a call.

Hmmm i will get back to you on this one.

[Katiesmom]

I also have problem talking to people I don't know unless they talk to me first...thats the shy part about me...guess thats why I don't make friends here at PT and in my real life...I beginning to get use to it. I feel like no matter what I don't fit in. So I'm just gonna go with the flow and what I do and do what I like to do hope that one day that one friend that I've been waiting will come along. My friends from school I still talk too but since I got married and had a kid they don't wanna hang out and thats when they stopped coming around so I say they obviously wasn't my friend from the beginning :( :D

[Fox-Gal]

It looks like there a few of us in the same boat here.

I have been saying to my husband for the longest time, I wish I had more friends, I get lonely at times and just want some girl time. Years ago, I was one of those woman who was full of friends, phone ringing all the time, doing things offen toghter. My X-husband got to the point that he wanted to put up "office hours" so we could have our time, No phone calls before 10am or after 10pm. lol

Then I moved to the country, got a divorce, re-married and now work from the home, so I don't get a chance to get out and meet new people. Before work was my way of meeting new people, thats gone now. I can't meet people now. When my office is a putter in the back room. :rolleyes: Also my husband and I have a HUGE age difference so his friends are a little taken back by us and that's made things strange in the friends part too.

This isn't really helping you any is it? Just to let you know there are alot of others out there just like you. It's hard at times, I know. Some days I would give almost anything just to go see a chick flick with the girls, do some shopping (where home depot is not involved) and have a dinner out, gal time.

Getting involved in something sounds like a good idea everyone giving you. I'd give it a try, if you can, what do you have to lose. I know if I had the chance, I would. My problem is I live in a town so small, there is nothing to get involved with, that I'd be interested in. But if you have places where you can, volunteer or join, do it.

It might be odd the first time you go by yourself, I know I hate going places alone like that, but you have to remember that if you don't like it, you can always leave.

We all need a little time away from the husband, now and again. It can get boreing sometimes, talking about cars, bikes, tools, sports, or his work, etc etc. :D

[moosmom]

On PT, right Davidp??? ;)

[teenster3]

Well,
That's why I don't like meeting people in bars.
I can not talk to someone first.
Matthew on the other hand, can walk right up to any stranger in a bar (or any place for that matter) & start up a conversation! I ask him how he does it?! He just doesn't care what people think of him. He told me if they ignore him...oh well their loss & if they talk that's cool too!
I guess I feel that women in general are harder to meet & talk to. It seems like a competitive issue with them or something, like there always has to be something to prove!
Don't get me wrong I LOVE TO TALK....Matthew gives me crap all the time. The first time he & I met he said all I did was talk, talk, TALK!!!!:p
Like I said, I just wish I had more "girl" friends to hang out with or talk to! It's REALLY hard meeting people but the ones I do meet always say....that I'm nice to talk to & I listen well, GO FIGURE!!!!
:)
Tina

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by teenster3

Like I said, I just wish I had more "girl" friends to hang out with or talk to! It's REALLY hard meeting people but the ones I do meet always say....that I'm nice to talk to & I listen well, GO FIGURE!!!!
:)
Tina

Considering the fact that the majority of PT members are girls, you're in the perfect place to find "girl" friends. Talk to us! :p He he he!!!

Most of my friends are people I have met at school, and people I know from the mosque. The friends I've made at the mosque are people I've known since I was a small child, so those are friends I've practically grown up with. School friends come and go. I have some that I'm rather close to, and they've been my friends for YEARS, but most school friends are 'just' school friends. I'm shy and also have a hard time talking freely to new people, but once I get to know them well, I'm the biggest blabbermouth.

I think the best way to become close to someone is inviting them over for lunch or dinner after meeting them. My parents often invite new people over, and end up becoming close friends. I have learned that from my parents, and whenever I meet someone new and begin to 'talk' to them, I too, tell them to come over for lunch/dinner...or sometimes just for tea/coffee. We invite people to our house alllll the time. It becomes too much work sometimes, but I know I would feel lonely without my friends, so I'd rather have the dinner parties than not have them. We invite our neighbors over too, so we also have lots of friends in the neighborhood. ;)

[neko1]

Wow I never realized that so many people had the same problems as I do! I am also very shy and will not just go up to people and start talking. So needless to say, I don't have any friends, either.

It does get kinda boring every now and then when I would love to go shopping with another girl and hang out.

[slleipnir]

Originally posted by teenster3
Well,
That's why I don't like meeting people in bars.
I can not talk to someone first.
Matthew on the other hand, can walk right up to any stranger in a bar (or any place for that matter) & start up a conversation! I ask him how he does it?! He just doesn't care what people think of him. He told me if they ignore him...oh well their loss & if they talk that's cool too!
:)
Tina

I'm the same way, but the thing is, most people WILL talk to you first. I have sooo many people start convos with me and I'm probably the shyest person ever. I've met so many nice people (not friends..they're all older then i am..but they've become friends with my mom) but they're some really awesome people there. If you have things like Trivia there at bars...go to one of them and sit at the bar and chances are the people will ask you to join in withthem

[guster girl]

Originally posted by teenster3
Well,
That's why I don't like meeting people in bars.
I can not talk to someone first.
Matthew on the other hand, can walk right up to any stranger in a bar (or any place for that matter) & start up a conversation! I ask him how he does it?! He just doesn't care what people think of him. He told me if they ignore him...oh well their loss & if they talk that's cool too!
I guess I feel that women in general are harder to meet & talk to. It seems like a competitive issue with them or something, like there always has to be something to prove!
Don't get me wrong I LOVE TO TALK....Matthew gives me crap all the time. The first time he & I met he said all I did was talk, talk, TALK!!!!:p
Like I said, I just wish I had more "girl" friends to hang out with or talk to! It's REALLY hard meeting people but the ones I do meet always say....that I'm nice to talk to & I listen well, GO FIGURE!!!!
:)
Tina

I know what you mean and what your husband is saying. I don't have a problem meeting people at all. I will go up to anyone that looks approachable. Some people just look rude, ha ha. But, what's the worst they can do? But, women are way harder to approach than men. I've made plenty of guy friends, but, hardly any women. I have one or two women I can really depend on. Guys are just easier going, so, I tend to hang out with them. Your husband is into music (just from what you said about him playing his guitar). Isn't there something you can do as a couple, like go check out some live music? You could meet couples that way. Is he planning to join a band? I'm just curious.....

But, I meet people all the time at dog parks! And, at book stores for some reason. :) You can also join an interest group, like a reading group, or sewing, or bird watching or whatever. The gym is another awesome way to meet people. Just make a list of things that interest you, and, then see what's available in your area. Good luck.

[Logan]

I'm a talker......can you tell? :o

My husband, who is quite shy at first, always laughs at me because I strike up converations with people everywhere! Ballgames, grocery store, restaurants, shopping, waiting in line, etc. It makes me feel uncomfortable when people don't say anything back, especially people walking their dogs. Just last weekend, we were at an art festival in a downtown park and there were dogs everywhere! This one lady was walking her Weimerarner (sp?) in the midst of all those folks, and when I stopped and asked if I could pet him, you'd think I committed a serious crime! Why would you bring your dog to a public gathering like that and not expect people to want to pet him?? I love it when people stop and say things to me about my dogs. :confused: I will say that most dog people are GREAT!!!!

[emily_the_spoiled]

I understand how difficult it is to meet new people. As a single woman I just moved into a townhouse in the middle of suburbia (where everyone has their 1.8 children). So I don't quite fit in.

I have met some of my neighbors while outside doing yard work. The one family even invited me in for a tour of their house. These conversations usually start with the weather, but at least it is a start.

If you have a local yarn store and want to learn to crochet or knit most of these places have either offer classes or they offer what is called a "stitch and *itch". Which basically is a group of women getting together to talk. You don't need to know how to knit or crochet to join these, but do you have to want to learn.

Knitting is now the "hot" hobby for women (although I have been doing it for almost 20 years now), but you will meet all kinds of ages and people.

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by popcornbird
Considering the fact that the majority of PT members are girls, you're in the perfect place to find "girl" friends. Talk to us! :p He he he!!!


This is true, PT could be a great place to find "Girl" friends. for chatting. Maybe some one needs to set up a PT friends chat spot, where you can have just girl chats.

But there's still nothing like having a friend or friends that you can call up and say, "hey what are you up to, what to do something?" Those are the things I miss. Real life giggles/fun and real live friends you can count on.