How to Make Friends After College? 12 Creative Ways That Work
Whatever your situation, the tips in this guide will help you to continue making friends and having a social life once your college days are behind you.
Leaving your friends is one of the most difficult aspects of graduating from college. Now that you’re out in the world, it’s less likely that you’ll run into peers who share your interests. To make some fantastic new friends, some novel strategies will be required.
Let’s discuss how to make friends after college.
How to Make Friends After College?
You can use these strategies to get out of your house/apartment and meet new people in your community who may become your new BFF. Let’s get started!
Attend Events That Interest You
One of the most effective ways to make friends after college is to go to local events that interest you.
For instance, you could look up the Facebook page of your neighborhood running club, get in touch with a member, join them for their weekly group runs, sign up for a neighborhood 5K, and socialize with the other participants.
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Maybe you enjoy creating pottery. You could look for a pottery studio nearby, enroll in a class, and socialize. Meeting people at these events can be quite easy since you have at least one thing in common and you can start a conversation with them.
Meet Your Neighbors
Whether you relocated across town for work, to your parent’s house, or across the country for a fantastic job opportunity, you should get to know your neighbors. It’s not necessary to be best friends with your neighbors, but maintaining ties will be helpful if you need someone to pick up the mail, look after your pet, or just say hello in the afternoon while you’re away from home.
If you move into an apartment building or neighborhood where people your age live, you can also make friends to hang out with. You can get to know your neighbors at a lot of apartment complexes’ special community gatherings.
See who you meet by going to one. Visit a neighborhood BBQ instead, or deliver some cookies to your neighbors and introduce yourself.
Get to Know Your Coworkers
Once you’ve graduated from college, making friends through your job is the best option, especially if you work nonstop. Plus, it’s good for you to make friends at work because:
- When you’re there 5 or more days a week for 40+ hours, you might as well make friends with those you’re spending all that time with
- Workplace friends can make hard days a little easier
- People you’re close to are more likely to help you when you’re stressed
- It’ll boost your performance and productivity at work
- You’re better off than making enemies at work, having a toxic work environment, and quitting because of it
You’re also likely to grow close to your coworkers because they’re “automatic” friends.
As time goes on, it will come naturally for you to become friends with your coworkers. For introverts only! You have to put in a little extra effort if you want to build a closer bond with your coworkers. You can consider:
- Dinner with coworkers
- Having coworkers over for a movie night
- Going on a double date with your significant other
- Taking your coworkers’ wine tasting
Take Advantage of Your Friends’ Friends
Your friends could help you make more friends if you’re more introverted or have trouble finding time or motivation to go to events in your community. Accept any dinner invitations that your friend extends to you with their friends.
It may feel weird at first, but you don’t really know who you’ll click with until you meet them. Plus, your friend’s friends are already “pre-approved” and there’s a good chance they’re similar to you. It should be simpler to connect as a result.
Become a Volunteer
Generally speaking, volunteering is a great way to pass the time. And chances are, you’ll meet some pretty good people while doing it.
Sign up to volunteer for a cause you care about, and have fun chatting with other volunteers over the clothing drive. Post-5K coffee sounds wonderful, thanks!
Use Social Media
Many college graduates turn to social media to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones after graduation. It’s simple to meet people your age who share your interests or experiences by joining Facebook Groups, which you can do by going to the site.
You can join a Facebook group devoted to personal finance if you’re interested in doing so, and you can interact with the group members virtually.
You can also send direct messages to people you’d like to get to know or people you haven’t talked to in a while on many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn.
And I know it’s weird to DM a “random” person on social media, but you never know what can happen just by reaching out to that girl you had biology class with last year.
Attend Group Workout Classes
Group fitness classes, whether they are offered at your neighborhood gym or at a chic studio like Orangetheory or Pure Barre, are a great way to meet people in your 20s.
If you attend group workout classes, you can make friends with people who appreciate the same kind of exercise as you, and you’ll have someone to talk to before and after class.
Making friends at the gym can help hold you responsible for your fitness goals and inspire you to work harder to achieve them. A win-win situation exists here without a doubt!
Attend Conferences
It can be a great way to meet people and establish contacts at conferences, whether you’re there for business or pleasure. The people you meet at conferences will likely share interests with you, so they are great. Making friends and connections will be simpler as a result.
You can split a hotel room or Airbnb with someone if you’re attending a conference for a personal reason, such as a hobby or faith-based event. You’ll not only save money on transportation costs, but you’ll also make a friend at the conference before you go.
Use Friend Finder Apps
There are some mobile apps these days for people looking for friends, like Bumble BFF and Friender. They are ideal for you if you recently moved to a new city or are an introvert.
These apps handle everything for you, unlike regular social media apps where it might feel awkward to send a direct message to someone you don’t know. To get started, just make a profile, add your interests, and start swiping.
Join a Spiritual Organization
Why didn’t I just say, “Join a synagogue or a church?” Well, not everyone practices a religion, but most people have an underlying curiosity about the meaning of life.
In addition to traditional religious organizations, there are philosophy clubs, meditation centers, and even atheists’ clubs. These settings are made so that people can interact with one another in deeper ways.
If you are a person of faith, or if you’re interested in who they are and what they think, you’ll find that some of the most satisfying and longest-lasting friendships arise in churches.
There’s nothing like the social support offered by religious organizations. One of the best ways to meet people after college when you don’t have the support system of campus life is through them.
Start a Side Hustle
At work, you can’t seem to meet any good friends. Give side work a thought.
There are many side businesses that encourage mingling. Think of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, and shops. Sometimes these are even better options for socializing since you don’t have stuffy corporate policies hanging over your head.
Go on Group Travel Trips
Traveling is a fantastic way to meet new people and create lasting memories, even after college. Travel organizations like EF Ultimate Break and G Adventures are simple to find on Google.
By going on a trip with a travel group, you can make new friends from all over the world, push yourself outside of your comfort zone, and get rid of your travel bug all at once.
Is Making Friends After College Hard?
The good news first: many of the people who will end up being your closest friends you haven’t even met yet. Are you stoked yet?
You may think that no one else is looking to expand their circle of friends after college and that you’re doomed to spend the rest of your days alone.
The truth is that there are countless reasons someone might want to make new friends after college. People change, move, become busy, and grow apart. Therefore, more people than you might imagine are looking for friends.
Most full-fledged adults (no, we do not consider ourselves to be part of that category) are best friends with people they met long after college. Friends are made while pursuing hobbies, working at various jobs, and through family and friends.
Why It’s Challenging to Make Friends After College?
Why is it so difficult to make friends after college, before we get to the list of friend-making strategies?
Every person has their specific struggles, but we’ve identified two general reasons this process is so dang difficult:
Lack of Proximity
In college, there are always chances to talk to people and form bonds over common interests. Even at fairly large universities, it’s typical for everyone to live close to one another during their first few years there. Finding friends is thereby facilitated naturally.
However, after college, people scatter. Even if you share a home with roommates, you still communicate with a much smaller number of potential friends overall. As a result, you must be more deliberate about maintaining a social life and expanding your network.
People Are Busier
Once you graduate, you most likely have a job that takes up 8-10 hours of your day (if you include commuting time). And many people don’t want to go out and socialize after a demanding day at work.
Additionally, people begin to get married or engage in more serious relationships after graduating from college. These occupy time on their own, and once people have children, free time essentially vanishes. Of course, these are generalizations, but they both contribute to people’s overall busyness.
With all of this in mind, finding time to hang out with friends, let alone make new ones, can be challenging.
Conclusion: Make Friends After College
The process is actually quite simple. Get out there and meet lots of people if you want to learn how to make friends once you graduate from college. Seek out clubs, activities, and organizations where other people share your interests.
I hope this article has shown you that you can make friends after college. It won’t always be easy, and you’ll have to push yourself past your comfort zone. But if you’re willing to put yourself out there, you’ll find your people.
FAQs
Is It Easy to Make Friends After Uni?
Making new friends after university really isn’t as hard as it seems. The chances to make friends are endless if you hang out in social settings, volunteer, try to interact with people in person more frequently, go to classes, and join clubs.
Is It Normal to Have Fewer Friends After College?
Even at rather large universities, it’s common for everyone to live near each other during their first couple of years. Finding friends is thereby facilitated naturally. The population scatters after college, though. Even if you share a house with roommates, you still interact with a lot fewer potential friends overall.
How Am I Supposed to Make Friends After College?
People who share your interests are the ones you’re most likely to become friends with. Join a group or club that pursues your passions if you already enjoy something, whether it be sports, reading, or the arts. Alternatively, start a completely new hobby that you’ve never done before.
