Feeling very isolated living in the city?

[CCrox24]

I thought that it would be easier to meet people living in the city...but I find myself just walking around passing tons and tons of people my age, but that's just it - they're passing by me (either on the street, in the market, at the shops) and it's not like you say hello to random people walking by you on the street. So that's the dilemna - how the heck do you meet people? I'm not desperate and I don't want to appear to be, but it would be nice to meet some new people.

[SpaceMonkey]

I have this problem as well. It helps that my work environment is dominated by people in their 20s, but most people there are slightly older than me, and a lot of them have fiances or new spouses, so it seems like they are kind of in a different life stage (I'm 23, this is my first full-time job out of college). I live with two other people my age, but we don't "click" especially well.

There are a couple of people I know from college who now live in the area, so I have been spending some time with them. But it seems somewhat limiting and I would like to start to meet entirely new people.

[winneythepooh7]

Try to find groups to get involved in. Craigslist. Meetup.com. If nothing catches your eye, start your own.

[wordsmith]

It is NOT easy to meet people in cities, because people tend toward the "mind my own business" mentality.

During my city-dwelling, had I not had housemates and a network of acquaintances that grew through my housemates, our jobs and people we knew through those, I'd have had a hard time meeting people.

[Spinney]

That was my experience in Vancouver. I didn't know anyone really when I moved, aside from a bit of extended family so I had no roommates. With the number of wierdos and hard drug users around I didn't feel comfortable moving in with complete strangers, particularly while I wasn't financially stable. Everyone I worked with lived about a hour drive from where I was, and I couldn't afford a car lol. I ended up going to work every morning, and then coming back to my empty apartment at night. Probably the loneliest year of my life, and I was in a city that was like 15 times larger than I had ever been in before.

When I accepted a job back on the east coast in a city a fraction of the size I was able to find a couple decent guys looking for another roommate and wow...what a difference. I've met more people in the last 2 months here in this boring little town than I would have in 5 or 6 years in Vancouver.

I just couldn't get over that mind your own business mentality, even though I eventually started to slip into it myself. It's like a mental barrier to isolate you from the freaks heh.

[red]

join a club, take a class, play on a rec sports team, etc.

this morning i networked with someone whose wife works in HR at a company that i want to work for and met another nice couple... at the dog park!

i have made several great friends through my running group, a cooking class i took, from my volunteer work, etc.

if you open yourself up and chat with people, that's the best way to meet new friends. if you have something in common with them, that can be a good opener.

[old_school_soul]

and it's not like you say hello to random people walking by you on the street.

Why not? I've done this before.

[Spinney]

I tried that in Vancouver, and people just look at you like you're wierd :googly:

[Krissy2006]

in the same category, how do you meet ppl, when you aren't especially into the bar scene?...

[red]

see my post above. i rarely drink anymore and i meet lots of people.

[SunnyBunny24]

I feel like that not just in the city but everywhere in general..you can't expect to just randomly meet people unless you have the courage to go up to someone who you find interesting and start chitchatting with them. heck, i bet if i had more courage to start a conversation id meet plenty of people everyday