So you’re in a new city. Congratulations! I am so excited for you! So you want to meet people. Now what? For me, I absolutely love meeting new people and making new friends. I am very extroverted, and get my energy from being surrounded by people, sometimes especially strangers. However, even I can admit that uprooting your life and moving to a new city where you know practically nobody can be really hard. Especially if you aren’t planning on staying in that new city for very long. 

Disclaimer: I did choose cities where I had at least one close friend, and was traveling with my boyfriend for half of the time. I also had roommates in Boston who introduced me to a lot of their friends. Nonetheless, these were my tried and true, 3 most successful ways to make new friends in a new city.

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1. BumbleBFF

Yes, this really works. No, this is not an ad. I feel that especially when I have a boyfriend, it is harder to make new friends, since I tend to be going out less. And obviously, I am not going on dates with strangers who could potentially introduce me to future BFFs. It was definitely funny at first, looking at girls profiles and trying to judge whether or not we would be compatible as friends. I ended up trying to mainly match with girls who were in the same neighborhood as me, so that we could easily meet up for coffee or dinner or a hot girl walk.

I ended up meeting and really getting along with one girl, Izzy, who was in a very similar situation as me. She had just moved to Boston, was living with her fiancé and trying to make more girlfriends! We quickly bonded over our shared love for Love Island UK (of course, the other Love Islands are just not as good) and trying new restaurants around the city! 

2. Gym / Fitness Studio

This one is honestly the most ideal in my opinion, because you don’t have to come up with something random to do to hang out. You’re already doing it and already have that in common! Also, a lot of gyms and fitness studios will host social events for their members. Literally the perfect place to meet a bunch of people with similar interests and do something fun together. In Boston I was going to Barry’s classes and sometimes to Equinox. I went to an OrangeTheory class towards the very end of my trip, and wish I had gone there way sooner. The people there were so much friendlier, and they had social events almost every week, especially in the summer. I didn’t end up being able to make it to the one event they had a week after I went, but am planning to go in Los Angeles, now that I’ve moved back here a bit more permanently.

This is my BFF Racheal that I met at the Santa Monica Equinox hehe, my main gym in Los Angeles! I definitely got lucky meeting her, and we got close pretty quickly. I also met my boyfriend at this same gym haha so I may be biased, but I think fitness can be such a great way to meet people. Or maybe there is something in the water at my gym that makes people way more friendly and chatty. At this point I have made a lot of friends from the gym and it has made the whole experience way more enjoyable for me. 

3. Social Media

When I was in Boston, I was getting targeted on TikTok by so many Boston girlies who had also just moved to the city and were also looking for new friends! It was super easy to add them on social media and send a quick DM to set up a coffee or drinks date! 

However, this one was the least successful for me, since it ended up being hard to coordinate schedules. Also, since it was pretty much totally random, I think it made it easier for either person to sort of bail on plans last minute. Or maybe they were just looking for more followers, I’m not totally sure. One girl kept posting videos about how sad she was to be alone and how no one wanted to be her friend and I was like okay…interesting approach. I definitely can’t be the only one DMing you to hang out lol but to each their own!

All in all, I’ve found that more often than not, people are open to making new friends. A lot of people can be shy and unsure how to make the first move, so confidence is key. W

hat’s your favorite way to make new friends in a new city? Drop a comment below, and be sure to sign up for my mailing list to stay in the loop on new posts every week!

💙mariss