The Stress-Free Guide to Settling Down in a New City - Keep Up Your Hobbies

Keep Up Your Hobbies (or Dig Up Old Ones)

A great way to find people with similar interests to you is to get out and get active with your favorite hobbies, even if they're ones you haven't visited in awhile. If you like electronic music, there's bound to be a group dedicated to that culture. If you are or used to be a gamer, find your local gaming shop and drop in for a Magic: The Gathering Draft. Even if it's something you haven't done for years, it's a great way to get out and meet like-minded people. Meetup.com is a great way to find groups based on similar interests in your area—just type in where you are and what you're looking for and you'll probably find multiple groups getting together during the week. And, if you don't find one (or don't find one that suits you), start your own! Rarely are you the only one with your interests in a given town, and if you can't find anyone, make them come to you.P

Apart from your own hobbies, I can't recommend getting involved with community service and other local organizations enough. That may make you roll your eyes, but it's something you don't need any former experience to get involved in, everyone's always super friendly, and at the very least, you'll get some free DIY skills out of it. Anything that gets you out and social is going to make you feel better than sitting at home doing nothing, so you've got nothing to lose by getting out there.

Meet Friends of FriendsP

If you already have a friend or two in town, you're pretty lucky. Take advantage of it! Even if you aren't best friends with them, accept any invitation you get to hang out—you might find a friend of theirs that you have a remarkable amount in common with. Don't give up after one meeting, either. The more time you spend around people, the more likely you are to become friends with them, even if you didn't originally think you would. After all, are we really in a position to be picky?P

Don't be afraid to contribute to the group, either. Don't let everyone else always make the plans and invite you, or you'll seem like you aren't interested. if you've got a place in that Google Doc you want to go eat for dinner, go ahead and invite all of them out. That way you seem like an actual contributor and not just a tagalong, and they'll be more likely to think of you when other plans come around.P

Take InitiativeP

SEXPAND

You won't meet anybody just sitting at home alone, so when you have the opportunity to get out of the house, take it. Instead of getting takeout and heading home, eat out by yourself. Work in coffee shops. It may feel awkward at first, but there isn't anything wrong with grabbing a book (or your favorite read-it-later service) and enjoying the sunshine a little. You never know when someone will strike up a conversation about what you're reading.P

Again, don't turn down any invitations you get. Even if it's something you wouldn't necessarily do, take the opportunity to get out of the house (unless, you know, it's an invitation to go rob a bank—it's probably okay to turn that down).