Finding Friends in you 20s

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Part of the reason I moved to Wimbledon after getting my job here (well I guess THE reason) was because one of my best friends told me too. Roisin lives on the same train line but further out so it meant automatically I had someone I knew near by. While some of our other school friends live in London too we don't often see them. They both have busy lives with jobs, partners and other friendship groups. I have a couple of other friends around (hello Dale!) but I've been keen to meet new people as it can still get a bit lonely.

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I read this book earlier in the year and thought about some of the tactics that the author employed to meet people:

• Clubs - I tried to go to a knitting group I found on the internet but when I showed up I couldn't see anyone that was knitting! Since then I joined a book club but so far have been too much of a chicken to actually attend any meetings...
• Friend set ups - I've met two friends of friends so far. The awkward phone swap and meeting in a bar feels very blind date. They are both lovely and one I've met a few times since, so we're on the right track :)
• Housemates - This isn't in the book but I'm lucky enough to have moved in with some amazing girls who I now count as friends.
• Work - It's hard to get past the work life boundaries and most of the people I've been working with are in relationships and live all over London. That said we've still had some fun nights out though and think we'll keep in touch.
• The gym - Oddly this has been rather successful! I didn't really join to meet people - it was more to get fit and loss some of that desk job weight! However after a charity event at the gym some of the other girls from my step class and I made plans to  meet up after work and had a great time. 

If you do move somewhere new and feel lonely I suggest keeping busy. Have rarely felt lonely in London (the exception being when we got some bad family news) because there is so much to do and it's not unusual for people to be sat in cafe's or walking around museums on their own. The gigs, the gym and cinema are always a win too. Chances are you'll meet people with similar interests while you're there too.