Thursday, May 7, 2009

Where have all the people gone?


I know i have been MIA for a while and I've unfairly left Kate to hold down the fort but I should be here more frequently from now on (hopefully).

I have noticed on a number of blogs the topic of MEETING NEW PEOPLE has come up. I started talking to a couple of my friends about it and it seems like everybody wants to meet new people but no one is really to sure how to go about it.

I really miss school where you were forced to socialise with 30 other people your own age for over 6 hours a day. You were forced into making friends, it was impossible not to find someone to hang out with, even if it was only out of convenience.

Since moving to Melbourne and getting settled in I am lucky to meet one new person a week. And if I do meet someone, well as an adult I just don't know how you say to someone "hey do you want to be my friend?" It just sounds too needy. Too desperate. Too lonely! (A bit like this post is starting to sound.)

I don't have a solution but I do have two places where I have been successful with meeting nice normal but interesting people. The first place was the internet cafe/ laundry mat. It is always full of students and backpackers and people are generally hanging around looking for ways to waste time. I met a really nice German guy there. The bonus of meeting travellers is you can go and do cheesy tourist things you normally wouldn't go and do.

Before revealing the other place I have to offer up a disclaimer of attempt at your own risk. So the second place is a bar. I guarantee if you go to a pub alone and sit at the bar someone will talk to you. I met two lovely bar tenders and a couple of friendly fellows. I didn't have much luck talking to any women in bars though?

OK so that's the pitifully small amount of knowledge I have to offer. Hit me with some suggestions of good places to meet people in the comment section because I am getting really tired of watching Law & Order every night of the week.

image from yyellowbird

11 comments:

  1. My girlfriend and I have just organised ourselves a mixed netball team, hopefully that should get the socialising juices flowing.

    Also, I'm mulling over organising some sort of blogger dinner/cocktail party thing inspired entirely by this blog. Kind of everything related to melbourne and having a good time internetty people. What do you think?

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  2. yeah it was great at school, well the meeting people part. it was so easy!! i dont know where to meet people... but i would love to! study? short courses??

    oh mixed netball is a GREAT idea! definitly a great way to get the social juices flowing. and a blogger dinner/cocktail party sounds like a very fun idea! count me in!

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  3. Michael it is like you are reading my mind! I have been wondering how to organise some kind of blogger get together. I was secretlty hoping by posting this someone might suggest it... and here you are.

    I think it is a great idea.

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  4. When I moved here I took a French class. I probably didn't make any life long friends out of it but it was still fun. Then I went along on a sketch group earlier this year and met 4 new people who I've been in touch with since. There's heaps of stuff out there, but the hard part is finding out about it.

    And count me in on a Blogger get together!

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  5. ooo i love yyellow birds work! I've meet all my friends from art galleries. I find, if you go to the same one often enough, all the regulars are there and you slowly get to know them all :) oh, a few drinks usually is a good social lubricant ahaha
    xoxo

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  6. Awww... I'm jealous. Can you make the blogger get-together when I'm next down in Melbourne?

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  7. i don't know either! i've met most of my new pals either at work or strangely when i go to places by myself...

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  8. I was only in Melbourne for a week and in that time I met some really lovely, friendly people. It felt like everyone was doing something amazing with their life!

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  9. You're quite right Amanda re not easy to make new friends. We all have the same problem. I like the idea of Blogger's dinner but already can see myself stuttering and hiding in a corner chewing my finger nails ... :D

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  10. that picture is sublime. unfortunetly I am not a good person to give advice on meeting people because I am socially akward, and aside from close friends, think that random people approaching me is creepy.
    -indigo

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  11. yeah laundromats are great for meeting people, when my machine broke I had to use the local one for a bit and I was always eyeing off people!! I met a bunch of people when I went to uni (as a mature age student), but I don't get out much these days to meet more newbies.

    I like the idea of a bloggers dinner too, or even a meet up in a quietish bar, something informal.

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