I’ve been trying to make friends for years. I’ve scoured the internet for tips time and time again, and what keeps coming up is “join something.”
And so, for the past few years, I’ve kept tabs on community events. I’ve paid attention to the city sponsored events and the libraries within a 20 minute driving distance to me. I’ll check Facebook events and Meetup and…
And after checking it for about two years, nothing has even remotely stood out to me. Almost all events are for little kids (toddler story time comprises most of this) or are one time marathons right downtown (I’m disabled so fitness isn’t feasible long term along either working and doing chores, plus I’m skeptical if I can make friends at one time events). Every now and then I’ll see something for new mothers, a few business promotions that are marked as events (…which isn’t social, they just want you to come to their store), some guy I’ve never heard of giving a lecture on something incredibly boring and that’s it. I’ve been willing to try new things, but there really is nothing going on around me. The nearest actual social gatherings— regardless if they’re a topic I’m interested in—I’ve found is at least 45 minutes away in one direction, which I also don’t think is feasible long term.
I’ve even tried checking out different churches (that’s a big thing in the area and I am religious), but it’s the same story as my own church — there’s a few kids, but the average age is at least 65. I’m in my early twenties, and there might be one, maybe two people other than me between the ages of 18 and 40.
I just legitimately don’t know where I’m supposed to meet people in a setting like this. I’m shy too, so that’s not helpful either I’m afraid