Meeting New People

Have you ever moved to a new place and had to start over in the “relationships” category? That’s where Josh and I find ourselves now, and I am trying to figure it out.

If you follow my blog, you know that we moved to Manitowoc back in May for Josh’s new job. Since our move, we have met several people through his work but are still trying to break into the community.

This move is unlike our move to Madison because we don’t have friends here already. In fact, the only people we know are the ones Josh works with. And since we live far enough away that we can’t just rely on our friendships from where we grew up, it’s time to make new friends.

I know that this process will be an on-going one, but as I figure out different things or come up with great ways to meet new people, I will gladly share them here. (I mean; we can’t be the only ones trying to make new friends in a new town).

So today, I will share the only tip I have so far.

When you are asked to do something outside of work with a co-worker, say YES! I don’t care if it’s after work drinks, a round of golf, or joining a work-league of some sort. Just commit!

After Josh and I moved in and he started work, one of the guys he works really stepped up and helped make us feel more at home. The first thing we were invited to was trivia, which is something we had done with friends back in Madison, so we accepted the invite. Then he invited us to be on his volleyball team (one of the local bars has a Tuesday night volleyball league). Saying “yes” to these invites was such a good thing! We were able to meet several people and also become more acquainted with our new town.

I highly recommend accepting invitations from your co-workers to do things, (even if it’s to do something you don’t have an interest in). By accepting invitations, you open the door to receiving additional invites, meeting new people, and can start to feel like you belong.