What's the easiest city in the U.S. to build a friend group/social circle from scratch?
Assume late 20s male completely from scratch so no connections or friends from work. I wouldn't necessarily consider dating in the equation but if that helps with building a social circle then sure.
Assume many on here will say NYC which may be true, but I would just push back a bit and say the higher COL might make it harder to consistently go out on both the weekday and weekends and people are supposedly not as friendly to strangers/tough dating scene? (I could be completely wrong, but maybe there is a finance bias on here)
Let's consider factors like young urban population, friendly crowd, people open to adding people into their existing social groups, lots of different social club options, strong nightlife, entertainment, activities, etc.
If not a specific city, perhaps choose a region of the country like West (Cali, Scottsdale, Vegas, Phoenix), Northeast (NYC, BOS, Philly, DC), South (Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Nashville, Houston), Midwest (Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis)
Haven't seen a thread like this before so curious to see everyone's thoughts!
Bump
Nashville or Austin
Finding new friends as an adult is always hard, that's the truth for almost any Western country. While US Americans are a bit more "friendly and social" (it's part of the American culture), it would still present a challenge for most adults in professional jobs.
I have found friends through...
- the gym (look for social gyms and use their promo days to see whether people are friendly)
- hobbies; go out and meet people in your hobby meets like car meets, fan clubs, ham radio, whatever you do
- church. A very good way to meet people.
- professional clubs for your job, either through the office or online
The last one is a bit tricky... I always made a huge amount of friends through my girlfriends. This is difficult if you break up.
I really like the atmosphere in
Austin
Chico, CA
Tucson (be aware that crime has gone up now)
Phoenix and surrounding cities
Bump
Would likely be a city with a ton of transplants with a ton of things to do
Chicago or Nashville is my guess
Minneapolis is hands down one of the most insular cities in the sense that jobs/companies really care which HS you went to (and it’s beyond click-y and tough for outsiders to find a circle…bc people associate with their HS circles)
Have heard similar feedback about Atlanta being tough (and people not from the area generally will opt for a different southern city)
Have heard good things about Chicago given Midwest culture. Surprised to see Nashville twice here already.
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