For those who moved to ARLCo within say 10 years:
– What was the “best” way to make friends here?
– How many good friends do you have?
This may sound cliched but . . . activities of a common interest. I did it through sports. I found a team via craigslist, met some people, which led to getting on other teams and meeting more people.
It might sound silly, but I joined an adult kickball team after moving here out of college 5 years ago. I didn't know anyone in the area besides my sister. The vast majority of my DC friends are either from kickball or friends of people I met through kickball.
coastal96 said:
This may sound cliched but . . . activities of a common interest. I did it through sports. I found a team via craigslist, met some people, which led to getting on other teams and meeting more people.
Not cliche. I started going to group rides at a bike shop, then joined a racing team. Have met dozens of people–both friends and professional contacts–doing that. For what it’s worth, Revolution Cycles has some smaller group rides, while Fresh Bikes has really huge ones. I’d recommend starting with Revo for that reason. Or check out running stores if that’s more your thing.
i second kickball, or group sports in general. i joined a league out of college (hell, 10 years ago) and it was a lot of fun. most of my college crew is here, as is The Boyfriend's entire high school crowd, so my circle tends to stay within those lines.
alumni groups and MeetUps are supposed to be good resources too, but i can't speak from experience there.
I set up evite happy hour get togethers with coworkers and suggested that they add on their friends. The gatherings were pretty regular 1-2 times per month. Starting out we might have had like 5-6 people and then it got to be about 30 so you got to meet a lot of new people…friends of friends of friends. And soon you had your own group.
1. Activities of a common interest. For me that has meant adult kickball league, university alumni association, watching football at the local alumni bar, dog parks, etc. The only way to meet people is to get out there and the easiest way to do that is to go out and do something
2. In the area? A few good friends. No best friends yet.
JimPB- Welcome to Arlington!
I wouldn't comment on “how many good friends i have in Arlington” ha ha that would probably break your HEART!
LOCAL SPOTS/ PLACES TO MEET NEW PEOPLE.
* Local GYM
* Carpool in Ballston
* Local coffee shop's
* GreenART Bus
* Running: Streets, Trails & Washington lee HS track
I heard Continental has a Corn Hole league! All major universities also have a “CANS” league. If you are an alumni of the universities that participate you can play for free. There are lots of Arlington sports leagues that need 75% of the team to be Arlington Residents and would be thrilled to have a Arlington resident on the team.
I agree with the sports thing…I've met quite a few good friends through running. Though not all of them live in Arlington proper.
I moved here in Sept 2010 and have had trouble with this as well. I am 34, engaged, and moved here with my fiance for his job with the gov't. I work for a local hospital and the people at work are all either surgeons (mostly men with families of their own to get home to) or younger (25ish) guys and girls that I am certainly friendly with, but really dont think I will become best friends with – I have had dinner/drinks with a few of them but it is just not as easy as I thought. I moved from Philly where most of my girlfriends still live and it has been tough being down here.
I love sports but injured my back pretty badly during our move in September '10 and have been doing the PT thing ever since and nursing a pretty bad back. So kickball, unfortunatley is out. I went to a small state school in PA so I have no alumni bars/CAN programs. Those programs, btw, are pretty tight knit. I tried a bowling league and I really felt like an outcast since evryone knew everyone already and the DC/DC Metro people are not the easiest to break into.
I have found that most people in my age group have a tight knot group of friends already (from local colleges) or are temporarily living here — or know that I am temporarily living here, and just dont connect well. My finace travels A LOT and most weeks he is gone M-F. I wish I could say I have had a better experience but I can't. I have tried a lot of different things – Pilates, going to any happy hour I am invited to, reaching out to people in my age group at work – most have children now or live in DC. Any other ideas would be appreciated! =)
MC, try yelp.com. There are a lot of events, and some nice people in their 30s and 40s.
-Hanging out at more low-key bars like L.A. Bar, Old Arlington Grill, Galaxy Hut, The Continental where you can actually have a good conversation
-Taking classes at Clarendon Adult Education Center
-Joining sports or gaming leagues (check out the skee-ball leagues at Continental if they still have them, etc.)
-Dance classes like salsa or swing are definitely big friend-makers
-Exercise classes at a gym or something like Jazzercise or Zumba
-Definitely good advice to start organizing happy hours et al. Also think about putting a group together to do something fun like river rafting, going to Nats games, etc.
-Events through Things To Do DC (ThingsToDoDC.com)
I have a lot of friends in the area, but many of us wound up here right after college or soon thereafter. However, I've expanded my friend base a great deal through activities like the above.
Arlingtonian said:
-Definitely good advice to start organizing happy hours et al.
ARLnow happy hour in 2017!
