How to make female friends in NOVA (daycare, neighborhood)

[linie38]

Im a Latina woman about to turn 30. I am recently remarried to my husband. We both have children from a previous marraige. I would like to make some female friends but find it difficut. My neibors are not oppening up to me even after I have reached out to them.. any suggetions. I am hispanic my husband is white, I dont know if that has anything to do with it.

[Caladium]

Meetup groups are the way to go. Volunteering is good, too. Help out at one o your kids schools, and you'll probably meet other moms.

[EuroExpat]

If your kids go to school already - volunteer in their classes or with the PTA. Hang out at the bus stop with the other moms and start a conversation. If they're not at school yet, go to playgroups, library story hours, find groups at meetup as suggested or just talk to people at the neighborhood playground.

Depending on your personality, it can be tough to make friends in this area. I have made three very close friends; one moved away two years ago and one is moving in three weeks. I have other friends that I see weekly but it took years to get to this point. This is most likely because of my personality.

[ChristineVA]

I have lived in my neighborhood for over 16 years. I have not made one friend in the neighborhood with the exception of my next door neighbor who used to do daycare for my son. Even at that, we don't get together and do things. No is "unfriendly" in my neighborhood--people are just not interested and are either working all the time or at different stages in their lives that there's not a lot of commonality.

Sometimes you can get very lucky and move into a community that has a lot of young children and stay-at-home parents that all seem to be in the same boat as you. When that happens, you sort of hit a "friend" gold mine but I don't find that to be a common occurrence.

As other posters have suggested, you are going to have to go outside of your neighborhood, work in the schools or get involved in the kids' sports programs in order to meet other women who have commonalities with you.

[ACWhite]

Do you have time (and the interest) to play sports? Tennis and softball are good for meeting people. Many counties offer reasonably priced classes at different levels, and you can organize people you meet in the classes to play more. Book clubs are another possibility.

[EuroExpat]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Do you have time (and the interest) to play sports? Tennis and softball are good for meeting people. Many counties offer reasonably priced classes at different levels, and you can organize people you meet in the classes to play more. Book clubs are another possibility.

This! And other classes as well, such as photography, art, acting, cooking..

[linie38]

I dont feel comfortable talking to the people at my school I suffer from a inferiority complex. and I think your right meetup is the way to go. I just want one good female friend my husband is enough just thought it would be nice to have a female friend

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by linie38

I dont feel comfortable talking to the people at my school I suffer from a inferiority complex. and I think your right meetup is the way to go. I just want one good female friend my husband is enough just thought it would be nice to have a female friend

If you're shy/don't feel comfortable talking to people I highly recommend checking out toastmasters. Go to a few different groups until you find one where the people "click" for you. Avoid the ones at office building--check ones at libraries, community centers, etc.

Toastmaster is made for shy people, so it's easy to meet people in the same boat as you. People tell stories mostly drawn from their own life, so you get to know people pretty well. They often tell funny stories, so if nothing else you'll have a few good laughs. Everyone talks a little bit at every meeting, but the table topics make it easy for shy people.

They have a lot of toastmaster groups in northern Virginia. There's bound to be 10 or so close to where you live. You can find them by googling toastmasters. They have a fee if you decide to join, but you can visit a club for quite awhile before joining.

[linie38]

thank you