How to Make Friends in a New City: Berkeley
Making new friends as an adult can be difficult, especially when you’re in a brand-new city with no family or acquaintances around. But that’s part of the excitement of starting over in a new place. It may take a bit of work to find your groove and join new social circles, but the results will be worth it. If you’re totally new to Berkeley, there are plenty of great places you can go to make new friends and meet like-minded people.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Join a Gym
Friends who workout together stay together. Not only is a gym membership great for maintaining a healthy fitness regime, but it’s also a great way to meet new people. Ask someone for advice about their exercise regimen, strike up a conversation at the juice bar, or offer to spot someone who looks like they could use a hand on the bench press. You can even invite acquaintances to hit the gym with you and bond over dumbbells and treadmills. Once you start visiting the same gym more and more, you’ll start seeing familiar faces, and pretty soon you’ll find yourself part of a small community. Better yet, join a gym for a particular sport, such as a rock-climbing gym.
In West Berkeley, check out Berkeley Ironworks for some challenging climbing walls, or hit up Kids Gym Berkeley if you want to take your kids to a huge indoor playground while you mingle with the other parents.
Take an Art Class
An art class is great way to hang out with new friends or meet new people. There’s something about channeling your creative energy together that seems to bring people together. The Berkeley Art Studio near UC Berkeley, Expressions Gallery Art Center in South Berkeley, and The Potters’ Studio in West Berkeley are all great options to consider. You can take classes in sculpture, fine art, or photography and share your latest creation with the person sitting next to you. If you’ve always wanted to be prolific with a brush but never got around to diving into the hobby, now’s your chance to learn a new skill, create some beautiful artwork to display around the house, and make great new friends in the process.
Live Music
Enjoying live music at a small venue is a nice, low-stress way to meet new people. The pressures of one-on-one interaction in a quiet, slightly awkward environment can make individuals want to avoid meeting new people altogether. At a music venue, you’re so busy bopping along to the catchy tunes and enjoying your favorite local artists that it becomes a very natural way to meet new people.
Cornerstone Craft Beer & Live Music is a popular venue in Downtown Berkeley with a huge beer hall and ping pong tables. The Alternative Music Foundation, also referred to as 924 Gilman or Gilman for short, is a volunteer-run space for indie musicians in West Berkeley, and many big-name bands got their start at this venue.
Visit Independent Bookstores
If you’re an avid reader, you’ll can meet like-minded folks at independent bookstores. People don’t go to these bookstores just to buy books, they go to meet authors, support a local small business, stumble upon new books, or meet fellow book lovers. Spending time at independent bookstores is a great way to get out into the community and make friends while also supporting a local book shop.
Check out Pegasus Books Downtown in the downtown area or Mrs. Dalloway’s in Elmwood for literary events, author readings, book signings, and more.