How to make friends in Florida

Making friends in Florida is certainly a challenge!
I'm not sure why everyone says that the U.S. and England have such a close connection when the U.S. doesn't appear to want English people to re locate here. They certainly don't make it easy and it is definitely expensive!It seems to be the kind of place that you could live here for many years and only know a handful of people.Maybe I feel that way because in England, the majority of people are warm and friendly!
Anyone else feel the same??

I have wondered why they all think I am from England, this kiwi just misses someone who understands me and what I am saying.

Most of them don't even know where NZ is or we are not on the map

I just hope to hear someone from home who would like to go for coffe sometime and just chat ???

Hi!
Where do you live? I assume "home" is England? If so, maybe we could get together and share our experiences?
Let me know!
Lyn.

Hi,
I am from New Zealand and live in belleview. Thanks for getting back to me.
Cheers

Hi,
Are you located in Marion County? That is the only Belleview that I have heard of. I am in Osceola County. Why on earth would a person living in New Zealand move to the States? I have never been 'down under' personally, but a friend of mine is currently travelling around NZ & Australia and tells me it is so beautiful there.
Lyn.

Hi there Lyn my name is Marion. I used to reside in Ocala in 2006 but left shortly after to the Uk then came back to Florida in 2007.  I absoluutely love it there and would love to come back but its just kinda difficult with the immigration red tape right now.  By what other means can I reside there again?

A simple chat would be a good start to make of a good friendship.

Welcome on board andie99

I guess a short presentation would be nice... May be you can tell us about your hobbies, leisures!

Regards

go to miami clubs and drink till you stink...some one will come up and talk to you

Absolutely, I could not agree any more! I'm from Hungary, I've lived in Florida 14 years, yet I still talk to more people I know from Hungary then my friends here. I email them, send them a text message, I get no reply, and when I call them, they say 'oh I'm sorry I've been meaning to get back to you, its just I've been so busy'..I mean how busy can somebody be, to not have 5 minutes in 2 weeks to call or shoot an email? ..

It's a challenge. I'm American and lived in St. Augustine and North Palm Beach. Not easy to make friends. But you just have to be social, go public events, smile, go to club events whether its at a church or what have you, etc. I usually just stay close with my family and cousins in Florida.

If you're not too shy and/or mentally insane (just kidding!), there are tons of people and activities you can engage in. Look around you.

For example, even something as rare as Badminton that is VERY popular outside, ahem, the United States, there are Badminton clubs for Badminton players to join. Turned out this place off I-4 in Orlando hosts players from every country that plays Badminton.

Google up, and you'll find any activities you want to participate in. And make friends.

Another good website is Meetup.com to connect to others with similar interests.

Friendship in Florida is not easy at all, I moved down here from PA a year ago, I don't have friends and I don't wanna make any. I go fishing on boats and I have  fun with aquaintances. Back in PA, people are nice and friendly. in Florida you gotta be careful picking your friends. I am not saying there aren't any, but be careful. cheeers

A smile will open 1000 doors!  I found the people in Florida to be very friendly but you have to stay in touch otherwise they don't return your call.  Be persistent - call them, invite them to a pot luck bbq, beach picnic...Be the instigator and watch magic happen!

Hello Cypharr, why don't you start a new thread on Florida forum with all your questions? It may help in visibility.

Harmonie.

I made some friends at the local dog park. I'm in Melbourne Florida. Talk anytime!

I'm in Delray Beach, south east Florida. I've made a few friends who are neighbors but it's always nice to meet up with fellow expats. I'd love to meet up with anyone in or around my area.

Hi,

My name is Yvonne, I just moved to florida two months ago. So far im loving it, but missing my friends.
I call back home a few times aweek, just to keep up with whats going on, but miss going for coffee and just hanging out with the girls.

I have lived in Settle WA and Coloardo (loved it there)

I was born and raised on the Northern beaches of Sydney Australia, so far I have had no problems in making friends either at work (starting to looks soon) or out of work.

The reason why I wanted to be on this site, is to hopefully meet other Aussies or anyone else for that matter :)to shair their experiences.

hi im joel., im planning to have a tour in florida by the month of june. im looking for friends in florida.

I've lived in Florida for a year and its been really hard to make friends.  Everyone said it would be easy as Americans are so friendly but I haven't found it so

I'm from England. I have been in America since 2003. I moved to Ocala, FL a month ago. I have tried to make friends but so far, no luck. Not sure why, but since being in Florida, I am getting really homesick.

One of the best ways that I have met friends in Florida is by joining the Corvettes of Charlotte County.  We own a Corvette and joined a club for Corvette enthusiasts.  We attend car shows, caravan to places, go out to breakfast, lunch and dinner, have picnics, house parties, holidays parties, raise money for charity and more. 

Joining a club, group, or social activity is one of the best ways to meet people.  There are also meetup groups in the area for such things as fishing, boating, socialization, mommy groups, exercise groups, tennis, kayaking, and more.

Find something that you enjoy doing and look to see if there is a club or group associated with that in your area.

i want friends over there,welcome to my profile Florida people

I can offer my personal advice for finding and making friends in a new place since I've been in that position quite a bit. I did move to FL from elsewhere in the US, but I really think my advice is valid no matter where you live.

Basically, here's what I found.  When we're surrounded by longtime, childhood friends, we often fool ourselves into thinking that we're a lot more interesting than we really are.  The reality is that we were simply "united" to our childhood friends by the mere fact that we shared the same school, lived in the same neighborhood, etc.  It was simply life circumstances which brought us together.

Adults, on the other hand, tend to make/seek friends almost exclusively by virtue of shared interests.  Adults befriending one another because of shared circumstances is far less common.  An example of that would be young mothers who become friends because of their shared motherhood experience.  Their kids are in the same school, play on the same team, etc. 

Assuming young children aren't in the picture, if/when you move somewhere as an adult and find that you're having a hard time making friends, I hate to say it, but there's generally only one of two causes to blame:

1) You don't have any significant interests in life other than simply "existing", or...
2) You do have significant interests but just haven't discovered a way to (or made the effort to) connect with others that share those interests.

I say this because I know.  I belonged to group #1 years ago, and it wasn't until I moved to a new area that I realized just how boring I really was.  I had just focused on being in school, paying the bills, watching TV, etc.  In other words, I was simply "existing".  I would complain about not meeting people and making friends, but then the reality was that there was very little about my interests or life experiences that naturally united me to others.  When is the last time you saw a "going through the motions of life" meetup group?

So it was a good time to look at myself and what I wanted out of life other than just waking up and breathing.  I thought about those things which I had always wanted to do, but kept putting off.  For me personally, it was ballroom/salsa/swing dancing, studying Spanish, and martial arts. 

Trust me - if/when you pursue an interesting hobby which inherently involves interaction with others, the friends will follow. 

The final thing I'll add is that you should only pursue interests and/or hobbies that genuinely interest you.  Not only will you have a greater sense of fulfillment, but it will allow for meeting and making friends via that interest a more natural/organic process.  As an example, through dancing I routinely met both men and women who clearly weren't interested in dancing.  Instead, they started taking classes for the sole purpose of meeting others.  Don't do that.  Those who are truly interested in a hobby or activity are indeed interested in befriending others who share that interest.  But if you're not passionately interested in the activity that you're engaged in, it will show, and others will know.

That's all the advice I can give.  Hopefully it helps.

Thank you languagetraveler for these tips!

Aurélie

I have been in Miami for 6 years and have only made friends within my community (french). I do speak Spanish though but even then, I have not met any hispanic friends. the Cubans stay between themselves and they all have big families so they don't need friends I think. I have tried groups like meet ups but it's very artificial and I could not find common points with people there even though meetups are focused on one interest. I just have not clicked with anyone here. I lived in MD for several years and made good friends there, so it's not that I CAN'T make friends, I know. It's just that there is a certain mentality in Miami that I can't connect with, I guess. It's been really hard and still is.

Am in the same boat.. .similar experiences (not) meeting people ... and missing the crew back home.  Message me if you want to hang out... i'm desperate for a good old night out or a lunch or ... well, anything... especially welcome Aussies/Kiwis/Brits but you know... anyone really that knows what its like.  I'm in Miami on my own and love it ... but wouldn't mind some expat friends to share the experience.

Hello !

I am French living in Florida, I have some friends here after one year doing nothing waiting for my green card ! Now we are a couple of people, its very nice but we are all french !!! It would be great to meet other people not only french ! if you want you can contact me at : [email protected]

See you

@Languagetraveler  BRILLIANT!

Okay, I'm home now after 4 years overseas and living in SW FL for the first time.  I'm basically in the same position as the rest of you (but without an accent lol).

I'm in Naples--if anybody wants to meet for lunch, a drink, whatever, just let me know!

Been here 29 years - First few year were difficult. Bars and nightclub won't get you far!

In my experience, best way to make friends here is to get involved in a hobby. I made ton's of friend because of my passion for flying, surf kayaking, fishing.

I'm very involved in politic and made 1000's of friends now spread all over the US.

So, whatever is your interest jump into it and you will make friends.

Hi am in south florida with 6 yr old son also looking for friends if you want to get a  bite to eat contact me [email protected] we are currently visiting the zoo and other attractions would be nice to have other adult to chat with

Caribbeangirlinfl wrote:

Hi am in south florida with 6 yr old son also looking for friends if you want to get a  bite to eat contact me [email protected] we are currently visiting the zoo and other attractions would be nice to have other adult to chat with

South FL is a big, big area!  Why not name your city?

Sorry meant to write south Miami kendall

Hola!
Como estas? Lei que hablas espanol y frances y que te gustaria hacer amistades en Florida.
Yo tengo 4 meses por aqui y tambien me resulta complicado.
If you wanna make a friend...here I am.
Good luck!

Hi xyxzen,

Can you please post in English only on the the Anglophone forum.

Thank you,

David.

I have been here for a few days, not adapted locales here. Please tell me how to improve my oral english in a short time. I am willing to exchange anythng about China with others.I'm a researcher on civil engineering, will help anybody if he/she has needs.