How to make new friends in midlife

Finding new friends was much easier as an 8 year-old on the playground. After 50, it feels a bit more desperate.

My guest today is Pam Lamp. Three years ago she moved to Nashville, TN from Houston, TX where she left behind a strong network of friends built over twenty years time. She had made new friends with previous moves in her younger years, but this was different. She didn’t have the kids or a job to grease the wheels of easy connections. It was just Pam.

This move to a new city was going to be a very big change in her life. She knew this would be difficult for her and making friends would be of the utmost importance. A social circle, connections to people, true friendships were the key to making a new life in Nashville.

How to find friends in a new city

Pam gave herself an assignment, one she named: My New Thing For Today. Each and every day she would do something new in order to meet people in Nashville. In the episode, you will hear just a few of the things she tried along with what worked and what did not.

Her project was successful. One year later she and her husband hosted a party for their new friends and 40 showed up! She now sees that party as the turning point in calling Nashville home.

Even with a strong social network in place, Pam continues her project of doing one new thing each day. She finds it keeps her life vibrant and interesting and she has no intention of letting things slide.

A bigger friend finding project

At her husband’s urging, Pam needed to find a purpose in her days. When he asked her what she would want to DO if income was not a requirement, her answer simply spilled out. Pam is now a blogger, having dedicated herself to meeting more new people and writing about her encounters. Her blog, Who I Met Today, allows her to reach out to complete strangers.