If there is one thing I noticed about following discussions on various local groups on Reddit and Facebook, is that people seem to struggle to make friends.
You would think with the connected world we live in, this would be easy.
I mean online dating gives you access to a ton of people, with better match results and without having to endure the bar scene. Or club or whatever your scene is.
Even before covid-19 hit, people were more connected online than they ever have been but feeling more disconnected and less connection with actual friends.
Is Making Friends In Ottawa Difficult?
It isn’t easy comparing Ottawa to Toronto or Montreal for cities. Ottawa might seem more like a town but it is the 6th largest city in Canada and it probably has a reputation for being a more serious city with the government here. That said it is also a family town and people in general are fairly friendly.
Why do people find it difficult to meet new people?
These comments and questions are so common that it makes you wonder why. The answers can be anything from people being shy, not knowing of how others do it and in the extreme cases some people have friends that they don’t like but don’t do anything about it.
On the Facebook Men’s Group page, this is probably one of the most common requests, people looking to make friends or asking peers for help in meeting people.
Whatever is your reason for getting here will share 6 quick tips on meeting new people and making friends. That being 6 tips where if you are a guy looking to meet some new people you could always join our Men’s Club Ottawa group.
- Join Ottawa Groups
- Volunteer
- Dating Apps
- Be A Good Neighbour
- Hobbies
- Ottawa Events
Join Ottawa Groups
You could just do this one tip and be doing it all day long. You can find groups on Facebook, see adds on Kijiji and even Meetup. Kinda like the Meetup Men’s group we created to list our events. This includes Reddit where there are almost 200,000 members! Just go to Facebook > groups and start looking at what’s in town. Same goes for Meetup.
Just blindly search the groups and click on something that catches your interest.
Volunteer In Ottawa
For some people that don’t like volunteering, you can skip this. But volunteering is a way to give back to your community and it is an easy way to meet people and make new friends in the process. It is also an excellent way to meet new dating prospects.
Pro tip: if you like dogs, get a rescue dog. Dogs are an easy way to start to getting to know the people in your neighbourhood. Check out Ottawa Dog Rescue if interested.
Dating Apps
Online dating is an easy way to meet people especially for dating. Just note that some people use dating sites to look for friends as well so no need to think of dating as for just that.
If you are going to setup any online dating profiles, you’ll want to take extra time into using good photos and have a well written profile. Get your friends to help you with this and this is also a great way to reconnect or stay connected with your buddies. You can do the same for your coworkers.
You could also spend all day on various social apps.
Be A Good Neighbour
Sounds kinda obvious but a few acts of kindness goes a long way. If you have a residents association, ask to see if you can volunteer as a means of getting to know your neighbours better.
Quick often your neighbourhood will have it’s own Facebook group so just hop on there and see what local groups are in your back yard.
Hobbies
Either you have hobbies you like, or there are ones you are curious of trying. Either way, whatever your hobbies are, go act out on them. Hobbies are an easy way to connect with strangers when you share something in common.
Ottawa Events
Of course you could go to Facebook to find local events in town and you can do the same with Meetup in Ottawa. You have too many event directories to check out so here are a few
- https://ottawatourism.ca/en/event-calendar
- https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/canada–ottawa/events/
- https://www.ottawafestivals.ca/calendar/
Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
If you find yourself in the analysis paralysis then just pick something like an event, register for it so you are committed and put that on your calendar.
There are way more ideas than the 6 listed and really it is never ending. There are some great people out there you just haven’t met yet so jump in the deep end and have fun.