Gethy

Hi all,

Just trying to pin down a few ways to approach making new friends once you move to Australia. I am a half decent footballer and I was thinking of joining some soccer teams if we ever get there. We don’t have a family of our own so we only mix with a small circle of friends in the UK. Most of my friends are from my school days but you pick up a few as you go along in life, work etc.

Can you give me your ideas and feelings on embracing the Australian culture and making new friends? ?

Deadmeat

Are you heading for Brisbane and need a goalkeeper?

spottydog

Our plan before we get there is to find a/some scuba club(s) to join. Clubs enable you to meet people with similar interests to you and give you something to talk about before you get to know each other. Some of my closest friends in the UK I met through the dive club.

Otherwise if you're heading to a city this site seems to organise a number of get togethers.

HTH

Pollyana

Carrianne, who still posts sometimes and lives up the Sunshine Coast, has met loads of people through the soccer team her hubby joined.
Once you know where you are heading, talk to people on here who live there, and then get involved with the various meet-ups once you arrive. they are not totally British,as lots of us have Aussie spouses, so you meet other people that way, and then gradually you can branch out and meet more "locals".
Where are you off to? Do you know yet?

Go Banana's !!

Hi there

Just go out and talk to anything with a pulse ! works for me.

Seriously, if you are open and friendly, people are open and friendly back.
You just have to be brave and start the ball rolling, it doesn't come to you. I have good friends now, that I have met through Imogen's swimming lessons and after I had harpooned them, they were willing to talk. Even got their children for a sleep over on Sat.
But it's not confined to having children, joining the local soccer team is a great idea.
They love hearing your story of how you landed in Oz. De ya know what? I haven't had one glazed look yet !!! What they don't like is when you dish their country, they just switch off , believe me I've seen it first hand, I was mortified for the person who was doing it.

Very best of luck and I'm sure you will be fine
Jill

walaj

I see you are also heading to Sydney and a diver!!

but we won't be there until the end of 2005/start of 2006, unless things change as a few things are up in the air at the moment.

Gethy: do you have any children? they are a good way to meet other parents - that will be my other method for making friends when bubs is eventually born

Gethy

No i am affraid we don't, and if the Mrs has her way we won't for a while.

We are hoping to move to Sydney as our first choice or Adelaide as our second. I aint saying Sydney is the better place, before anyone gives me some stick, but we got married there.

We are hoping to move out end of 05 seems like an age but we are still quite young, im 29 the Mrs is 27.

I like the idea of the scuba club, that could be somewhere for us to start.

But there are always the other clubs !!!!!

Ruptured gonad

I found a good way to strike up a conversation is to smile or wink at the fella next to you at a urinal in public toilet.

Deadmeat

He said WINK!

Gethy

Is that how he got his nickname?

:scared:

Deadmeat

I like the fact the post has been edited ...

It's just Bad Manners to post it here