Easy to make friends?
 

Will be moving to Perth with husband who will be working full time and daughter who will be starting pre-primary. We are very close to our families here in the UK and have a large, close group of friends so I never really feel "lonely"

Not that any of these factors are putting me off- I just wonder how easy people have found it to meet people and make friends?
We are moving to Perth- possibly Dalkeith.

TIA :)

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

i guess it all depends on how outgoing you are and how willing you are to come out of your comfort zone. Perth has a high % of ex pats so I don't think you'll have a problem meeting like minded people or who are going through the same experiences as you. � ����

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

If you have a large group of close friends where you live now then you will end up with a large group of close friends in Perth as well. It's all about you, not where you live. I have hardly found an Australian that I didn't like and, if I do find one, it's a big country and they're ever so easy to avoid.

Don't worry - you'll be just fine.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

Aw thank you! It is quite frightening as so far away! Very reassuring though, thank you :)

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

You might click with like minded people or you might not but don't expect the same sorts of friendships tha have been forged over years. Personally I had loads of acquaintances but very few "friends" after 32 years in Australia - I did get somewhat jaded by being "used" by so called mates and I grew to like my own company so it didn't bother me in the end. So if you don't stress about your friendship circle you will probably be ok just don't expect it to be the same.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

I've been here 12 years and in my experience women often find it very hard to settle. It takes many years to make close friends like the ones you have left behind. You will almost certainly have to do it tough for a year or two with serious homesickness issues.

It happened to us and to many of our now good friends, you need to anticipate it. Good luck though, it's worth sticking it out.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

Similar here, I've lost touch with many people who seemed to be mates cos the bond just wasn't strong enough, we didn't have enough in common in the end. After 12 years in the Brisbane area I've got two really good Aussie friends (both well travelled, including time in the Uk) and maybe half a dozen Brits. The rest are really just acquaintances. Whereas when I go home I have a bunch of friends who change plans so we can meet up, and who share my ups and downs with far more feeling than the people I share the majority of my actual life with here. Being a solitary creature is now the norm for me here.

Friendship here really seems to be different -maybe its because so many people still live in close proximity to their families and so more friendships are superficial?

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

Didn't have many friends growing up because of always moving. Still don't have many friends now, but it doesn't bother me. I have people I know and like, and one absolute gem of a friend.
I guess what I'm trying to say, like the others is that if you are naturally friendly and gregarious you will soon widen your social circle.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

By its very nature it'll take time to make friends. The friends you currently have will have taken a fair number of years to become that way. However having a small child who will be doing kindy/prep/school is the best way making friends imo. I think it's much harder if you come over either without children or if the children are high school age.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

THIS!!! You have to get out there and make friends. No-one is going to ring your bell and ask to come out and play.

This too - in going out there and making friends you will find a lot of "takers", people who do nothing but take your hospitality and your time and give nothing in return. Put up with it for a while and then dump them and move on.

Very true. This is I think because the nature of male friendships is fairly transient wherever they live, not so with women.

BB

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

It's down to you

Making friends is the same all over the world, wherever you are. You've usually got to make the effort - not the other way round

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

So true. We've been here eleven years and have made real friends with just one couple (who incidentally live 100m away, in Canberra!) and one English couple. A few aquaintances, several of whom have been around for meals or drinks but never reciprocated.

It's a sad fact that Australians will use you (generalising, of course) and the vaunted "mateship" is no more than anywhere else - they are just as good if not better at stabbing their mates in the back.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

I don't think that this is an Australian thing. I've experienced that here too but also in the UK - and back in SA for that matter

We've made great friends here - both local and expat

I found people in London and the SE to be pretty cliquey and not very open to making friends, whereas people in the north, Scotland and Wales I found to be very friendly. I recently spent some time in Liverpool and found it an extremely friendly place

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

It's such a shame you have had that experience. Mine is the opposite. I have met some great people both Australian and Expat. On the whole any issues I have had have been with British women. Most have been great but a couple have been positively poisonous. Met a few via this site that I would consider friends.

Re: Easy to make friends?
 

After reading this and then having a think, I have to agree. The only people who have been rude to me are English women, and not just rude but truly hurtful for absolutely no reason. Some people are weird regardless of nationality. :lol: