Englishmum

The posting by Warksgirl prompted this thread....

In most communities throughout the USA there is a "Newcomers Club". It's not always easy to discover where they are located as they don't usually have a clubhouse as such....it's operated by volunteers who form a committee (which normally changes every year) and plan activities and events. They usually like to have club members to volunteer to have an event at their house.

The kind of things a Newcomers Club might do (and they all vary so some Clubs are more active than others) would be: a wine tasting, a book club, a bridge or bingo night, a women's night out, a pot-luck supper, a night out in a restaurant, a picnic or barbie, a local outing. In the suburbs or rural area they tend to be family orentated and often include lots of activities for parents and children....eg. a cookie swap, maple-sugaring at the arboretum, a trip to a farm or indoor play centre etc.

You don't normally have to be a total newcomer to your town to join a Newcomers Club. You can find out if there is one near you by looking here:

http://www.newcomersclub.com

There is also a 'Mothers and More' organisation nationwide for activities with (young) children:

http://www.mothersandmore.org

I have to be really honest about the one where we live; I got roped in to be the membership secretary soon after I moved here. I had to attend a committee meeting once a month, but I soon got fed up with the women (they were *all* women!) being bitchy for one reason or another. Also there is a lot of one-upmanship in our town and it seemed the only topic of conversation was about who was remodelling their house, having a new kitchen or bathroom fitted or about buying a new vacation home on the Jersey Shore or a ski lodge. I just couldn't relate to any of it....so unless you are really keen I would suggest that you join a group but unless the people seem to be genuinely nice, avoid going on a committee LOL!

If a Newcomers Club just isn't your thing, then maybe if you want to spend a few hours doing some volunteer work at say, an animal shelter or hospital, helping record talking books for the blind, riding for the disabled (called handicapped here) and hopefully meeting some friendly locals, you can type in your zipcode on these websites and see what is 'on offer' in your locality:

http://www.volunteermatch.org

http://www.volunteersolutions.org

NC Penguin

I began meeting a lot of Brits (specifically) by posting on forums and websites like this.

I also found that www.meetup.com was a good source for meeting others with similar interests too.

Yahoo.com also has lots of groups, much like Meetup.

tony126

Obviously I am reading something I did not know about but then I have not found it difficult to make friends. I attend a really nice church also where every body is easy to get on with. This is something I did not attend in UK but it has certainly made a difference to me here.