Half An Immigrant

LegacyUser

Can anyone relate to this? I'm from the country but have been living on and off in Dublin since I was 18 for college , I'm 25 now. I've lived out of Dublin back home for extened periods too, like 18+ months. I've been working in Dublin for the past year now and am starting to feel very isolated, as I have a really small circle of a few other country friends who by now mostly live on the other side of the city. My job isn't particularly social, I do get out a bit, take a class, am in a sports club etc. but I feel really quite isolated where I live. Naturally Ive no friends in the area as I didn't go to school there etc. also, I feel as you get older it is a bit harder to form friendships IMO. It's also hard to meet girls outside of the pub scene.

Has anyone felt like this? A bit like an Irish guy working on the buildings in London in the '80s!!!

jdivision

Move to where your friends live? Make more of an effot to make friends with your work colleagues? The fact you say you "have a really small circle of a few other country friends" suggests you haven't bothered trying to get on with people in your area or from Dublin. That's on you.

Talliesin

cityer wrote: »

Naturally Ive no friends in the area as I didn't go to school there etc.

"Naturally" is a very useful word. "Obviously" also. Whenever one finds oneself saying "naturally" or "obviously" it's time to be on guard - chances are one's about to say something illogical that one hasn't thought through.

This is a city. There are people from all around the country and all around the world here. How would it be "natural" that none of us have friends?

LegacyUser

I can see your point OP...Dublin is a very cliquey city...

The best thing you can do is just get on with it and take advantage of all parties/invites etc you can get your hands on

MIN2511

get involved: work socialising, gym e.t.c

Nerin

This is a city. There are people from all around the country and all around the world here. How would it be "natural" that none of us have friends?

people can find it hard to make friends.
when i moved to a carlow ive no idea how i made the friends i made here. really. because i hate meeting new people.
also towns are (imo) alot more...depressing(overkill word but ill use it)
when im alone back home in the countryside i rarely notice it,whereas in a town/city it seems to be more of a downer.
Tarzan complex?:)

Overheal

Tarzan Complex ftw.

OP the best thing to do is keep doing. Dublins a big city - wander about. Dont look for people, look for places. You run into interesting places and you end up meeting interesting people through consequence. If you like music, you wander into one of those music places, spend some time there and you'll find someone to share interests with, for example.

sp

There are many people from many countries in Ireland. Why don't you try make friends with some of them?
When I arrived in Dublin, it was impossible to make friends with Irish people, I thought that they look down on us, I found them very loud and ill-mannered. But it was very easy to find friends among foreigners, especially people from Poland and Brazil.
And we are still in contact, although I am back at home.
So don’t focus only on the Irish, but be more open minded.

Sleepy

OP, I can relate to that. It took me a long time to get used to living in Dublin. In fact, I hated it for the first two years I was here. I suppose I've two pieces of advice on this:

1. Get out there and try meet new people, boards beers, clubs etc

2. Life after college isn't the same as life during it. We nearly all see less of our friends and have less social activities during which to meet new people etc. It's something you just have to get used to. You can still meet new people, it'll just be a little harder.