How and where can I make new friends of the opposite sex?

LegacyUser

I'm 28 and I've been quite lonely the last few years due to anxiety issues. As I overcome them, I'm looking to get out there and meet more people. Specifically, I'd like to just make some new friends, particularly female friends because I generally just don't know many women and I'd like to become more comfortable around women before seeking romantic relationships.

Plus, when I had girls as friends in the past, they were pretty good friendships. The girls I used to be friends with have all moved on with their lives and are living in different parts of the world now though.

The thing is, I've no idea where to meet women who are roughly my age and who are seeking friends. My first thought is that it's gonna be impossible because 95% of women aged 25-40 probably already have established social circles.

Does anyone have suggestions or is it a fruitless pursuit? I have nothing against older people but my thoughts are that places like hiking clubs will have mostly older women who might not have much in common with me. In gyms, people kinda keep to themselves and just get their workouts done. Work is another no-go as I'm self-employed.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Mr. Incognito

Tag Rugby

Meetup.com

Music classes

Its not hard.

Conor Bourke

Volunteering in something like the civil defence/st johns ambulance/order of malta

messy tessy

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Tag Rugby

Meetup.com

Music classes

Its not hard.

Actually for someone with anxiety it probably is quite difficult.

khaldrogo

Mr. Incognito wrote:

Its not hard.

How blasé and demeaning. It is incredibly hard for some.

Caranica

Musical societies! Large contingent of 20 something to thirties ladies and every society I know is crying out for guys

eviltwin

messy tessy wrote: »

Actually for someone with anxiety it probably is quite difficult.

are you in Dublin? There are a number of meetup groups specifically aimed at people with social anxiety, they are a good place to start.

klm1

eviltwin wrote: »

are you in Dublin? There are a number of meetup groups specifically aimed at people with social anxiety, they are a good place to start.

Could you elaborate on these meetup groups for people with social anxiety? Got details?

eviltwin

klm1 wrote: »

Could you elaborate on these meetup groups for people with social anxiety? Got details?

Meetup have a few in Dublin, social groups aimed at people with social anxiety so you will be among people who get it and understand. I went to them for a while and found they really helped. They are mixed gender and ages with people from all walks of life.

The ones currently running are

Generalised anxiety dublin
Stepout ireland
Social anxiety anonymous

Noo

Dance class, salsa for example. They are always short on guys. You take turns dancing with different partners so you'll always have an opportunity to introduce yourself to people without it being awkward and forced. There's usually lots of social events associated with it so you'll start seeing familiar faces and be surprised at how quickly you can spark up a friendship.