How to Make Friends in a New City: D.C. Edition
Let’s face it: Making new friends is hard. Happy hours are loud, the office is too polarizing, and at the end of the day, most of us just want to go home and crash.
No need to worry, folks. Washington D.C. has an event for everyone, and so many opportunities to meet new people who are just looking to have fun. Here are four easy (and fun) ways to make friends in Washington, D.C.
Join a Book Club
One great way to get to know people is by joining a book club. Not only do you get a chance to exercise your brain muscles, you also get to have some really incredible discussions you might not be able to manage in a bar.
You can find a book club multiple ways. First, check out the DC Public Library’s website. There you’ll find some book clubs dedicated to a specific topic or genre, but you’ll also find some broken down by neighborhood. Chevy Chase, Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and Cleveland Park all have neighborhood book clubs you can join.
You can also turn to a local bookstore and see what clubs they host. Iconic D.C. bookstore Politics & Prose hosts over 20 book clubs, and welcomes anyone to read the book and drop in for discussion.
Join a Foodie Group
Nothing brings people together in quite like food does. Luckily for us, D.C. has quite the foodie scene. From awesome restaurants, to unique food trucks, to bakeries by the dozen, D.C. really has a plate for every palate. It makes sense, then, that Meetup has more than a few groups dedicated to food.
Are you vegan? Consider joining the Washington DC Area Vegan Meetup Group. Sponsored by the Veg Society of D.C., they welcome vegans and aspiring vegans to enjoy good food and talk all about the vegan philosophy.
Have you gotten into wine recently? Stop by one of the DC Wine Tasting Group’s events. They welcome people to join as members or stop by one of their events anytime. Events include meeting with wine importers, experts, and journalists.
Attend a Trivia Night
Trivia night is a cultural phenomenon in D.C. right now, and you can find one almost every evening in the city. While it’s always fun to get a group of friends together to play, you can also consider stopping in and joining an existing team.
The best thing about trivia nights are how low-key they are. While still a competition, most are free to join (with a cocktail or two highly encouraged). Check out Brightest Young Things, who put together an excellent guide of all the places where you can find trivia in D.C.
Attend a Craft Workshop
Everyone has heard of paint nights, which are now all the rage in both cities and small towns. D.C. is no stranger to those, with many being hosted each month. Uncorked Art specializes in paint and sip nights, where you can enjoy a creative outlet with a nice glass or red, white, or rose.
However, there are other creative, crafty events where you can meet many new people. Urban Jungle hosts a number of workshops dedicated to plants. You can attend a terrarium workshop or a wreath-making class. Keep an eye on their Eventbrite page to see when their next event will be.
You can also stop by The Lemon Collective, a workshop space in Park View. In addition to professional development seminars, many groups host creative workshops such as dreamcatcher making and embrodiery.