Meeting new people and making friends in London is hard. London can be a lonely place. If you don’t study here, chances are you are pretty much starting off from zero, especially if you don’t have family living in the city or in the UK in general. Trust me, I’ve been there. It also means renting an apartment will be a pain because most foreigners have to get a guarantor, but that discussion probably requires another blog post.

So how do you meet new people and make friends in London?

Well, lucky for you, there are a couple of ways that should make that incredibly easy. Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, these are the guaranteed ways you’ll be able to make new friends in the big smoke.

1. Meetup Groups

Meetup.com is extremely active in London. You can choose from thousands of groups with plenty of members. They hold weekly or sometimes monthly events, specifically designed to meet new people and make friends in London.

Whether you belong to a LGBT community and want to hang out, or you’re a writer who wants to share some inspiration with others, there will be a Meetup group available for you. Of course, if you’re neither one of those people you’ll still be able to find your group of people on the site.

2. Facebook Groups

This one is particularly useful if you’re an au pair who wants to meet new friends in London. You can find plenty of active groups where people will share the same interest and it’s how I personally found plenty of my au pair friends when I first came to the city.

Facebook groups are also a popular tool when you’re a student looking for parties or special deals to save money on your nights out. Facebook groups are also becoming really popular with fitness people who are looking for gym buddies or just working out in the open with a group. All you need to do is search for your interest, write ‘London’, and select the ‘groups’ tab.

As always you should be careful with such groups as you never know what someone’s true intentions are. But, knock on wood, I’ve always had only good experiences.

3. Instagram

This one especially works if you’re a photographer or a super creative person.

Perhaps it’s an uncommon way to meet new people and make friends in London, but there were countless of times I slid into someone’s DMs in a totally non creepy way.

If you’re an Instagram photographer, there’s nothing better than gathering a group of friends who will go around the city and take pictures with you.

4. Co-working and co-living

As a freelancer, meeting people is even harder, so I make sure my workplace is still a social place where I can constantly meet people and hang out. I live in a co-living building that allows me to be surrounded by freelancers and people who are in the same position as I am.

Co-living places are like student halls, usually catered to adults. We have daily social events which include boxing classes, Friday hangouts, language exchanges, book clubs, and more. You can find a bunch of co-living opportunities around London and I strongly recommend them for people who are looking to make new friends easily.

5. Apps

And we don't mean Tinder. Apps like Bumble BFF and Hey! VINA pair you up with a like minded person who wants to meet new people - it’s like dating, without any strings attached. If you’re of the shy sort that can’t just walk up to anyone in person and say hello, apps are the way to go.

It might seem totally bizarre, but trust me, BFF Bumble is how I met up with quite a lot of people that were in the exact same situation as I was. Many of these apps are quite popular in London, so you’re definitely bound to find someone you’ll connect with. Besides, it’s about time someone started inventing social apps that aren’t all about dating.

And there you have it! 5 ways you can meet new people and make friends in London! Make sure to let us know if you’ve had any luck with any of these yourself!

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