5 Apps For Making New Friends

When you move to a new city, especially as an adult, making friends may not be as easy as it once was. But, the good news? There are apps to help you make friends in a new city. After all, you’re no longer getting assigned to a dorm room and to a roommate who will become your BFF for life; you’re no longer in classes with people who will become your friends through a group project; and you’re no longer in the city you grew up in, where you know everyone, everywhere. And if you work from home and/or freelance, you may not meet people as often as someone who works in a social office setting. So apps make the perfect making-new-friends companion, and all at the tap of a phone icon or few. Plus, if you and a potential friend end up not clicking, just like with dating apps, there will be other friend options available, so all is not lost.

While some social networking friend apps are geared toward group activities, others are focused on getting to know someone, aka your future friend(s), through one-on-one chats while still others match you in groups of three. Whatever the case may be, there probably is the right friend app out there for you, as long as you take the time to download some and give them a legit try.

Here are a few apps to help you make friends in a new city, because the more outlets, the better.

Peanut

There’s a “Tinder for moms” out there called Peanut. The prerequisite? Yep, being a mom! What a great idea, though, right? Moms can see what fellow moms they think they’ll click with and start swiping —up to wave, i.e., like, and down if maybe later. Mutual waves then result in a match. Photos are pulled from Facebook so you can see how close, proximity-wise, your new mom friend is located. Moms do not have to share info about their kids on the app, since not everyone’s into doing so, and can wait till they meet moms IRL first.

Moms using the app can also choose descriptors to describe themselves, such as “Geek chic” or “Fitness fiend.” Clever! Once moms start to match, they can message with another mom one-on-one or do a group chat to make plans, complete with the capability to suggest meetup times and create invites right through the app. Plus, fun fact: Peanut’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Michelle Kennedy, is not only a mom herself, but also the former deputy CEO of the dating app Badoo and was on the board of Bumble — the latter of which she named, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bumble BFF

You probably know all about Bumble as a dating app, wherein women make the first move in heterosexual pairings, but did you know you can use it to find friends, too? Yep, with Bumble BFF, you can… and will! The great thing about Bumble is that the app gets right to the point — once you match with someone, you have 24 hours to contact them, or else (hint: you can pay for features to extend this time frame). In turn, the person has 24 hours to respond. Nothing like a deadline to get you motivated to message, then meet, right? I met my last boyfriend on Bumble and we dated for a year, so I have a lot of faith in Bumble BFF, too. When you’re in your Bumble’s settings, you can decide if you want to look for potential dates, just BFFs, Bumble Bizz (their new networking feature), or “everyone.” Genius!

Meetup

If you have more specific interests, like knitting at a bar or being a part of a writing group, Meetup probably has something you’re looking for. You simply enter your location and browse events by category. Voila! You’ll find your crew in no time.

Skout

When you are new to a city, or traveling to a new one for a week or two, Skout enables you to meet people all over the world. Safety first: You get to decide if, and when, you want to connect with someone. Whether you want a gym buddy or someone to meet for coffee this weekend, you can do as much “Skouting” as you’d like to find the ideal people, i.e., your soon-to-be friends. Even if you want someone to meet up with in an hour, or a few minutes, the app lets you know who’s nearby, which is another bonus. You can also see who viewed your profile and then connect with them… or not.

NextDoor

It’s never been easier to be the new kid on the block. The GH Media & Tech lab tested Nextdoor, a private social network exclusively for your neighborhood, and found that it’s an amazing way to tap your neighbors for recommendations, sell and score quality household items (think of it as a virtual yard sale), get local news, and form relationships with your fellow residents in an organic way. “Since Nextdoor is a location-based app, neighbors often meet up face to face to exchange goods, and meeting in the real world gives them an opportunity to learn about one another and discover commonalities,” says Nextdoor’s Jenny Mayfield.