"Their departure would narrow my friend group even smaller. As an ex-pat, I've seen many acquaintances come and go over the years, only for them to return to my native UK. One year, I must have attended at least five leaving dos, which made me sad to say goodbye. It made me reluctant to find new friends. Sooner or later, they'd inevitably get on a plane and that would be it."
"Another issue was my age. When you're Gen X and reach your fifties, it's hard to get to know other people. My children were older and it wasn't as if I was meeting fellow parents at the school gates anymore. I knew plenty of people on social media, but it wasn't the same as meeting someone in person to go for dinner, a hike, or a day at the spa."
"Recently, however, my husband and I went to a traditional English pub near our town to watch a soccer game on a big screen TV. We wore the uniform of our favorite team, Newcastle United. I could see we were outnumbered by the opposing side's fans. Still, there was a handful of Newcastle supporters sitting close by."
The author, a Gen X woman in her fifties, experienced depression when two close friends announced moves to North Carolina and California. As an expatriate, she had witnessed numerous departures over the years, making her reluctant to invest in new friendships. Her age compounded the challenge, as traditional friendship-building venues like school gates no longer applied. Social media connections felt insufficient compared to in-person relationships. Resigned to a small circle of neighbors and former colleagues, her perspective shifted during a visit to a local English pub to watch a soccer match. Seeing fellow Newcastle United supporters sparked renewed optimism about forming genuine connections.
#friendship-in-midlife #gen-x-social-connections #making-friends-later-in-life #community-and-shared-interests
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]