When I was 9 years old, my family moved to a new town. I had to leave all my friends behind, and I found myself in a strange place, where I didn’t know a soul.

Of course, being at school forces you socialise, and within weeks I had a whole new circle of friends.

As an adult, making new friends can be more difficult.

There are a variety of reasons why you might find yourself in a situation where you want to meet new people. As people change jobs, move to different locations, get married and start families, you may find your current circle of friends is not as big as it used to be, or people are not available as often as they once were and you can start to feel a bit lonely.

You might have some really close friendships that will always remain, but you are keen to expand your social circle. You may have previously had no need to make new friends as an adult, as you have had the same group of friends from years back with no strong desire to meet anyone new and that you are wondering where to start.

The people you surround yourself can be so important to your life. This means the easier you find it to make friends and meet people, the better.

Personally, I have recently moved from Johannesburg to Budapest, where I don’t know anyone, so I want to make new friends as soon as I can, in order to establish a good a social life. I’d like to share 6 key tips I use for meeting new people:

One great way to meet people is by joining a group. You can join in with something that you are passionate about, this way you are more likely to meet like minded people who also enjoy the same activity. You can find many different groups on-line in all major towns and cities, whether it is sports clubs, language groups, knitting clubs or a whole range of other things. The great things with clubs is that as well as meeting people, you get to carry out a hobby you enjoy.

3) Say yes to everything

When you are looking to meet new people, saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way can be a good technique. Sometimes you may be tired and it is tempting to stay in and not socialise. When you are trying to make new friends, this is probably not the best approach! You need to try and say ‘yes’ to every invite you get, every suggestion of going somewhere and every possibility that you will meet new people. The more you say yes to, the quicker you will meet new people and make more friends.

Meeting friends online has become nearly as popular as online dating. There are many different forums such as City Socialising, Internations and Meet Up Group. The connections are made online, but the meet ups are face to face. It’s a cool way to connect people in similar situations looking to meet others in the local area. All these forums allow you to search for people in the same area, all with the same goal of looking to meet new people, make friends and socialise.

You might feel embarrassed and a bit awkward when you first start out, but most people are happy to make new meaningful friendships and if they are not, they are probably not worth bothering with anyway. Get out there and give it a go!

I’ve given all these things a try since I have moved to Budapest and have met lots of lovely people in the first few weeks. I’d love to hear if you have any other ideas or tips for making friends in the comments below.