mamakimberly Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Our family's core group of friends has always been from church, with other friends picked up randomly from playgroups (when the kids were younger) and such. And some of our closest IRL friends were first online friends that we met up with. We moved to Orlando almost 2 months ago. We haven't found a church yet. It may take awhile... It just isn't going to be an easy process because we have some hurdles to cross as far as finding a place that's going to work for us. We're also wanting to be a bit peripheral and not overly involved with a church at the moment just to heal from some past hurts and not get bogged down by "ministry" and such. I have one daughter who recently started ballet & acro. I talk to a few other parents there and maybe we'll be friends at some point? I was kind of hoping for that. I have another daughter starting soccer in the spring, but there isn't a league until the end of February. Maybe we will find some families to be friends with there? I am a very outgoing person and usually make friends easily but with no "church crutch" to fall back on, I'm starting to wonder... where do you make friends if not at church? My husband is a teacher and his co-teachers are fine, I'm sure, but he is not chatty and would never ever invite them over for dinner. So I can't really count on that as a source of friends. Anyway, I'm feeling a little bit pathetic with my 1 friend in the whole city and 2 people I've met up with once from a homeschool board. We go to the library, but just to get books. We don't go to the park because my kids feel like they're too old for that. We ride bikes in the neighborhood but don't really see other families with similarly aged kids... I don't want to be friends with only homeschooling families because a lot of the homeschooling families in our area seem to be super-fundie and that's not our style. I would ideally like us to have a diverse group of friends. So, where do you make friends? Did you have to be intentional about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Well, I just did a quick Google on "homeschool groups in Orlando Florida" and found several lists and quite a few seem to be more "inclusive" rather than "fundamental" so you could look at those: http://homeschool.meetup.com/cities/us/fl/orlando/ http://www.home-school.com/groups/FL.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I just moved here in January. I've been very fortunate to have great homeschool groups in my area that are a good fit. I have a number of really good acquaintances that I feel comfortable calling for a playdate or a cup of coffee, mom-to-mom. Classical Conversations has been helpful for my DD12 because her Challenge class has some really great kids and she has some very close friendships developing. The moms are wonderful too!!! Where I used to live most of my friends were in the neighborhood, church and the pool we went to in the summer. There wasn't a great homeschool group. I'm actually having a harder time fiting in at church here. :( But since the HS groups are so friendly, I'm ok with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Church. I'm not trying to be someone who 'only has church friends' but we don't really meet people anywhere else. Even at church, it took quite some time to find the right people to be good friends with. Even then, some that I thought were good friends ended up not. Idk, DH and I are nice people, but we're not particularly outgoing - he is to an extent, he'll talk to just about anyone, but nothing deeper than that, kwim? And I'm pretty quiet and don't talk a whole lot, so it took a long time for me (we moved here less than a year after getting married, in 2002. I didn't have really good friends until probably 2007?). One of the things that opened me up was a Moms group that I was a part of (NOT Mops). Even though only one of the women is what I would consider one of my closest friends, the others are still good friends and very nice women. DS5 plays soccer now, and DS7 has in the past, but none of the other parents have really seemed to want to get to know anyone outside of their current circles. Same with when they were in PS - all the parents already knew each other from somewhere and no one was really interested, it seemed like, in getting to know anyone new. It can be really difficult. Hope you figure things out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Well, I just did a quick Google on "homeschool groups in Orlando Florida" and found several lists and quite a few seem to be more "inclusive" rather than "fundamental" so you could look at those: http://homeschool.meetup.com/cities/us/fl/orlando/ http://www.home-school.com/groups/FL.html I was going to suggest looking for another hs group. I know there are inclusive groups in Orlando, but the metro area is so big. Where you are, and where their activities are could be quite a distance. Here's another link to inclusive groups by county (so you can choose Orange, Osceola, Volusia, etc.) http://www.learningis4everyone.org/component/option,com_bookmarks/Itemid,36/mode,0/catid,71/navstart,0/search,*/ Most of our friends are from our hs group, which is inclusive. We have a few friends from a years-ago playgroup we get together with several times a year. I have 3 high school friends who are sort of local, and we get together occasionally. Are there no neighborhood kids? Ds has a few friends from the neighborhood, but most of his close friends are from our hs group (we've been together in one group or another since 2004). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Meetup.com is a great option if you are looking for people you might share interests with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 We've been doing more and more with a couple of meetup groups that we belong to. It takes a little while to get to know people in the group and make connections but you have to start somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 We moved here to DFW 2 1/2 years ago and I still don't have any close friends. It might be my fault for not going to more community events or to gatherings/classes/whatevers hosted by our mosque, but I never clicked with anyone. My little girls also don't have any friends. It breaks my heart. They see other girls at tae kwondo and at girl scouts, but no one has become a good friend. My son (5th grader) is the only one who'd made 2 friends from public school who live on our street. They easily play together after school b/c they're close by. I miss having friends so much. I am talkative and friendly, and I often suggest getting together, but it feels like everyone is just 'so busy' with all their kids' activities that it's hard to get together. So, I dunno, maybe I should look for a homeschool group and make time for it during our weekdays. To answer the OP, I feel like the friends I do have are from the baby days when we all had babies together and hung out in playgroups or at one anothers' homes. Now that kids are older I Feel like it's harder to make friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 (edited) I would try an Upwards Basketball league. There are people from several different churches in most Upwards leagues. There seem to be several choices in the Orlando area. My daughter likes soccer best, but enjoys basketball as well. The seasons are short. Ours starts in January and goes for 10 weeks, you go one hour one night a week and one hour on a Saturday. Edited November 13, 2011 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakimberly Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 Thanks for the suggestions. Ironically, right after posting this, we visited a new church and really liked it and it may very well be "the" church we end up at, so we may end up getting plugged in there and make friends. UmMusa- :( ((hugs)) I just felt like you needed a hug after I read your post. It does suck sometimes. I am on one "inclusive" hs yahoogroup, but I think I need to find some more groups. I have posted on it specifically looking for girls my girls' ages but haven't had much response. Honestly, I probably just need to be patient. But it is really hard for me to go from our lives in China (where we lived till Dec 2010) where I had social coffees with other moms almost every day and often went from a social coffee to a social lunch to school (where I taught) where I had more social time. I was constantly social, and now I just get lonely! I think this season of life is just different and it is good in many ways, I just miss friends! And I know my girls do, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakimberly Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 Most of our friends are from our hs group, which is inclusive. We have a few friends from a years-ago playgroup we get together with several times a year. I have 3 high school friends who are sort of local, and we get together occasionally. Are there no neighborhood kids? Ds has a few friends from the neighborhood, but most of his close friends are from our hs group (we've been together in one group or another since 2004). We haven't met any neighborhood kids, because they don't seem to play outside. I don't know where they go!! It is too cold for the neighborhood pool, or I'm sure we'd meet them there. It is a really nice area and there are sidewalks and lake/pond things and such so you'd think people would be OUT enjoying them. I walk a few miles in the morning sometimes and when I am walking, I always think I should post flyers "Wanted: A friend" So pathetic!! What group are you in? Can you PM me? We'd like a good diverse group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakimberly Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 Oh, and thanks for the Meetup tip- I thought that was a dating website! Ha. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 UmMusa- :( ((hugs)) I just felt like you needed a hug after I read your post. It does suck sometimes. Thank you :grouphug: I need it for sure. We might be moving again out of DFW so I'm kind of looking forward to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 We don't go to church, and it was hard to find friends here for a long time. We finally connected with some of the other parents at the small Montessori school ds went to. And a couple of them got us started at our dojo, which we love. We have made several good friends there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 (edited) We haven't met any neighborhood kids, because they don't seem to play outside. I don't know where they go!! This happened to us for a while. Ds was so excited when a boy his age moved in a few house down, but we never see him! Then a family moved in across the street, and those kids are more interested in being outdoors/making neighborhood friends. What group are you in? Can you PM me? We'd like a good diverse group.Done. I saw your post about looking for social interaction with other moms. I think that's what a lot of us in our group like too. Sometimes it's as much about the moms getting together as it is about the kids. Edited November 13, 2011 by floridamom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Honestly, I probably just need to be patient. But it is really hard for me to go from our lives in China (where we lived till Dec 2010) where I had social coffees with other moms almost every day and often went from a social coffee to a social lunch to school (where I taught) where I had more social time. I was constantly social, and now I just get lonely! I think this season of life is just different and it is good in many ways, I just miss friends! And I know my girls do, too. :grouphug: I'm praying you get connected again! I just realized that I "know" you from digital scrapbooking long ago! I was on your creative team. I didn't put it together until you mentioned your trip to China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakimberly Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Oh, I've always known that was you, Jannylynn! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.