Being in a new city with your family can be exciting and nerve wracking altogether. You are excited for the new journey but sad to leave your friends back home. Does this mean you must hole up inside your house with all curtains pulled and all blinds shut? No way! Girlfriend, you have the new city to explore.
Leave that shy trait in the closet and put on that precious smile. It is time to greet the outside world and meet some new friends… or maybe not? I know, it can be scary. My advice though is, you will never know till you try.
Where do I go though is the million dollar question? Well, since being in Raleigh for almost 3 months now, I have a few tips up my sleeve.
1. Volunteer – This is a biggie. I volunteer at my girls’ school and at church. I have met already some incredible moms that I just went up and started mingling with and striked up a conversation. I promise they will not bite. You will find right away if you will mesh or not, but 9 times out of 10, it will be a positive experience.
2. Social Media – Twitter and Blogging can be a mom’s best friend when moving to a new town. Some awesome moms have become really close friends and I know I can call on them anytime day or night and they would be there for me. We first reached out to each other through twitter, facebook and our blogs. Like it or not, Social Media is here to stay for a while so why not take full advantage of it!
3. Host a Party – Moms love to get out of the house and let their hair down so to speak. Host a fun party and invite moms. Create a bunco night, a book club, a bible study, or a girls night out. For instance, tonight I am helping with a Blogger Party to where I suggested I bring a couple pans of my Chicken Pot Pie. There will be several moms there that I have not met one time in person there. It’s going to be ok though because I have my chicken pot pie to hold my hand right? HA! For real though, be creative and think outside of the box on how you could host a fun mom party.
4. Join a Gym – Do you enjoy working out? Guess what, there are hundreds of other moms that love to work out too! Strike up a conversation about how much you love this exercise equipment (no sarcasm allowed) and you will have a friend for life. The key is not to be shy, and get yourself out there and open up your imagination. The gym is a great place to do that because there will be no judging allowed since you will both be sweaty and in gym clothes 🙂
5. Look for a Mom’s Group online. A simple google search for your area will bring up several choices I am sure. Even if you have to go to a retail store such as Gymboree and partake in a freebie class, then you can mingle with other moms and ask if there are any Mom’s Groups in the area.
It’s all about putting on a brave face and being personable. I have found this out so much since I have been here in Raleigh. I have no problem talking someone’s head off at any given moment now. I have put away my shy traits for good and it has helped me find some of the greatest friends. It has also helped my girls too since I am getting them out in the community more. They are making friends and are enjoying it so much more instead of looking at the walls in the house with all the curtains pulled. Shhh… I did do that once upon a time.
Let’s get to mingling moms 🙂
Well said! We are glad you are here!
I completely agree with all of these. I was a newbie here at the beach a while back and these things work! Smiling when in public is a serious biggie!!! 🙂
I’ve never done most of these when I moved here. I have always been shy {yes, believe it! lol} and been working a lot, time to do anything else has been nil. But there’s always room for second chances. I wish I live close to where you are then, I can have MNO every week with y’all!