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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I think "4 or 5 good friends" is too ambitious.  All you really need is one good friend, maybe two, and then a good number of friendly acquaintances.

A few suggestions--reach out to your family and old friends regularly by phone, skype, whatever.  I'm from here but my best friend lives in Philly, and she is still the person I call or email when it counts.  Sometimes you just need to talk to someone that's known you since you had braces.

Also, don't just be a joiner, be the organizer.  It's fine to belong to groups, but taking on a leadership position is how you really get to know people and become entrenched.

Join smaller sub-groups.  If you are in a church, join the chorus.  If you are in a volunteer organization, join the board.  Etc.

Start a daily coffee/tea/ice cream run at work, or start a lunchtime walking group.  Work friends are a different beast from real friends, but they can become true friends over time, or at least close acquaintances.

Some groups are more social than others for some reason, so keep trying.  Something like tennis or a musical ensemble where you meet regularly and share a passion, but also have plenty of time to socialize, might fit the bill.  I think people say "volunteer" as a knee jerk reaction, but many volunteer opportunities don't actually offer opportunities to see the same people over and over again to develop relationships.

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OP here.  Thanks for all the thoughful and helpful replies on this thread.  I am thinking about all of them and I appreciate you taking the time to reply.  I wanted to comment on this post, especially.  I know 4 or 5 friends is kinda ambitious, but I already have 2 good friends now and it's not enough.  The reason it's not enough is that my hubby works 70 hour weeks plus some weekends, and I would prefer to have friends to do things with when he's not around.  Both of these 2 friends are childfree, but both have tons of extended family here and are always busy with them, so I only see these friends around once a month at the most.  That's why I need more friends, so that I can have more people to do things with.  Ideally, I'd love to have 4 or 5 friends to do things with, but I know that will take time.

I really like the idea of organizing groups, and this is something I've been thinking about lately but just haven't put into action.  I'm just trying go figure out the best type of group to organize.

To the poster who mentioned getting pregnant, DH and I are TTC, so that may be happening sometime soon.  I have heard that it can be easier to meet people after having a baby.  But for now, I just find it very hard to be a married couple in our mid-30's without kids.  Though I will say that we are meeting many more childfree married couples out in the burbs (even though we're TTC) than we ever did in the city when we lived there.  I find this quite interesting, as you would expect the opposite.

I live in NoVA, and would love to chat personally with anyone who would like to make a friend, and who lives in NoVA.  I work full-time but have plenty of time for friends, since like I mentioned my husband works very long hours plus some weekends.  If I post my email address would anyone contact me?  
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