8 Ways to Be Social in a New City

You’ve settled into your new city,  set up your first apartment and are getting the hang of your “big girl” job. But with adulthood comes challenges that no one prepares you for…like making friends. Think about it-this is the FIRST where you’ve had to work to make friendships.​There’s no classes or clubs to lean on to introduce you to new people. Unless you search for things to do or groups to become a part of, your social life will be pretty nonexistent. It can be daunting to put yourself out there and explore Indianapolis with the hopes of making new friends along the way. Here are 8 ways to be social in a new city.

Right at Home

Game Nights: What’s better to bring new friends together than a traditional game night? Bringing back the classics-Clue, Scattergories and Uno- is a perfect way to break the ice, especially if you’re trying to get to know new people. We’ve started doing Sunday Game Nights, and they’ve been a blast so far! It’s an easy event to invite anyone to and with different people hosting each week, keeps it fun.

Even better? This is easy to make COVID friendly by taking your game night virtual. We’ve done a few game nights where we’ve found free games online to play. This is a fun way to have a drink with friends and share lots of laughs without worrying about social distancing.

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Events in the City 

Bottleworks District: Indy’s newest attraction has finally opened, and it’s a great place to meet up with friends or just sit and people watch. The Garage is a large, open food market, which is the perfect place to grab a drink or a bite to eat since everyone can choose what sounds good to them. Check out our first look at The Garage for more details on this cool, new space.

City Market: Another great place to meet friends for a drink or lunch is the Indianapolis City Market. It’s got food vendors, a taproom and is a place that draws in artists. They’ll occasionally hold events, so be on the lookout for a night where they bring in artists and music.

*Indianapolis Market for Makers: Who isn’t a sucker for a good local market? It’s the perfect place to try new foods-this is THE place to gorge on samples-and buy items from all over the U.S. The vendors are really engaging and take the time to explain how they make their products, where they’re from, etc. *Note: This event may be affected by COVID-19.

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Top Resources 

It can be hard to know what place are open or which events are actually taking place. Here are a few of our favorite resources for up-to-date happenings in Indy.

Yelp: If you’re someone who’s always hunting for new events, businesses and restaurants, being a “yelper” is a great way to get to know your new city and meet others who, like you, are up for new experiences. Besides being the go-to platform to find honest reviews, Yelp hosts FREE events all throughout Indy to spice up your social life during the work week.

DO317: Comes to your inbox daily and is largely music-focused. You can also sign up to win free tickets to a bunch of headliners (hasn’t happened to me yet, but fingers crossed!)

​Visit Indy: Gives a nice overview of what’s going on in the city. I use The Weekend 5 -which features trending events-when looking for fun ways to fill up my Saturdays and Sundays. ​

​Visit Indiana: A monthly e-newsletter focused on things to do and discounts. If you’re looking to do a little in-state traveling, this is a great resource to use for fun trip ideas.

Working everyday makes it easy to get stuck in a routine and forget about all of the fun events going on right outside your door. So expand that social circle and see what your city has to offer!