9 Clubs To Help You Find Your New Bestie
@emrometcalfe
Gals Who
Gals Who was founded back in 2019 by recent graduate Brontë King who, after finishing her degree, was left with the dreaded question, ‘What next?’ She started Gals Who Graduate from her bedroom to create a community of other girls feeling the same way. Since then, it has grown and grown, and is now a fully fledged online networking community offering support to females and non-binary people at all stages of their life. Across Gals Who Travel, Gals Who Sweat, Gals Who Read, Gals Who Graduate, Gals Who Rent and Gals Who Date, you can find supportive, loving and funny people who’ve been through it or are going through it – and are keen to offer support. Through these Facebook groups, problems have been solved, flatmates have been found, and life-long friendships have been forged.
Visit GalsWho.com
The Lonely Girls Club
This cool initiative aims to combat the loneliness epidemic through community and connection across four cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. Its Walk Club is one of its most popular events, but there are also brunches, craft sessions, karaoke and friendship speed dating to get stuck into. It also has a digital forum where members can communicate with one another, and a newsletter worth signing up to.
Visit LLGC.co.uk
Sober Girl Society
Be it clubbing or the pub, a lot of social events tend to be centred around booze. If that’s not your thing, Sober Girl Society is an online and IRL safe space for the already sober or anyone thinking about changing their relationship with alcohol. It has amassed 213k followers on Instagram who want news of its regular virtual meetups, as well as its agony-aunt advice for those on sober journeys. It also holds regular booze-free socials all over the UK. These include boozeless brunches with bottomless alcohol-free drinks, mixers to help women find like-minded friends, plus dance classes to help give women the confidence to get on the dancefloor stone-cold sober.
Visit Eventbrite.co.uk
Meetup
Meetup is an international events-based platform. It covers all bases from queer-friendly groups to a tall person’s club – yes, really. You can hone your search with the keywords and location function and, in the unlikely event that your interest isn’t covered, make your own group. Because, however niche, there is probably someone out there that loves the same thing.
Visit Meetup.com
Bumble BFF
The tech gods have infiltrated our dating lives, so it makes sense that they do the same with our friendships. Bumble BFF works in much the same way as the dating app: make a profile – including your interests or hobbies – and swipe until you see someone you think you would vibe with. Bumble BFF is great if the idea of showing up solo to a big event makes you feel nervous and you would prefer to meet one-on-one.
Visit Bumble.com
Gutsy Girls
Fancy kayaking in Norway or trail running in the Cotswolds, but just need someone to go with? One for the adventurous at heart, Gutsy Girls is a great way to connect with people who are all about taking on new challenges. They frequently organise big trips internationally, as well as smaller weekenders. If you don’t want to commit to a week in Norway, dip your toe in with one of the day challenges that are often just a short train ride away from London.
Visit GutsyGirls.co.uk
Midnight Runners
If you didn’t know by now, running clubs are a great way to meet like-minded people. Midnight Runners started when a couple of friends went for a late-night run equipped with a speaker. Now, the community spans the world, operating in 18 cities from Tokyo to Toronto. The club’s name is a little misleading – runners head off at the more job-appropriate time of 7.30pm, but the party vibes are still present. They run armed with music systems so they can keep up the pace and, once in a while, there’s a weekend run followed by an after-party. Want to give it a go? Sign up to one of its free bootcamp runs around central London on Tuesdays, or take on a paid track or trail run if you’re a confident runner.
Follow @MidnightRunnersLondon
Good Gym
Volunteering is a sure-fire way to meet kind and friendly people. As your time is precious, Good Gym combines doing good with keeping fit. It was founded out of a frustration with the isolating nature of fitness, especially in cities where people often go to the gym, put headphones in and don’t speak to anyone. Good Gym makes running about fostering a community, as well as helping those in it. From making social visits to isolated older people to planting trees, it’s about getting stuck in. Through shared miles, and cups of tea, its members make a tangible difference one foot at a time.
Visit GoodGym.org
Click
Based in Bristol? Click is a buzzy, new social networking club designed for people who are looking to try out new things while forging new friendships. It was created by Lucy and Sarah, two 20/30-somethings living in Bristol who noticed many of their friends had moved to a new city, were on different life paths or had simply drifted away. Click aims to help people find new friends with which to navigate the triumphs and tragedies of adulthood, in a low pressure, fun environment. Every month there’s a host of events to get stuck into, from craft workshops to food and drink tours, as well as a range of fitness and movement classes.
Visit ClickBristol.co.uk
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