At a certain point in my adult life, I found the quantity and quality of my friendships had declined. This followed years of moving around, having a kid, and working for myself. This decline in friendships is mirrored in a general decline in friendship in the USA, so I was not alone. I decided to take matters into my own hands and attempt to create the conditions that might lead to new friendships. This is that story.

2. How many close friends do you have?

3. The typical American adult has 2

4. You need the right ingredients to form a friendship

5. There’s no limit on who can become friends
but friends tend to have at least some
things in common.

6. Did you know researchers found that close
adult friendship has declined in the 21st
century?

7. I noticed this erosion of my friendships as I
moved from place to place, ran my own
business, and took care of our newborn.

8. It sucked

9. I had a hunch that in my new ‘hood,
there were probably lot of guys in my
situation. If only something could bring
us together, like...

10. ...beer?

11. So, I posted a notice for a
dads’ beer meetup

12. Local press found the proposed event
newsworthy! But I still did not know if
anyone would show up.

13. But they did show up!

14. Soon I was seeing folks all over the neighborhood

15. And a couple of these acquaintances started
turning into actual friends. Hey, it worked!

16. Here’s how i did it:
I admitted that I had a
problem
I acted locally. At this point
in my life, that’s the most
viable option
I created an event where
there would be some
overlaps between
attendees--in this case
fatherhood, neighborhood,
and affinity for dive bars

17. I publicized the event on the platforms that
would reach the greatest amount of the most
relevant people. In this case I used
neighborhood specific online forums.

18. I found the venue
...publicized the event
...enjoyed
the
meetup
...and repeated this
cycle monthly

19. This may seem like a lot of work. But I enjoyed and
still enjoy the meetups, and I’m so happy it led to a
new chapter in my friend-life.