Log On and Make a New Friend With These Websites

How to Find Friends Online

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Friendship websites can introduce you to female friends, couples, people who are interested in keeping fit, and much more. While these sites can connect you to potential friends, it's still up to you to build an offline friendship. Remember to be safe, make small talk, and be open to the experience of meeting new people.

If you're required to post a profile, take your time with writing your profile so you get across the most important information about yourself and be honest. This is the best way to connect with new friends online.

Female Friendships

Girlfriend Social

Girlfriend Social allows female users to post a profile and connect with other women looking for friendship. The site is geared to adult women who have moved, gotten married, or recently entered motherhood. The site offers a forum, search function, friends list, and messaging system. It also lists events and (best of all) allows you to verify other members so you know the women are who they say they are. Membership is free.

GirlFriendCircles

GirlFriendCircles matches new friends offline by connecting circles of women in local cafes and wine bars in 35 U.S. cities. The community is for women ages 21-65, with interaction taking place in small groups centered around meaningful sharing. Women can also search the site, post events, and gather for virtual hangouts and events as well as in-person meetups.

General and Group Friendships

Meetup

Meetup offers ways for people to find a specific kind of group in their area or allows people to start their own group. The site says that over 2,000 meetup groups get together in local communities each day. There is a wide variety of different groups including:

  • Business networking
  • Movie groups
  • Book clubs
  • Stitching groups
  • Sports groups
  • Brunch and dinner groups

The site gets over six million visitors per month and is free to join. Occasionally, a group within Meetup may ask for a nominal fee ($10 and under) to help offset the setup cost, but that varies individually by the group. Meetup is in 45,000 U. S. cities.

Yelp

Yelp is a city guide with links to many popular cities throughout the United States, Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and more. The site is user-driven, meaning people register and provide reviews and feedback on things from tiny restaurants to mid-sized businesses. Yelp also lists popular events on a weekly basis. The site also provides a forum so you can chat with others, increasing the chance for an online (or offline) friendship to develop. Yelp also encourages members to invite their friends and makes it easy to "message" friend invites. 

Active

If you're a fitness buff, Active.com just might be the place for you. You can search lists for events and tips on baseball, football, running, and a host more. And, you can connect with others (either on forums or at the event itself). The site even has an area where you'll be able to search for instructors in your area. 

Couples Friendships

CouplesList
CouplesList helps married or dating couples connect using a message board. People post information about themselves, and what types of activities they enjoy, and others can respond. CouplesList gets 5,000 visitors to the site each month and registration is required but the site is entirely free.

Kupple
Kupple helps connect like-minded couples. Couples post a short profile with basic information such as age, city, and interests and then it's up to each couple to connect and delve deeper. You can search for people based on geographical region, hobbies, or shared interests. Membership is free.