Making new friends isn’t always as easy in real life as it is online. If you’re looking to meet people outside of your normal social group, you can sometimes find out it can be hard to make friends IRL. Finding friends online is quick and simple but when you want to hang out for real, there’s more things to consider.

Becoming friends with someone across the country or abroad happens often online. You can chat about common interests by message or even video call if you want to. But when it comes to hanging out in real life, it isn’t always possible to travel so far to meet up.

Finding new ways to socialise usually makes you happy. Whether it’s for casual acquaintances or forming real friendships is up to you. So we compiled the top 5 best places to socialise and make friends IRL – for when you leave the screen behind and hit the scene.

Sports clubs

If you’re into sports, you probably hang out in team settings pretty often. Playing football, baseball or cricket can all be pretty sociable sports. There’s fun to be had on the pitch during training and then when you clock off, you can grab a drink with the lads.

Being sporty is one of the most common ways guys meet new friends IRL. If you aren’t already part of a team, you can easily find a local club to join or groups of people who are interested through events on social networks.

Team sports aren’t for everyone though and sometimes you might like a particular thing but not play on a team. Swimming, running and cycling can all be done as a single guy or in a group. But going down to your local swim/run/cycle club or track will likely help you meet people.

Having the same sports interest doesn’t limit you to only socialising over that activity either. If you see the same guys out on the local tracks as you, you can strike up a conversation. Putting yourself out there and being friendly isn’t a bad thing. Even if they don’t want to chat, saying hello to a familiar face is always good.

Hobby classes

Maybe you aren’t a sportsman but you are into art or languages. Joining a class at your local community centre or college could be a great new way to make friends. You can socialise during the class as you get to know fellow classmates. Learning a skill while also having fun.

Then you can hang out afterwards and catch up over a drink. Language classes can be especially good at making new friends and socialising in real life as it gives you a chance to practise your new skills with other learners.

Alternatively, once you’ve developed a hobby, you can check out social networks locally to see if there are any meet up events for that. If you learn Spanish, you might want to try a cultural event aimed at Spanish speakers.

Even if you find yourself as being one of the few guys in the room, it might be a great chance to meet some new female friends.

Music

When you’re a musician, there’s a lot of social elements to the scene. Whether you’re rehearsing, forming a band or just listening to some new tunes, music is an easy way to make friends IRL

You can go down to local open mic events or gigs to check out the talent and meet like minded people. Or going to concerts and bigger music events elsewhere will also help you meet new friends and socialise generally at the same time. Finding places to find friends with common interests usually only takes a little research.

Going to music classes can also be a way of meeting new people. At college, you might become part of a society for a certain instrument or genre that you like too.

Down the pub

When you go to your local bar or pub for a drink you may head there with friends. But just because you’re going with people you already know doesn’t mean you can’t meet new people.

If you want to meet more friends without going to new places specifically, you could suggest to your friendship group to invite some other people along with you. When you play pool, you might get fed up of hanging out with the same people every time.

You can go to new places to drink and socialise with new friends there. But even if you’re going to the same places often, you can always find fresh faces to hang out with. What is your favourite place to make friends IRL?