Making friends in retirement made easy

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On 19 July 2024

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Friendships play such an important role in our health and wellbeing, and even more so as we get older.

But what happens when you have reduced options to meet new people – particularly after the busy, socialising years of raising a family and being in the workforce are over?

And once you’ve settled into a routine, it can be difficult to break out and make the move to expand your social circle.

We share some great tips on how to make friends in retirement and increase your enjoyment at the same time.

Top tips for making friends in retirement

One in five older Australians are socially isolated.

Social isolation can lead to increased risk of diseases including heart attacks and strokes as well as harming your mental health.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this feature we take a look at ways you can increase your enjoyment as well as the number of people you can call on as friends.

1. Foster existing connections

When you’ve no longer got the commitment of work taking up so much of your time, your retirement leisure years are the perfect opportunity to catch up with existing family and friends.

Take the opportunity to deepen those connections. Instead of a couple of hours over lunch, how about arranging a long weekend away exploring some old haunts and discovering new locations together.

If you have adult children with young children of their own, they may value the assistance of grandma and grandpa to provide more support – especially when so many parents work.

Showing up for sports carnivals and school concerts is a great way to spend more time with the grandkids and to strengthen family ties.

2. Go back to school yourself

They say that school days were the best days of your life. Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you can’t learn for interest and pleasure.

Whether you’ve always wanted to learn a musical instrument or another language there are plenty of opportunities to meet with people who share your interests. TAFE and universities sometimes have low-cost courses covering a wide range of subjects. Community organisations such as the University of the Third Age (U3A) offer casual courses in your local area.

If you happen to live in an over-50s lifestyle resort like Living Gems, you may already know plenty of people with plenty of life experiences and skills to share. Look at the resort’s program or directory of activities and don’t be afraid to try something for the first time.

3. Downsize to a lifestyle resort

If you’re rattling around a large family-sized home on your own, then rightsizing to an active over-50s lifestyle resort is a great way to meet likeminded people. Living Gems resorts are designed to create opportunities to socialise – whether it is resident-organised dinners in the great hall, arts and crafts in the studio, fitness classes and games – you’re bound to make new friends.

4. Volunteer

Especially if you’ve downsized to a new location, volunteering is a great way to get to know the local community and to make new friends.

Local charity shops and animal shelters are always looking for an additional helping hand, along with those operating food kitchens and transport services.

And in the end, you might discover that you get as much out of it as the people you are helping. If you’re not sure where in the local area to start, enquire with local councils and churches or check out the website Go Volunteer.

5. Become tech savvy

When you can’t meet in real life, connecting face to face online is the next best thing.

Applications such as Facebook, Messenger or WhatsApp allow you to get together to share messages, photos and start video calls. If the Internet age is baffling, then investigate online classes.

Many community groups and local libraries have free classes – and that’s another great way to make new friends.

6. Group travel

Enjoy the time to take the roads less travelled and add travel to your post-retirement plans. This might be a challenge for solo travellers, so why not consider group travel opportunities as another way of making new friends.

These guided adventures mean you can rely on experts to identify must-see highlights. Closer to home, caravan and camping clubs ensure that you are not completely on your own on the open road.

Friendly Living Gems communities

Whether you’re planning ‘the big lap’ around Australia or intending to take a few months travelling overseas, enjoy coming home to a secure, gated over-50s lifestyle community like Living Gems.

For more than two decades, our family-owned business has built a reputation for creating award-winning lifestyle resorts for active over 50s at a surprisingly affordable price point.

Living Gems’ premium locations are carefully chosen based on the natural beauty of their surroundings as well as convenience to local amenities such as shopping, thriving local communities and medical services.

Living Gems has new resorts coming soon.

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