How to make friends when you move to the countryside

With its wide open spaces, slower pace of life and fresher air (except when the farmers are using slurry of course!) many city dwellers are finding the lure of the countryside hard to resist. The Office for National Statistics predicts that the population of the English countryside will increase by more than half a million in the next decade. But how to make friends when you move to the countryside? If you have younger offspring, you needn’t bother reading this because within weeks of moving out of the city, you will have found yourself in the swing of the local social life purely by hanging out at the school gates. If your kids are older and get themselves to and from school or college, you might like to read on…

Email/FB all your friends and acquaintances to see if they know anyone who lives in your new county. Ring them asap to introduce yourself and invite them round for coffee.

Introduce yourself to your neighbours – if you are shy, you can always ask them a question ie “Which is the best doctor around here?” “Do you know any good dog walks locally?” (this is highly likely to prompt an invitation to join them on their favourite river/canal/woodland walk.) Someone I know, cycled around her new neighbourhood and dropped in ‘at home’ cards to suitable-looking houses – a few turkeys turned up, but also some that became good friends.

Community-run shop: if your village has one, volunteer to do two or three hours a week… no better way to meet all the locals (and hear all the juicy gossip!)

Arts Society (was NADFAS): Monthly doses of culture and lots more. Very sociable. Click here for their website.

Parish magazine / local newspaper: there are often requests for help with local projects/events – offer some time and you’re bound to meet new and interesting people.

Members of the Rylstone and District WI in North Yorkshire who inspired a film

WI: Not all jam and Jerusalem, or naked calendars, the Womens’ Institute is on a mission to recruit young blood. Click here for website.

Try and say ‘yes’ if you’re asked to join in an activity of any kind – you never know who you might meet.

Golf & Country Club: join one and you’re guaranteed to make new friends. Apparently salsa dance classes are top of the list to meet likeminded peeps. A running club (if you have the knees for it) isn’t bad either.

Buy a dog: try training classes (you can even teach old dogs new tricks). And remember to enter your pooch in one or two categories in the annual village fete’s dog show.

Last, but not least, when you meet someone you like the look of, keep the momentum going – arrange another meeting there and then before the moment has disappeared and you go back home without a potential new friend. Wherever we live in the UK – town or country – we all like a nice cup of tea and a chat!