How to Make Friends in Your New 55+ Community
Loneliness isn’t inevitable
Joining a 55+ community is like entering college, except you’re not young anymore.
Unless you were special or lucky, you might remember how college felt awkward and far away from your home and friends (at first). But then you got drunk and made new friends.
In the 55+ Community, getting drunk won’t make you friends because you’ll start talking about politics, which rarely ends well. You have to consider other options, and lucky for you, I’m here to offer you some.
Organizing a pickle-ball competition could work, but it’s a risky move because of the inevitable accidents and related injuries. Your new friends might blame you for their broken ankle and refuse to see you during the recovery period (up to four years, depending on the age of the pickle-ball practitioner). In other words, don’t do it unless one of your offspring is an orthopedic surgeon.
Avoid foreign language group lessons like the plague. As a teacher, it’s obvious. People will want to be friends with you for the free lessons, and it’s unacceptable. Make them pay. They live in a 55+ Community. They have the money.
As a student, it will be boring because your new friends will insist on practicing what you learned, and there’s a high…
