[KathieI]

Originally Posted by katerogers

Let's face it, when you're single, moving to a new community is a lot more challenging than taking that step into the unknown as a couple. Granted, we are likely to have varied back stories, we most likely adapt to a new environment differently and our ability to make new friends may run from 'a piece of cake' to 'pulling teeth. So, it would be helpful to hear from the singles (male and female) who have already had this experience. What was it like for you when you first moved to TV? Did you buy a place, rent or room with someone? What were your expectations and how did your socialization get it's start? How long did it take for you to feel like you belonged or are you still waiting? Please don't hesitate to mention the good with the bad. You're still there, after all, so even if the road was rocky at first it must have smoothed out eventually. And we could benefit from your "would a", 'could a', 'should a'.

Katie

Wow, Katie, that's a lot of questions. Well, let me try to answer some by giving you my experience. I moved here from Los Angeles with 3 dogs and my 90+yo father. After 30 years of marriage, I was a single woman moving cross country again. (did it in the 70's from NY to LA). By the time I got here, I already had at least 50 friends, married and single, all who I met through TOTV. In our single group, were 5 males and 5 females and we did almost everything together and partied a lot and set up meet and greets with lots of other newbies as they came into town. Eventually this group (not just of singles) grew very large, and, in time, some got married, some passed away (unfortunately) and the group keeps growing. I didn't not find one day of it to be challenging as I find it very easy to make friends. Some days, I would go to a rec center and just start to talk to people to fill up some time or to make more friends. At restaurants and food shopping, I would talk to a lot of people. As this group of friends has grown, its wonderful to have them segmented by various activities that I am involved in. For Instance, I have dancing friends, lunch and dinner friends, water aerobics friends, MVP friends, etc. I always felt like I belonged - never very sure if I liked Florida better than CA, but I do know that the friends that I have here now are the most wonderful part of my life. I couldn't exist without these friends, and I'm so happy they are in my life. I'm sure you can get to this point too, just try to surround yourself with people you can trust, who trust you, who have the same likes and dislikes and never talk politics, lol....