Is it really harder to find true, meaningful friendships (not romantic and/or sexual) in more ‘adult’ years or is this an introverts problem? I am quite introverted at first, I would never just start a friendly conversation with a stranger and work friends usually are just work friends. I moved to UK in 2019 and since then I had few different jobs and connected with people from work, but none of them wanted to stay in touch outside work. I was a bit confused, as I thought those people enjoyed my company as much I did theirs. Not even sure if this is maybe a cultural thing? I grew up in Poland and Eastern European people are more direct than British, so you know straight away of they like you or not. What are your experiences? How do you deal with meeting new people?
It can be a lot more difficult to develop and maintain good friendships as an adult. You really need a longstanding topic to bond over. When you are younger you have education and daily interaction to bring you together.
I’ve found that to build friendships you really need to do something, enjoy something together and do it with some regularity. This is why joining a group where there is already a joint focus is recommended.
It is a bit of putting yourself out there and it can feel really lonely, I know.