Meeting new people to socialize with can be difficult no matter your age. For seniors who live in assisted living communities, meeting new people can be a lot easier than if you were to live alone. No matter where you live, being more social starts with getting unstuck from your old ways and making the effort to meet new people.

Put Yourself Out There
Walking past people without saying a word won’t help you make any friends. The first step in being more social is to be more outgoing whenever the opportunity to make a new friend presents itself. If there’s a person you see everyday in a common room or at a park, stop and say hi to them. There’s no reason not to start a conversation with someone if you see them all the time!

Try Something New
Rather than staying inside and watching TV, go somewhere or do something you haven’t done yet. Check to see if there are any activities to participate in like arts and crafts or a book club. Activities like these will make conversation easier as you will already have something to talk about. Not only will you grow the number of people on your list of acquaintances, but you might learn something about yourself or discover something you love to do!

Give Everyone a Chance
You might see a person and think to yourself “we would never be friends.” Sometimes two of the most unlikely people can become great friends! If at first you speak with someone and you don’t have much in common, give it a few more tries. You could eventually grow to like that person for who they are, and some of their personality traits could rub off on you for the better. Whether it’s the guy playing his guitar at a coffeehouse, or the girl walking her dog at the park, venture out and give everyone a chance!

Being more social doesn’t have to be a difficult life adjustment, just open yourself up and give it a shot. Luckily, those who live in an assisted living community will have many opportunities to create new friendships. Just ask anyone who is currently living in one of the communities at The Arbors! If you’re interested in learning more, or visiting The Arbors Assisted Living community, schedule a tour by contacting one of our five convenient locations:

Bohemia
Hauppauge
Islandia East
Islandia West
Westbury