How many close friends do you have?

The typical American adult has 2

You need the right ingredients to form a friendship

There’s no limit on who can become friends but friends tend to have at least some things in common.

Did you know researchers found that close adult friendship has declined in the 21st century?

I noticed this erosion of my friendships as I moved from place to place, ran my own business, and took care of our newborn.

It sucked

I had a hunch that in my new ‘hood, there were probably lot of guys in my situation. If only something could bring us together, like...

...beer?

So, I posted a notice for a dads’ beer meetup

Local press found the proposed event newsworthy! But I still did not know if anyone would show up.

But they did show up!

Soon I was seeing folks all over the neighborhood

And a couple of these acquaintances started turning into actual friends. Hey, it worked!

Here’s how i did it:

I admitted that I had a problem

I acted locally. At this point in my life, that’s the most viable option

I created an event where there would be some overlaps between attendees--in this case fatherhood, neighborhood,and affinity for dive bars

I publicized the event on the platforms that would reach the greatest amount of the most relevant people. In this case I used neighborhood specific online forums.

I found the venue

...publicized the event

...enjoyed the meetup

...and repeated this cycle monthly

This may seem like a lot of work. But I enjoyed and still enjoy the meetups, and I’m so happy it led to a new chapter in my friend-life.