I got an e-mail today from Kristen Montgomery, who moved to Charlotte a month ago from Cleveland. Kristen, 26, and husband Jesse, 29, are looking for newcomer groups to join.
"I've heard there are some active 'New to Charlotte' groups here, but I've been having a hard time figuring out where to find them or how to join. Could you help me with that? I was able to find the Charlotte Young Professionals group you mentioned in one of your previous articles, but we're looking for ones that are specifically for newbies like us."
No problem, Kristen.
Meetup.com is a good place to turn to find groups by interest. For example, I found the Charlotte Singles, Nightlife, and New In Town Meetup Group. There are lots of fun-sounding groups on Meetup but this is the only one I found with "new" in the name.
If you have a church, you might check to see if it has fellowship for newcomers. Several area churches -- St. Matthew Catholic Church in Ballantyne and Christ Covenant Church in Matthews come to mind -- offer a program called Moving On After Moving In.
Keep in mind, though, that many young professionals groups here are going to have plenty of new-to-town members. That's just Charlotte. I suggest these:
Kiwanis Uptown. Unlike traditional, older Kiwanis clubs, this one caters to young professionals 21 to 35. I went to a recent meeting and found that many of the members are new to Charlotte. For more on Kiwanis Uptown, check out my upcoming Sunday column.
Charlotte Jaycees. Another volunteer and networking group for 20- and 30-somethings.
Young Affiliates of the Mint. Professionals ages 21-45 to get involved in the Mint museums through educational and social events.
Any other groups Kristen and Jesse should know about? Post them here.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Left Ohio and looking for friends
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6 comments:
we left MI, close enough!
I am from Ohio myself and havebeen here for six long years and have no freinds; I take tha back I met a wiener dog I loved named cecil; Lady from Ohio its really hard to meet People here and then you have to be sure you can trust them. Many People have a hidden agenda. For instance I went to a function found out it was AMWAY and it was real aggressive; My wife got invited to a party and it was star something or another and a branch of AMWAY. Lets face it direct marketers want you to go out and sell things to People you dont know and could get you put into a compromising situation. Be careful there is a ton of fraud going on and the FBI is putting up stakes here. And Lady this a high network town with MASONS, Shriners , Eastern Star and many other groups. Every third person is a groupie here. Secret society is all over in Charlotte . Bodies have been found all over with no explanation but Im starting to figure it out.
Lots of groups here . You could find out the hard way like one of my freinds who met a man out for a drink one night. The next morning she was in another State and didnt know how she got there.Be careful about churches, they draw you in and then they invite you to the church for midnight mass. When you walk in ,the room is dark and lit by candlelight and People are wearing black robes in a circle and a women were laying naked on some alters ; I cant finish the story because AMY will pull the plug, but your getting the jest storyline. Many places are undercover swinger clubs so be careful. My wife and I walked into to a party and everyone was naked except for us and If I participated I was going to get cheated by the looks of the women.
Hi Kristin- welcome!! I'm from Westerville, Ohio (Columbus) and my husband and I moved here 18 months ago. I had a hard time too, but 3 months after moving here I got pregnant and joined a local online mommy group.
My husband is an airline pilot (I'm a former flight attendant) so he isn't around much. I was left to fend for myself in the new town.
Best thing I ever did! I now have lots of good friends who also serve as mu support network. We have no family here.
Before and during my pregnancy I met some really cool people at the local dog parks. Specifically, the one on Pineville-Matthews Road and University area.
You probably have an advantage on me- I'm guessing you live in Charlotte. We live in Cramerton which is between Belmont and Gastonia. I consider it small town and rural. Being the liberals we are and coming from bigger cities, well we don't fit in so well. We keep waiting for that "boom" to happen that everyone keeps promising out here.
Anyway- it's hard at first, but I think by living in Charlotte, you'll have more opportunities than you know.
Oh and my personal favorite... a Buckeye bar!!! Every Saturday during football season, Jocks and Jills turns into a Buckeye bar. The owner is a former Buckeye and the alumni association has all sorts of fun things going on during the game- including tailgating in the parking lot. I feel so at home there!
O-H...
I moved here in December from Maryland, and joined Charlotte Outdoor Adventures -- www.choa.com. It is NOT a singles group, and many of the members are married or in relationships. I've met a lot of great people in this group. Don't let then name fool you either, as they host as many social events as they do outdoors events.
I-O
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