| I have a hard time believing anybody starts from absolute zero in these scenarios, but here's an example from a self-proclaimed introvert: - Pair up with random guy at a school hackathon because we're both without a project (+1). Meet a friend of his (+1). - Meet him months later for birthday drinks. Introduced to his friend, we end up starting a band with 3 of his friends. (+4) - Meet countless people through the music scene (+?) - Go to another hackathon together with first guy, join another pair (+2), win, catch a recruiter's (+1) attention and get an internship. - Meet countless people over the summer during the internship (+?) - [...] That's the very short version. Most of my network can be traced back to like, 4 people that started as strangers. There were a lot of dead-ends initially, sure. But it really does just take one person to build or reshape your entire social circle, change your career, etc. The first set is the hardest imo, but there's no excuse* for not going out and trying to find it. *excepting, of course, any affliction which might make social interaction difficult. "i'd rather stay home" is not an afflication |
I've now moved a couple of times in my adult life. I find that it takes about six months to find a group of people to hang out with occasionally, and two years to acquire a small group of friends that I feel comfortable with. It seems to get harder as you get older, too.