(Image courtesy of Cristiano Betta)
You live in a great apartment community with many opportunities to open your door and meet the neighbors. Hanging out in the fireside lounge, the terrace or the fitness center will open you up to meeting many of your neighbors. Though we have many resident events and activities, your social interaction with your neighbors doesn’t have to stop there.
Meeting the people living around you is only first step in creating friendships. This article from apartmentguide.com has some great tips to get you started hanging out with your great new neighbors. Keep reading to learn more.
Hang-out prep tips
Rule #1 of hanging out is finding people to do it with — but you don’t want to jump the gun on this. You need to scope out your apartment community and ease into conversation to find out which neighbors are “hang-out-able.”
Luckily, it’s easy. Just walk around. Linger at the mailbox (not too long, stalker!) and say hello to anyone who looks interesting. The same goes for the pool, gym, dog park and even the parking lot. The more mobile you are, the more people you meet.
Once you’ve created a few “hello, how’s it going” relationships, start stretching out your conversations to see whether you have common interests. When you find a few peeps that like the same things you do, it just might be time to take your hang-out to the next level.
Chill one-on-one
Now that you’ve pegged a few potential hanger-outers, a one-on-one meet up will give you a chance to get to know them better. Two-person hang-outs can be a little intimidating because it’s up to you to keep the convo flowing, but it’s the best way to focus on your new friend and build a rapport.
Now, this face-to-face time doesn’t necessarily mean sipping herbal tea and commiserating about the girl/guy who broke your heart in 4th grade. Keep your first hang-out light and casual, but be yourself. Set up a plan to play tennis, go for a walk, carpool to the grocery, or sit by the pool after work. Easy-going chit-chat and a no-pressure vibe will help you find out whether your new friend is ready for a group hang.
Host a group hang
Hanging out in a group is super fun when you have the right people in the room. Definitely invite the one-on-one hangers who seem like they’d get along with a variety of personalities. Then organize a larger hang-out event in your apartment community – a party, by any other name!
Consider hosting a dinner party, book club, wine tasting, game night or cookout by the pool. You can cast a wide net by posting flyers at the mailboxes and on bulletin boards to invite the entire community. Or keep it smaller and only invite people on your floor or in your building, as well as the folks you’ve hung out with individually.
However you choose to organize it, a group hang-out is a great way to relax and get to know more people in your apartment community, as well as introduce them to each other.
Avoid awkward moments
Remember, hanging out properly is a skill. You don’t want to come off as the person who will never leave a party. Until you get to know people better, keep your interactions short and your conversation light. If you get invited to a hang, don’t be the first one to show up and the last one to leave. Arrive 5-10 minutes after start time, bring a drink or snack and leave while the energy is still up. People will love hanging out with you, and you’ll likely get invited back.
Be mindful that if someone doesn’t seem interested in hanging out, there’s no need to push the issue. Just move on; there are plenty more people in your apartment community who will be worthy hang-out buddies.
While this may seem like a lot of guidelines for something as simple as hanging out in your apartment community, it’s smart to start off on the right foot. Once you get a solid crew of people to hang with, your social agenda at home will be set!
0comments:
Post a Comment