A 28-year-old woman recently moved back to South Africa from the States, and it’s her first time living in Cape Town.
She took to Reddit to ask ‘Where and how… does someone meet anyone in cape town?’ after saying that she’s heard from Capetonians themselves how cliquey the Mother City is. ‘Cliquey’ is commonly defined as “tending to form or hold exclusive groups and so not welcoming outsiders.”
“I’m very optimistic I will find what I’m looking for in terms of the kind of people I enjoy being around, but it can somewhat be discouraging to see how not interested people here seem to be about meeting new people,” she said.
She mentioned how she enjoys hiking, volunteering and live music, adding that “the less crowded the better”. She goes on to cite “wine and cocktails, dancing, books, podcasts, exercise in general, stimulating conversation and people who are constantly challenging their views and raising their self-awareness”.
She then asked for tips on meeting new people, to which others responded by saying:
“As a born and bred Capetonian this always saddens me to read or hear about as it comes up a lot but I don’t doubt the observation. I’ve thought about this often and why we’re like this and the best answer I’ve come up with is that we’re so spoilt here with things to do especially in nature. We haven’t been brought up to rely on our social skills as much as other parts of the country,” Billy_Rivers expressed.
MajesticReading added to the discussion by saying “Yeah I feel this. Been in Cape Town for 4 years and made 1 friend that’s now 50km away :/”.
Cachopo10 said “People who’ve grown up here (CT) already have their circles of friends and acquaintances. They’re not cliquey, they’re just settled into their lives and have no particular need to look outside their immediate circles for a social life. People who are new to CT often make friends through the groups mentioned below. Just be patient. It takes a while to build friendships” to which Mercurial_Sun said “Pretty sure that’s a definition for cliquey mate”.
Others offered recommendations such as visits to the Mojo Market, being part of hiking clubs, boxing classes, or an open night at House of Machines as a way to meet new people in Cape Town.
What advice would you give this woman?
Also read:
From the ‘Tinder Swindler’ to Tinder in Cape Town here’s what I learned from Simon
Picture: Unsplash
